WHISTLE-BLOWING systems and internal controls should be set up in companies as part of the effort to eliminate corruption, supporters of a private-sector led integrity campaign yesterday said.
A Unified Code of Conduct was unveiled during the First Integrity Initiative Summit and officials said this would lead to a certification system for companies.
The Integrity Initiative, led by the Makati Business Club (MBC) and the European Chamber of Commerce of the Philippines, gathered executives to start discussions on how to foster a culture of honesty, transparency, and fairness.
Public officials including President Benigno S. C. Aquino III attended and expressed approval of the drive for pledges. Mr. Aquino, in a speech, said he would highlight the initiative when he goes to the United States next week to attend the launch of the Open Government Partnership.
Peter A. Perfecto, MBC executive director, said 1,000 firms are expected to have joined the project by yearend. A summit statement said the roster currently included some 700 companies.
The certification system for ethical businesses is under Project SHINE, which is scheduled to run from 2011 to 2014. Mr. Perfecto said there are also plans to create a wider whistleblowing system should companies fail to comply with their pledges.
Other speakers shared whistle-blowing models that could be adopted.
“Within the company, a whistle-blowing system must only accept signed allegations to prevent accusations of corruption from being thrown around irresponsibly,” said Gerardo C. Ablaza Jr., president of Manila Water Company, Inc.
Frank Schmidt, Siemens AG vice-president, said: “In our company, we have a whistleblower line that allows anonymity, [but] a strict plausibility check must be conducted to determine the credibility of the complaints.”
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Source: Business World, Sept. 14, 2011
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