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NEWS - AUGUST 9 - 15, 2011

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News extracts are presented on this website. To read the full original article at its source click on the underlined text below

IntegriNews

TOP NEWS

SUNSTAR ILOILO

Millions in fund misuse, misappropriation uncovered by COA auditors

OVER P4.4 million in unliquidated cash advances, wrong use of Special Education Fund (SEF), millions in unimplemented programs, over P7.4 million in lost earnings, inadequate bond for town treasurer and an unsecured treasurer's office summed up this year's additional findings of Commission on Audit (COA) on the 2010 operation of the municipality of Tigbauan, Iloilo.

Senior State Auditors in the latest Annual Audit Report (AAR) from the COA also uncovered town collections not remitted intact or in full for at least five years in a row...COA reported of unrealized income worth P7,440,000 from some 48 markets stalls left unused...

Worse even is the town's treasurer office itself found by COA as "not properly secured exposing government funds and property to risk of loss thru theft due to its accessibility to unauthorized personnel contrary to sound internal control."

Read full AunStar article

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BLOOMBERG
Suicide, Scams, Scandal Trap a Nation in Poverty
(a wide-ranging article about the Philippines)
 
The Philippines can be a scandalmonger’s paradise. At this very moment, editors are pressed to decide which controversy goes on the front page: the suicide story, the car scam, Chopper-gate or the asylum follies...Although growth now is a healthy 4.9 percent, politicians and businesspeople hoard most of the gains...Filipinos deserve better. Their nation is welcoming, vibrant, fascinating and boasts some of the most beautiful landscapes anywhere. Thanks to corruption, it is an afterthought in terms of foreign investment and tourism. Nothing demonstrates the backwardness of Philippine infrastructure like its dilapidated airports...
The good news is that Aquino is homing in on the problem. The three major debt-rating companies have raised the country’s sovereign grade within the past year... Aquino is redoubling an anti-corruption effort that, at least rhetorically, is cheering investors...
 Aquino’s team is busily auditing many big-money deals approved during the Arroyo years...
Aquino must not pull any punches in his corruption battle. That has happened too many times in the Philippines. Its people deserve a thorough and public accounting of why their living standards haven’t improved. There needs to be a serious reconsideration of a political culture that serves itself, not the tens of millions toiling in poverty.
The only way the Philippines will reach its true potential is to get the spoils of economic growth out of the pockets of politicians to those who most need it -- and earn it. An end to the scandals and corruptions might help, too.

NOW TIME TO INVEST: Economists and financial experts agreed that for the government and for investors awash with cash, now is the time to invest, especially in job-generating infrastructure. "The point is how can we attract long-term investments from both foreigners and locals? PPPs (public-private partnerships) have been slow going," Arsenio M. Balisacan said. Balisacan credited the Aquino government for striving to change the perception that the Philippines is a country riddled by corruption.

"KOTONG" COPS BACK: The "kotong" (mulcting) cops are back. This time they are meaner and are now having a field day, an affront to President Benigno S. Aquino III's campaign against corruption, major transport groups said in a dialogue with Vice President Jejomar C. BinaY... Zenaida Maranan, president of the Federation of Jeepney Operators and Drivers of the Philippines (Fejodap), told Binay during the dialogue that apart from rising fuel prices and spare parts, what hurts public utility jeepney (PUJ) drivers are some policemen mulcting money from hapless victims. Maranan said that in some areas such as in Manila, where Fejodap members operate, a "mere PO1 (Police Officer 1) or PO2 (Police Officer 2)" now demand as much as P20 from every PUJ unit.

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SPECIAL REPORT: CAN OF WORMS AT GSIS >>> National Grid Corporation of the Philippines suspected... that there was something amiss. From 2008 to 2010, NGCP...was paying a premium ranging from $5.57 million to $6.69 million...NGCP suspects that in the past, the bidding terms were being tailor-fit by the GSIS to favor the existing reinsurer because other bidders were simply not taking part in the exercise...Suspicions have been raised that GSIS's reinsurance program had been a source of graft and corruption in the past. If the NGCP reinsurance involved such amounts, then how much more the other insurance policies being reinsured by the GSIS? In spite of these huge premiums, the industrial all risks (IAR)/submarine cable and sabotage and terrorism policy had a high deductible amount

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PHILIPPINE STAR
EX-PRESIDENT FIDEL V. RAMOS: Government witch-hunts driving away investors
 PALACE TO FVR:
Foreign investors support Noy's drive vs corruption
 

August 13: Former President Fidel Ramos said the investigations into numerous anomalies during the Arroyo administration are driving away investors and giving the country a bad image. “These (investigations) are not (creating) a pretty picture for us. It is likewise not very attractive to those who want to invest and travel to the Philippines. They end up going somewhere else,”...The former president did not specify which investigations are tarnishing the country’s image.

August 14:  Malacaņang…belied former President Fidel Ramos's claim that President Benigno Aquino III's campaign against corruption is driving away foreign investors. "We are getting the opposite because according to the foreign investors that we have talked with, they say the search for accountability is a good thing because it brings closure [to questions of anomalies in the past administration]," deputy presidential spokesperson Abigail Valte said… "It's better to let the people see what is really happening and what the government is doing rather than sugar coating." She also reminded Ramos that President Aquino was elected because of his campaign promise to rid the government of corruption and go after "against those who have done the country wrong." “You can’t say we are against corruption and yet let accountability fall by the wayside,"  Valte denied that the Aquino administration is on a witch hunt. She said that Malacaņang is making sure that all charges that may be filed against officials of the previous administration are based on facts and evidence.

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MANILA BULLETIN
COA Chides PCGG
  •   failure to make available for audit examination $50.48m Marcos    recovery
  •   spending $3.9 million for travel

The Commission on Audit has chided the Presidential Commission on Good Government (PCGG) for failing to make available for audit examination the $50.48 million Swiss deposits of the Marcos family that was forfeited in favor of the government.

CoA also chided the PCGG for spending $3.9 million for travel between January 31, 2004, and September, 2010.

“PCGG use of this fund for travel was marked by the following attributes: apparently unliquidated, irregularly disbursed, clearly excessive, and in some instances ultra vire, in that it was used for travels clearly beyond the stated parameters of the fund,” the 2010 annual report for PCGG said. The audit agency said disbursements of the fund held in escrow in the Philippine National Bank (PNB) should be recorded and that all transactions starting January, 2004 until now should be presented for post audit...

State auditors explained that PD 1445 provides that “all monies and property officially received by a public officer in any capacity or upon occasion must be accounted for as government funds and government property.” It also stressed that all disbursements should be subjected to “necessary examination and audit within thirty days” from receipt of the money.

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ABS-CBN NEWS - HELICOPTERGOROUND SWIRLS

Lawyer: Mike Arroyo sold LTA shares in March 2001

Senator: A lot of people will go to jail

Despite the increasing number of witnesses against him, former First Gentleman Jose Miguel Arroyo still insists he is not the owner of 2 pre-owned choppers that were sold as brand new to the Philippine National Police (PNP).

His lawyer Inocencio Ferrer said Mike Arroyo has divested himself of his interests in LTA Incorporated since March 2001 when his wife became President of the Republic...

However, Senate Blue Ribbon Committee chairman Teofisto Guingona III presented the general information sheet of LTA Inc. for year 2011, which showed that Mike Arroyo is still one of the company's top stockholders. Guingona said he believes a lot of people will go to jail for the anomalous procurement of second hand choppers.

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MANILA BULLETIN
Chopper conspiracy
Senator berates COA Resident Auditor
 
“There’s a conspiracy to cover up something here.” Senate President Juan Ponce Enrile said Thursday as he berated Commission on Audit (CoA) auditor Jaime Sanares, resident auditor of the Philippine National Police (PNP), for failing to properly audit the contract entered into by the law enforcement agency with a helicopter dealer.

“I’m not an auditor (but) I know auditors are sharp people. My god, to tell you the truth, the impression now in this particular case is that there is a conspiracy to cover up something here,” Enrile said at the resumption of the Senate hearing on the controversial purchase of the PNP of two used helicopters...

The Senate leader berated Sanares for not even taking a second look at the contract to see if the deal between the PNP and the Manila Aerospace Products Trading Corporation (MAPTRA) was fully complied.

“You just made it on the basis of the site inspection. Did you refer to the procurement documents? Basta sabi mo, sabi ng inspector mo, they looked like brand new. Di ba ninyo tinitingnan ano bang (klaseng) kontrata ng ahensya ng gobyerno dito sa produkto na binibili? Di nyo ba tinitingnan yun? (Did you not check what kind of contract did the agency of the government had with the kind of product they chose to buy? You did not check it?” Enrile asked Sanares during the hearing.

Sanares said they scrutinized the contract and even thought of engaging the services of another CoA auditor who was assigned to them.

But Enrile pointed out that if state auditors were thorough in their auditing of the aircraft purchased, the PNP would not have bought the helicopters.

“I’ll put it directly. You didn’t find anything wrong with it. You didn’t try to ascertain if the contract was faithfully executed or complied,” he told Sanares during the hearing.

“Precisely the contract says brand new…There must be compliance with the contract and the most important part of the contract is the description of the property to be purchased. It was brand new… but your audit, your representative in doing the post audit, did not see to it that the contract was faithfully complied with by the supplier,” Enrile said.

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Philippine Public Transparency Reporting Project
Reforming the Commission on Audit

By any measure or program that aims to prevent or eliminate corruption, the role of audit is crucial...

Ma. Gracia Pulido Tan, new COA chairperson said she accepted the position with the aim of ensuring that COA would be what it is meant to be– to ensure that public funds would have full and proper accounting.

Tan said there is a long way to go in building the integrity of COA...

One main area of concern is the pre-audit. Pre-audit is the policy requiring government agencies to secure COA’s approval before they can embark on projects that will entail the use of public funds. Tan said this practice will be removed...

Another possible reform...residency audit – where audit teams hold office in their assigned agencies – may be removed...

In the past, the COA failed to properly monitor multi-agency projects or transactions because audits were fragmented...

COA also intends to strengthen its coordination with the Office of the Ombudsman....

Tan...said there is a need to put in place a culture of integrity in the commission to be able to sustain the reforms. “A culture of integrity is truly a formidable and inclusive process. It requires the active cooperation and involvement of all stakeholders. Each of them must want it and accept and own their respective roles in both the vision and the process. The ultimate responsibility of the leader is to lead by example,”

under her leadership, COA is now preparing for a major strategic planning plan to map out the commission’s course in the next five years.

“I think that what we need is a long term plan, at least a five year plan which would be subject to review. We will involve not just the higher echelons but I also want to hear from the ground what is going on,” Tan said. The program would stress the values of integrity, transparency and professionalism in the agency...

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ASIA PACIFIC FUTUREGOV
Philippine Government
E-procurement system (PhilGePs)
 
Rosa Cemente, Director of the Philippine Government E-procurement system (PhilGePs) on how the system helps the government promote transparency since its inception in 2000:

PhilGEPS is the single e- portal for registration of suppliers and advertisement of bid opportunities in the country.

The Philippines’ procurement system used to be described as cumbersome and prone to corruption as there were many outdated and inconsistent laws and many agencies dealing with issuance of guidelines and procedures in procurement.

The procurement process across all government agencies, from all branches of government, to local government units and public schools and universities, now involves announcing and advertising all procurement opportunities, inviting qualified parties to bid, evaluation of bids, awarding of contracts, monitoring of delivery and performance and payment. The whole process is recorded and posted electronically for others to see.

Through the use of the PhilGEPS, transparency in government procurement is enhanced since opportunities to trade with government and the ensuing transactions are provided online. Information on changes in terms of references, bid schedules and on the winning bidder and contract amount are all accessible through the system.

In addition, the electronic catalogue, which provides information on pre-approved cost of commonly used items, will help government auditors check that supplies purchased by a government agency are not grossly over-priced.

As of September 2010, the PhilGEPS hosted bid opportunities posted by 11,147 government agencies and accessed by 45,955 goods and services providers. Over 1,080,000 bid notices have been posted by various procuring entities

“If there is transparency (of services) we will be able to increase competition (in the bidding process)which result in getting more quality service and better prices and also it helps the government to implement the law. ”

...the Philippine government also plans to launch the eBidding feature by the end of the year to enable online submission and opening of government bid projects.

“Information will become transparent not only in the bidders but also in the civil society organisation, the auditors; even the public can see information in the system,”...

MANILA BULLETIN
Department of Justice issues cyber crime advisory
 
Justice Secretary Leila De Lima said she wants the public to be informed on different crimes committed in the Internet, stressing that uniformed policemen alone would not keep the cyber haven safe.

Internet statistics show that 30 percent of the Philippine population have access to the "world wide web" as of 2010, posting a 3 percent increase since 2000... 87 percent of Filipino Internet users "have fallen prey in one way or another to various kinds of malicious activities through the Internet."

“The Internet not only serves as a medium for better access to information and more convenient modes of communication but it also presents an opportunity for criminals to victimize the public, especially vulnerable sectors like children and the youth,"...

For the public's protection against cyber crimes, De Lima advised everyone to be cautious and vigilant with their private information. She also reminded the public of the “do not trust strangers” rule...

To report cyber crimes, the public may contact the National Bureau of Investigation, an attached agency of the DoJ, through its Computer Crimes Unit with telephone numbers (02) 528-8231 to 38 local 3455 or the Philippine National Police's Cybercrime Unit under the PNP Criminal Investigation and Detection Group at (02) 726-1575.

 
 

 

More IntegriNews

HEADLINES

Former provincial accountant allegedly involved in P250-million housing scam takes own life in Pilar Bataan

Occidental Mindoro Governor faces administrative case at Office of Ombudsman for allegedly giving special treatment to two detained provincial officials

Documents show fast import of choppers sold to PNP

Development Bank of the Philippines urged to be transparent in loan probes

SENATOR: Leaving around 67,000 government posts vacant, a source of fund conversion, could result in a slush fund for government agencies

SENATOR: There will be no letup in Senate investigation into allegations of corruption against former President despite her medical condition

Ombudsman denies two requests for preventive suspension order against Cebu Governor, four incumbent board members, and seven former board members in relation to Balili property purchase case

SENATOR: Expect Mike Arroyo's lawyers to produce deed of sale bearing name of another person to show that husband of former President was not owner of two secondhand helicopters sold to Philippine National Police

STAR: Attractive pay, perks await new Ombudsman lawyers

STAR: Ombudsman hiring over 100 lawyers as graft investigation and prosecution officers and assistant special prosecutors to ensure the speedy disposition of cases pending

INQUIRER: Wanted: 100 crack lawyers for Ombudsman

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Where's our "pork"? >>> Still waiting for her "pork," Zambales Rep. Mitos Magsaysay yesterday criticized the Aquino administration for its failure to release the Priority Development Assistance Fund of some lawmakers

House to probe "abuse" of Customs personnel

CUSTOMS CONSPIRACY: Bureau of Customs will recommend filing of criminal charges against 10 private inviduals in connection with the disappearance of 1,191 container vans

Businessman Eduardo M. Cojuangco Jr.asks Sandiganbayan to junk petition of Presidential Commission on Good Government to deny his bid for possession of 653.37 million in coconut levy funds

Former Armed Forces chief parries plunder rap, asks Department of Justice to dismiss case

Witnesses pin down ex-first gentleman in chopper scandal

Former trade minister Roberto Ongpin has challenged the Development Bank of the Philippines (DBP) to substantiate its claims that the bank's previous board granted him a P660-million behest loan.

Senator wants former Police chief held liable for anomalous purchase of used helicopters by Philippine National Police, saying he was the "most guilty" person for allowing that transaction

Two former pilots employed by Lionair Inc. said they flew members of family of then President Gloria Macapagal-Arroyo on the helicopters maintained by Lionair

Former general charged with receiving millions skimmed off from military's discretionary funds turns tables on his accuser, saying he may have lied during testimony

BIR, BOC, the 2 tax collection agencies in the country, will need P2 billion in funds for next year to pursue anti-corruption efforts

Senate grants protection to witness in PNP choppers issue

Senator: : Ex-police chief liable for chopper deal

Philippine National Police assures senators that reforms in its procurement system for crime-fighting equipment underway following purchase of second-hand helicopters made to appear as brand new in 2009

Wire transfer certificate of alleged payment made by former First Gentlemans Office in Makati City for purchase of five helicopters presented by witness during hearing of Senate blue ribbon committee

Lawyers say retired Armed Forces chief of staff is eyeing filing of perjury case against AFP budget officer and whistleblower

Former flight dispatcher of Lionair Incorporated, told blue ribbon committee that he only received instructions about flight schedules, destinations and name of passengers from Arroyo and the security of his son

Chopper deal whistleblower, unfazed by perjury charges, says evidence in his possession with testimony of other witnesess will be sufficient to prove helicopters sold to PNP belonged to Arroyo

Officials of Lion Air company disclose that true owner of second hand choppers sold as brand new to Philippine National Police was company owned by former First Gentleman

Development Bank of the Philippines Lawyer: Based on the position of the Commission on Audit, the loan (P660-million facility granted to businessman) deprived DBP of "opportunity trading gain" of P412 million

Development Bank of the Philippines says it started investigating "behest" loans extended to company of former trade minister after the central bank threatened to sanction it for violations of banking laws

House opposition members say employees who were bullied and harassed by government officials should come out "so that they could be assisted and spared from further punishments"

Former Senate President warns against Roll on, Roll off ports cancellation

Former Agriculture Secretary asks Sandiganbayan to quash plunder charge filed against him in connection with P728 million fertilizer fund scam.

Newly appointed Ombudsman Conchita Carpio-Morales met with her predecessor Merceditas Gutierrez in a rare one-on-one meeting last Tuesday

"There's no witch-hunt at DBP, loans anomalous"

Former First Gentleman files perjury case against president of Lion Air who accused Arroyo as owner of two second-hand choppers sold to Philippine National Police as new

CUSTOMS COMMISSIONER: Sixteen customs staff involved in mysterious disappearance of 1,910 container vans have been relieved

Whistleblower urges Oro water board chair to resign

Government to shift to cash refunds for taxpayers, instead of tax credit certificates (TCCs) that are prone to irregularities

PALACE COMMUNICATIONS OFFICER: Congress may pass FOI bill even without Palace draft

Former Agrarian Reform secretary Roberto Pagdanganan and five others have been slapped with graft and malversation charges for the seven years ago alleged fraudulent investment of millions of pesos in government funds in a private corporation

Malacañang has jacked up President Benigno S. Aquino III's intelligence fund by P200 million in the proposed P1.8-trillion national budget for next year, but removed intelligence provisions from several other agencies and departments such as the judiciary

President Aquino wants detailed report on circumstances that led to apparent suicide of Development Bank of the Philippines executive Benjamin Pinpin

Philippines Bars Former President from Traveling Overseas

Two new witnesses expected to testify Mike Arroyo owns choppers

Palace limits intelligence funds for government agencies

SENATE FINANC CHAIRMAN: No room for illegal practice of converting funds for purposes other than they were intended for in proposed national budget for 2012

PAGCOR FUROR: Former Pagcor chairman denounceS his successor for resorting to vendetta to get back at him for causing his termination from the gaming agency

National Bureau of Investigation: Bureau of Customs (BOC) and suspected vehicles and firearm smuggler Lynard Allan Bigcas are not telling truth, BOC's documents were fake, compared to documents obtained from one of the shipping services that initiated shipment

Embattled former Philippine Amusement and Gaming Corporation Chairman asks for more time to submit counter-affidavit on malversation charges

Five Iloilo City employees caught playing bingo in a mall wearing complete uniforms during office hours to be sanctioned

 
 
 

Asia 2050: Realizing the Asian Century

ADB Report - 145 pp.

Download PDF

View as e-Paper

Extract:

Governance and institutional capacity are the
Achilles heel for most Asian economies.

If recent adverse trends in the quality of institutions and rising corruption continue unchecked, the region’s ability to realize the Asian Century would be seriously jeopardized. All countries must improve governance and continually transform their institutions to realize the promise of becoming afluent societies by 2050.

Signifcant improvements in the quality and credibility of national political and economic institutions (illustrated by rising corruption) are prerequisites for sustaining Asia’s growth trajectory.  High quality institutions will help the fast growing countries avoid the Middle Income Trap, and the slower growing countries establish the basic conditions for moving toward sustained economic growth.  Managing the common challenges—be they the delivery of quality social and infrastructure services, the prevention of crony capitalism, rapid urbanization, building a fundamentally sound financial sector, fostering entrepreneurship and innovation, the protection of citizens’ rights or the maintenance of the rule of law—requires effective governance, both central and local. 

Asia will need to modernize governance and retool its institutions with an emphasis on transparency and
accountability.

 
IntegriViews
OPINION

We ask the President to do something to reform our basic institutions, but we forget that reforming the institution means first and foremost reforming ourselves. --Ryan Maboloc in Inquirer

FG submitted bogus evidence of perjury

MANILA BULLETIN
 
ADB'S ASIA 2050 VISION, ROAD MAP
Governance and Institutional Development
 
Asian countries must improve governance and transform their institutions.

The recent deterioration in the quality and credibility of national political and economic institutions (illustrated by rising corruption) is a key concern.

Throughout Asia, an expanding middle class will demand increased voice and participation, transparent allocation of resources, accountability for results, and enhanced personal space.

Eradicating corruption is critical for all countries to maintain social and political stability, and retain the legitimacy of governments.

On corruption as a risk, Philippine performance is perceived as among the worst.  -- by former President Fidel V. Ramosn Manila Bulletin

PCGG: The simple fact is nearly all commissions that investigate wrong doings of people in government are useless. There have been many commissions that conducted investigations, made full-blown reports, recommended prosecution but they were all a waste of time, effort and money. Nobody for whom a commission was created was ever prosecuted except the PCGG which has not done much in recovering the wealth said to be stolen by Marcos and his friends. The PCGG has won very few cases. It betrayed its main duty of preserving the assets of sequestered companies. Some companies were bled dry...The PCGG has done more harm than good but it continues to perform its evil functions. Some well-meaning lawyers should go to Court and seek the declaration of the agency unconstitutional. -- AMADO P. MACASAET in Business Insight

JAKARTA POST COLUMNIST: The Philippines is one place where government is taken entirely too seriously, with negative long-term effects. The feudal structure has meant that a handful of powerful families use government for their exclusive benefit and basically allow the Catholic Church to set social policy. Government's principal role has long been to freeze non-favored actors out of economic opportunity. It is not rampant corruption, I would argue, that hurts the Philippines so much as the fact that government there is too effective at serving vested interests that have been in power for generations. The lack of social mobility this creates has harmed growth and helped lead to the exodus of many millions of the nation's best people for opportunities abroad. -- A. Lin Neumann,senior advisor to the Jakarta Globe

DPWH WAS BAD EXAMPLE: Perceived as among the most corrupt of the government agencies, the country's Department of Public Works and Highways awarded over 27,500 civil works contracts between 2000 and 2008, but most of the projects involved maintenance works and not the construction of new highways. Government officials and two presidential sons have bagged the contracts, which amounted to an equivalent of $8.14 million. Because contractors have to pay 'grease' money - usually 30 per cent of the total cost - to secure projects from the government, some of them end up spending less for the actual road works to save on costs. Quality is sacrificed. In the past, the Washington-based World Bank has banned at least four contractors from participating in public works projects which it was funding. -- Iris Cecilia Gonzales in New Internationalist Blog (Note: Though just published, this article obviously refers to the prior situation, 2000 to 2008, regarding the Department of Public Works and Highways, not necesssarilky the current one)

NO NEW TRICKS: Customs has for decades suffered the perception that it is one of the most corrupt government agencies. Thus, if the Aquino administration were dead serious in making an impact in the fight against entrenched and systemic corruption, it should start here instead of fanning public opinion on random allegations against a specific former President...We welcome the probe to be conducted on the case of the missing container vans. Certain people know where they are, and are laughing at us as we scramble to follow their trail. However, it is necessary that we know that there should be simultaneousand equally aggressiveinitiatives on other fronts. Smuggling, bribery and influence peddling at all levels will not go away by themselves if they are addressed only sporadically and superficially. -- Editorial in Manila Standard

MAP INSIGHTS
A culture of integrity

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PART 1: Why do we need to build a culture of integrity? Because it is the only long-term and comprehensive solution to banishing and exorcising the profoundly pervasive culture of corruption that has damaged our country's institutions and corroded the moral compass of people, be it in the public or private sector. (Click HERE read part 1 of presentation on the private sector's "Integrity Initiative.")

PART 2: The Integrity Initiative's long-term goal is to have all companies follow the same integrity standards and set of rules. We are most heartened that our plan to establish an integrity certification and accreditation system, similar to the ISO, has earned the funding support of German firm Siemens AG, which has been implementing its own global Integrity Initiative program.(Click HERE to read part 2 of presentation on the private sector's "Integrity Initiative.")

 

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Pera Natin 'to!
Read more in-depth corruption articles
The Philippine Public Transparency Reporting Project and website aim to put under the public spotlight important issues such as control and management of the nation’s public wealth (click below to read full articles)
Reforming the Commission on Audit

Ma. Gracia Pulido Tan, new COA chairperson said she accepted the position with the aim of ensuring that COA would be what it is meant to be– to ensure that public funds would have full and proper accounting...there is a need to put in place a culture of integrity in the commission to be able to sustain the reforms. “A culture of integrity is truly a formidable and inclusive process. It requires the active cooperation and involvement of all stakeholders. Each of them must want it and accept and own their respective roles in both the vision and the process. The ultimate responsibility of the leader is to lead by example,”

Presidential Commission Found Violating Audit Law

State Auditor Adela Dondonilla stated that “we are supposed to audit the Balance Sheet of the PCVFA as of December 31, 2010 and the related Statements of Income and Expenses and Cash Flows of 2010. However, in view of your failure to submit relevant documents...we were not able to conduct the necessary audit.” ...

COA has pointed out, the PCVFA’s “utilization of funds in 2010 could not be determined...due to non-submission of finance reports, reports of financial transactions, monthly reports of checks issued and supporting documents; and to maintain books of accounts.”...

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Partner organizations in this website while it was actively publishing news excerpts:

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Ehem -- the anti-corruption initiative of the Philippine Jesuits echoes the urgent call for cultural reform against corruption in the Philippines.
Ehem aims at bringing people to a renewed sensitivity to the evil of corruption and its prevalence in ordinary life. It seeks ultimately to make them more intensely aware of their own vulnerability to corruption, their own uncritiqued, often unwitting practice of corruption in daily life.
Ehem hopes to bring people, in the end, to a commitment to live the way of Ehemplo --- critical of corruption, intent on integrity!
 
Management Association of the Philippines 
MAP is a management organization committed to promoting management excellence. The members of the MAP represent a cross-section of CEOs, COOs and other top executives from the top local and multinational companies operating in the country, including some top officials of government and the academe.

iPro supports the process of reducing corruption by seeking synergies between Government of the Republic of the Philippines agencies and civil society at all levels.

 
 
This website primarily serves to gather for research and educational purposes in one single place news and information specifically pertinent to integrity and corruption in the Philippines. The news items, views, editorials and opinions summarized or reported on this website are taken from the general media and reputable blogs, websites, etc., and are exclusively the responsibility of the original sources and/or authors. In accordance with Title 17 U. S. C. Section 107, any copyrighted work on this website is distributed under fair use without profit or payment to those who have expressed an interest in receiving the included information for nonprofit research and educational purposes only. Ref: http://www4.law.cornell.edu/uscode/17/107.html
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