MANILA, Philippines - The Department of Trade and Industry (DTI) is calling on the business community to help the government in assuring that local enterprises operate ethically.
“Governments can only do so much. The private sector must be vigilant, must police themselves, and must cooperate among one another towards establishing a common understanding on the importance of institutionalizing codes of ethics in their respective industries,” Trade Undersecretary Zenaida Maglaya said.
Maglaya said the Philippine government is doing its part in ensuring transparency and predictability of rules, regulations and procedures, as well as streamlining of processes.
Businesses need a certain degree of protection through legislation and other legal means to ensure the public or the consumer does not suffer because of dishonest and unfair business practices, she said.
“Governments also have a supervisory role in business ethics. We cannot simply let large organizations, which have the capacity to capture the bigger market share, to overpower the whole industry,” Maglaya said.
Maglaya cited the importance of the passing of the Philippine Competition Act which made the country join the list of Asian countries that have antitrust laws.
The Philippine Competition Act addresses the abuse of dominant position of large enterprises and anti-competitive mergers and acquisitions.
Maglaya said as early as 2010, the private sector headed by the Makati Business Club (MBC) and the Asian Institute of Management started discussions on fighting corruption by introducing and strengthening ethical standards in business.
The discussion led to the development of the integrity initiative, a private sector-led campaign that aims to strengthen ethical standards in business.
The initiative aspires for a level playing field where companies doing business with integrity enjoy competitive advantage in both government and private sector transactions.
To achieve this goal, market players in the Philippines commit to voluntarily adhere to common ethical standards.
“Since 2010 when the project started, MBC and the Employers Confederation of the Philippines have been joined by various organizations and industry organizations in taking an active role in promoting honesty and transparency in Philippine business,” Maglaya said.