Survey on government dealings claims: Bribes frequent in Metro Cebu

CEBU, Philippines - Metro Cebu is among the notable metropolitan areas in the Philippines where “bribery” is prominent based on a survey conducted by the Social Weather Stations (SWS).

The results of the 2014-2015 Social Weather Stations Survey of Enterprises on Corruption released on August 27 revealed that Metro Cebu has the highest incidence of bribery among the key urban areas in the country, such as the National Capital Region, Metro Angeles, Cavite-Laguna-Batangas, Metro Iloilo, Metro Cebu, Metro Davao, and Cagayan de Oro-Iligan.

The study did not rank the areas.

The poll also showed that bribes are solicited from the enterprise when getting local and national government permits and licenses at 39 percent and 36 percent, respectively; assessment and payment of income taxes (24 percent); complying with import re-gulations including payment of import duties (33 percent); supplying government with goods and services (23 percent); collecting receivables from government (21 percent); and availing of government incentives (11 percent).

The survey, which polled executives of 100 companies in Metro Cebu, was conducted from January 24, 2015 to February 28, 2015. There were a total of 966 respondent companies, 325 of whom were randomly drawn large

enterprises, and 641 were randomly drawn small and medium enterprises. The seven subject areas were surveyed from November 2014 to May 2015.

SWS Vice President Linda Luz Guerrero said in her presentation that Metro Cebu also has the least number of bribe-solicitation reports.

Only two percent of those solicited for a bribe reported it, the SWS survey showed, similar to two percent in 2013 but three percent higher in 2013.

Another finding for Metro Cebu was that 25 percent of the respondents said most companies in their line of business gave bribes to win private sector contracts. This was quite higher than 2013’s 21 percent and 2012’s 22 percent.  Metro Cebu followed Iloilo with 27 percent.

Mandaue Chamber of Commerce and Industry President Donato Busa said he felt sorry for the sloppy rating of Metro Cebu. He said the results call for a strong partnership between the government and business sectors and also serves as a wake-up call for everyone to report unscrupulous activities like bribery.

On the other hand, Cebu City Business Center executive director Abby Canturias, who represented the city government, questioned the outcome of the poll.

“The 100 respondents cannot represent the whole and reality. It’s somewhat questionable,” he said.

But Guerrero explained that 100 is a standard sample size for surveys.

In each area, she said sampling is stratified into one-third large (total 325 companies) and two thirds small/medium (641 companies), which are combined without weighting.

The previous year’s sample of companies is approached again, with those unable to respond replaced by random drawings from a cumulative list of companies interviewed in earlier lists, list of signatories to the Integrity Initiative, and from BusinessWorld’s Top 1,000 Corporations in the Philippines magazine.

FOI vs Corruption

Overall, corruption in the Philippines has declined over the last three months as shown in the survey from the point of view of the business community. It revealed that businessmen who have personal knowledge of a corrupt transaction with the government in the last three months in their line of business reached a new low of 32 percent.

In the 2012 and 2013 editions of the study, knowledge of government corruption in the last three months of when the survey was conducted stood at 33 percent (the previous record low) and 38 percent, respectively.

Moreover, 90 percent agreed that “corruption will be reduced by the passage of a strong law on the right of the people to information from the government.”

Guerrero cited three best ways, as recommended by the business community, to fight against this kind of corruption; use honest business practices, never pay bribes, and know the rules/laws, with a percentage of 79, 77 and 61, respectively.

Other ways cited are campaigning versus corrupt political candidates, reporting government corruption to ombudsman, reporting corruption to mass media, and joining an anti-corruption organization.

As far as the government’s efforts in fighting corruption is concerned, the SWS study revealed a new high of 62 percent in the business community said the government can be run without corruption while 78 percent disagreed that “to prosper in business in the Philippines today, one has to be corrupt.”

In addition, 51 percent of the respondents disagreed that the present laws to fight corruption in the country are already adequate.  — /BRP (FREEMAN)