Corruption in Phl barrier to investment – UK group

MANILA, Philippines –  An anti-bribery group in the United Kingdom said yesterday corruption is a barrier to investment and distorts the economy of a country.

Nick van Benschoten, head of the Working Group on Bribery of the UK’s Business, Innovation and Skills (BIS) who visited Manila early this week, said “Southeast Asia, including the Philippines, is a priority region for UK trade and investment, but we want British companies to trade fairly and confidently.”

Van Benschoten met representatives from the government and the business sector to share ideas and promote good practices in business to fight corruption.

He noted the local business community’s enthusiasm over the Philippine government’s focus on anti-corruption efforts, commending its work and that of the private sector in promoting ethical business in the country.

He also cited the Philippines’ Anti Anti-Red Tape Law and the Integrity Pledge of business groups and the British Chamber of Commerce of the Philippines.

“There is quite a mature legal environment against corruption here. The challenge, as in most countries, is in enforcement and implementation. We understand the difficulties but we in the UK think they’re worth pursuing,” he said.

During his visit, Van Benschoten congratulated British companies in the Philippines for their clean and ethical business practices.

He also discussed the UK’s new Anti-Bribery Act 2010, saying that the new UK law encourages incentives for good business practice. The law likewise makes overseas bribery a crime that can be prosecuted in the UK.

“The new bribery act sends a strong message that the best thing to do is clean business,” he said.

He added that companies need to keep an eye on their overseas partners, representatives, agents and distributors because the UK’s new law includes a new liability on bribery committed on their behalf.

UK Trade and Investment Manila director Derek Page said “UK companies cannot turn a blind eye to what their local representatives are doing.”

“They have to take greater responsibility for how their local representative conducts business on their behalf.”

There are currently over 200 British companies doing business in the Philippines.

“We are working with the government to try to bring more business to the Philippines from the UK. Two-way trade between the Philippines and UK is almost a billion pounds now so it’s an important emerging market for us,” Page said.

The UK is serious in its bid to stamp out corruption. Leading by example, the UK robustly supported the review mechanism of the UN Convention Against Corruption and hopes that other countries would be more confident in undergoing the process.

“It’s about everybody learning from each other and sharing good practice. For example, the Philippines may have a lot to share on asset recovery. You set up institutions before anyone else on this,” he said.

“The UK can also learn from the Philippines in terms of coordination among your internal bodies, which we may be looking to do in the future,” Van Benschoten said.

The Philippines was the first stop of Van Benschoten’s Southeast Asia tour, which included Thailand and Indonesia. –Pia Lee Brago (The Philippine Star)