Govt, business & CSOs come together at the NCC Dialogues

National government agencies, local government units, foreign and local business groups, civil society organizations, and media came together at the AIM Conference Center in Makati last February 4 for the first of the NCC Dialogues series. Spearheaded by the National Competitiveness Council, the Dialogues were designed to bring together key policy makers, as well as business and NGO leaders, to discuss and take action on issues affecting Philippine competitiveness.

For its opening run this year, the Dialogues featured the results of the SWS 2013 Enterprise Survey on Corruption with none other than Social Weather Stations President Dr. Mahar K. Mangahas as the keynote speaker. Below are some noteworthy ideas shared during the event.


On the survey

Geoff King

“The survey is an important measure for establishing how we’re doing in terms of improvements, given [that] the Aquino administration has such a focus on anti-corruption.” – Geoff King, Counsellor, Department of Foreign Affairs and Trade, Australian Embassy Manila

Steven Rood

“In contrast to all the other indices which ask expats or foreign businessmen about it, this [survey] is the view of Filipino businessmen and entrepreneurs. The central mission of Social Weather Stations [is] to generate data to allow the Filipino citizenry, in this case Filipino businessmen, to have their say on a topic of interest.” – Dr. Steven Rood, Country Representative for the Philippines and Pacific Island Nations and Regional Advisor for Local Governance, The Asia Foundation



On the interpretation of survey results by media

“I advise everybody just to use the media as a signal that there is something that was reported...and that it’s available and you can study on your own...If you just read the headline, I highly say you are completely misled.” – Dr. Mahar K. Mangahas

On how heads of government agencies can use the survey

“[The survey] is a way of getting a good proxy indicator of how their guy [in the regional or provincial office] is doing in that city. They get that rating by the business community.” – Guillermo Luz, NCC Private Sector Co-Chairman

 


On businessmen contributing to private anti-corruption programs

“We’ve always been getting yes, we will contribute, but we don’t have actual contributions...The private sector is not organizing to raise its own funds...Here’s the data that they say they will pay, but we should ask them to pay...With such good expectations [on business prospects], when is the business sector going to join the fight?” – Dr. Mahar K. Mangahas

Dr. Mahar K. Mangahas

On reform

“Now perhaps is the time for us to start ganging up on the Bureau of Customs to reform their ways because many have said, if we can effect reforms in the Bureau of Customs then everything’s a piece of cake after that.” – Vincent Lazatin, Executive Director, Transparency and Accountability Network

Mr. Vincent Lazatin

On how the public can contribute to reform

“The message for us really is that everyone should help in observation...If people feel they are watched more closely than ever because of social media and technology, the chances of moving down that path become better. Vigilance is a collective responsibility.” – Guillermo Luz, NCC Private Sector Co-Chairman

Guillermo Luz, NCC Private Sector Co-Chairman

 

 


To download the presentation during the Dialogues, click here.

For the full report, visit http://www.sws.org.ph