‘Reforms needed to curb corruption’

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December 19, 2025 | 12:00am

MANILA, Philippines — Business and good governance groups are pushing for urgent reforms starting Jan. 1 to stop corruption in major infrastructure projects.

In a joint statement yesterday, the Management Association of the Philippines, Institute of Corporate Directors, Institute for Solidarity in Asia and Justice Reform Initiative proposed four major initiatives that should begin on Jan. 1, 2026 to safeguard public funds, particularly in infrastructure projects amounting to P50 million and above.

The proposed reforms include interconnecting Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC) and Cooperative Development Authority beneficial ownership data and Bureau of Internal Revenue (BIR) tax records with the Modernized Philippine Government Electronic Procurement System (mPhilGEPS) to enable real-time verification and automatically flag suspicious payments.

The groups are also pushing for full transparency across the project life cycle by making all disbursements and contracts publicly accessible online and linked to the mPhilGEPS starting March 31, 2026.

In addition, the groups are proposing the conduct of joint audits by the Commission on Audit (COA), Department of Budget and Management (DBM), Department of Public Works and Highways and Anti-Money Laundering Council within 90 days when warning signs appear and before funds are dissipated.

For the groups, this proposed reform should start by April 1 next year.

The groups are also urging the government to launch a public dashboard to track delays, cost overruns and repeat contract winners by June 30, 2026.

As part of the public dashboard initiative, the groups said the government should provide secure whistleblower channels.

The groups also emphasized the importance of having clear roles and strong institutions to address corruption issues.

They said the Office of the Ombudsman must remain focused on independent investigation, prosecution and whistleblower protection, while the Independent Commission for Infrastructure or a comparable oversight mechanism should lead compliance monitoring, transparency enforcement and early-warning systems.

The groups also said the courts, particularly the Sandiganbayan and designated trial courts, must prioritize the swift resolution of major corruption cases as delays perpetuate impunity, signal tolerance for corruption and erode public trust.

Meanwhile, the Government Procurement Policy Board chaired by the DBM secretary must ensure full implementation of the Government Procurement Reform Act, including interconnection among the Bureau of the Treasury, BIR, Department of Trade and Industry, SEC, COA as well as local government units and the activation of the system to track disbursements to suppliers.

After repeatedly speaking about the massive flood control scandal and long-standing problems in government procurement, which echo earlier controversies – from the ZTE broadband deal and the Napoles pork barrel scam to the Pharmally procurement case – the groups said that necessary action must now be carried out.

Taken together, the groups said these controversies show that corruption flourishes due to political patronage, opaque procurement processes, weak oversight and lack of accountability in public fund use.

“Now is the time to act. Business, professional and civil society groups should demand for urgent reforms to be implemented now to end the grim consequences of corruption whose magnitude has shocked the country,” the groups said.

The groups expressed readiness to support the implementation of reforms by sharing technical insights, participating in consultations and assisting independent monitoring.

“The window for reform is open and we should seize the momentum without delay,” the groups said.