CORPORATE officials and business owners in Cebu were challenged to put up a “whistle-blowing system” in their institutions to help fight corporate corruption, minimize economic losses, and promote transparency in companies.
Corporate ethics expert Frank Numann, who spoke last Monday to local business owners, said that an effective whistle-blowing system will minimize malpractice and unethical conduct in the corporate world.
The Institute of Corporate Directors organized the event.
The United States, Numann said, has a law that rewards whistle-blowers an amount equivalent to five to 10 percent of the fines imposed on a company found to have practiced illegal acts.
But establishing a whistle-blowing system in the private sector may be hard for local companies, some Cebuano business owners said, considering the culture and the high level of fear on a potential whistle-blower’s part.
“To the board and top executives, give a clear commitment to confidentiality, which could include ensuring the whistle-blower’s anonymity on request, non-retaliation, and ensure A speedy investigation using available professional resources,” Numann said. He added that employers may opt to reward whistle-blowers to encourage them, but that honesty should ideally not have to be paid for.
Quoting the Speak Up report of Transparency International Ireland, Numann said that 50 percent of those that reported to them had either been dismissed or lost opportunities, such as promotions, as a result of making their concerns known.
This causes fear among whistle-blowers, which is why protection is vital. He added that information from the whistle-blowers may not be necessarily accurate and that an investigation must follow.
In the Philippines, Numann said, some companies have adopted a whistle-blowing system as far back as seven years ago.
For one, government-controlled corporations, through the Governance Commission for Government-Owned or Controlled Corporations (GCG), have a whistle-blowing system for the illegal and unethical conduct of officials. This allows potential whistle-blowers easy access to GCG communication lines and other channels like the agency’s website, email, and telephone, among others.
For companies that have no whistle-blowing system, Numann advised them to put one in place as soon as possible.
“Appoint one or two persons whom the staff and you can trust, install a confidential telephone line on their desks, investigate internally but be ready to go external, guarantee confidentiality and non-retaliation, and communicate outcomes,” he said.
Disciplinary actions on revealed culprits must be in line with employment laws in the country, he added.