The country is sinking into a crisis of confidence due to corruption, and unseen groups are fueling the situation, two top business executives have warned.
Philippine Stock Exchange president Ramon Monzon said the sentiment in the business sector is that “there’s something behind it. It’s not just provoking loss of confidence by investors in the market, but it’s here to destabilize the economy.”
Monzon was referring to recent accounts claiming the market had deteriorated to a record low, which is not the actual situation.
In the same television program with Monzon, Philippine Chamber of Commerce and Industry (PCCI) chairperson George Barcelon said the business sector is dismayed by the level of corruption being revealed.
The industry leader said traders are very disappointed, “especially the tycoons.”
The corruption fiasco in government committed by politicians will have a profound impact on growth and jeopardize credit ratings.
“A big amount of money was squandered. Aside from that, business confidence in the running of the government has been shaken,” Barcelon said.
He said that for the government to rebuild trust with the business sector it would depend on the checks and controls set up to safeguard how money is spent.
“We’re in a moment of crisis now, but like they say, in every situation there is opportunity. So if our government can handle this problem well, when I say handle it well, I’m saying the results of the investigation should be swift,” Barcelon averred.
Another surprise was how the irregularities were allowed to persist. The anomalies could “have been nipped at the very beginning,” Barcelon held.
“Well, definitely we share the same sentiment. It’s not just the gravity of this whole scandal, the amount of, you’re talking about trillions of pesos. And we look at it, that’s our money. We’re businessmen; we pay the taxes. And to see the funds being unlawfully gained by others while doing nothing,” he added.
The business sector shares the public’s outrage, leading the chambers to plan to join mass actions.
“We’re angry. It’s our money. The viewers who are watching us today, it is their taxpayer money that is being spent by these corrupt government officials,” he said.
Then there are the opportunists
What is equally infuriating, according to Monzon, are the groups trying to exploit the situation for political ends by spreading fake news.
The misinformation began with the claim that the market suffered huge capital losses after President Ferdinand Marcos Jr. exposed 15 contractor firms that had cornered P100 billion in flood control contracts over the past three years. The false claim was later ramped up.
“Considering it came out a day after we corrected the $1.7-trillion misstatement — to say it’s $5 trillion, it’s like doubling down on fake news. I can’t understand that,” Monsod said.
“Crazy, it feels totally crazy. It is, as you say, crazy, but where did this information all come from?” he asked, hinting that the release of information was being orchestrated.
Monzon, nonetheless, admitted that bourse transaction volumes have fallen.
“Our market’s down six percent from the end of last year. The only market that’s lower than us is Thailand, which is also experiencing some turmoil,” he said.
He stressed that investor confidence is critical to market performance.
To date, compared to the end of last year, the stock exchange has lost about $232 billion, or a fall of about 1.88 percent in market capitalization.
But “that is far off from either the P1.7 trillion or the P5 trillion that has been mentioned on social media pages,” Monzon said.
On the performance of the Independent Commission for Infrastructure (ICI), which is probing the theft of the flood control funds, “I will reserve my comment and wait and see until it’s evident,” he said.
“Corruption is really pervasive in many of our government agencies. And when I say corruption, most often it’s under the guise of compliance. And this is where a businessman has no choice but to compromise,” Barcelon said.
The PCCI chief said the crisis the country is going through goes beyond corruption.
“It’s not that other countries don’t have corruption. But the thing is, (their) laws are being followed. Here we have laws, but it’s at the discretion of the local officials. We have one of the highest logistics costs in the Asean region. And that is the cost input to production,” Barcelon added.
Monzon said a change in the public mindset is necessary. “I think it’s very clear, Filipinos should not accept this. I’m bothered when you say, when I read the survey results, that 59 percent or 57 percent said that’s normal for the politicians.”
“No, it can’t be. That’s not normal. That’s something that we should fight for, and I think we should always take a strong stand against that,” Monzon maintained.