Slide 1:

Good afternoon to all. I’m Nicole Flores and today, I’ll be presenting a short webinar to discuss COL’s
Anti-Bribery and Anti-Corruption Policy.

Slide 2:

Corruption is arguably one of the most persistent problems that has plagued governments throughout
history. The term “corruption” is often used as a collective reference para sa large range of illicit or
illegal activities. Although walang universal or comprehensive definition as to what constitutes corrupt
behavior, the most prominent definitions share a common emphasis sa abuse ng public power or
position for personal advantage.

(Read definition by Transparency International)

This definition is useful however it does not give adequate attention to the problem of corruption in the
private sector.

Slide 3:

Every year, the non-profit organization Transparency International, which was established in 1993 to
fight global corruption, publishes a report called the Corruption Perception Index (CPI). The index, or CPI,
keeps track of the perceived levels of corruption in various nations and territories according to business
people, corruption experts, as well as experts in the specific country. They created a scale of zero to 100
using 13 different data sources from 12 different institutions, with zero denoting highly corrupt, and 100
denoting extremely clean. A color heat map then accentuates the differences and gives us a visual
representation of the relative rankings of the nations and territories from least to most corrupt.

Based on the 2021 CPI, the Philippines dropped two spots to 117 th place. Transparency International said
in a statement that the Philippines scored a historic low of 33. The Philippines’ score is below the global
average of 43 and Asia-Pacific region’s average of 45. Its highest-ever score on the CPI was 38, which
was recorded last 2014. It is important to remember that no nation is faultless in all respects, and no
nation achieves 100.

Slide 4:

For our discussion, we will refer to bribery as the offering, giving, soliciting, or receiving anything of
value as a means of influencing the actions of an individual. Bribery can be in the form of clientelism,
which can be simply explained as the exchange of goods or services para sa political support. It can
involve nepotism or the practice among those with power or influence of favoring relatives, by giving
them a job or an advantage. Or it can be cronyism, where an individual in position of power and
influence practices partiality in giving jobs and other advantages to family or friends, without proper
regard to their qualifications.

Any reward, gift, favor or payment that is promised or made available to someone in order to
improperly influence their actions is known as a bribe, it may also be in the form of:

 Money
  Facilitation Payments
 Nepotism - Favoritism
 Excessive discounts or commissions not available to the public
 Unreasonable hospitality - drinks, meals, entertainment and transportation
 Promise to forgive or pay a debt to gain some advantage
 Charitable or political contributions or donations

Corruption, on the other hand naman can be defined as misuse or abuse of office for private gain. It
occurs when an affiliated person:

i. Offers, promises, gives, requests money, gifts, anything of value, or an undue advantage to
another person to influence decisions or gain an unfair advantage in company transactions
ii. Requests, receives, or accepts the promise of money, gifts, anything of value, or an
undue advantage in exchange of performing or neglecting to perform an official function
iii. Abuses official functions for personal gain

It’s important to understand that a corrupt act has occurred even if:
 A bribe does not succeed.
 A person authorizes or provides direction for a bribe, but walang bribe na ultimately offered or
paid.

Bribery and corruption are unethical, unacceptable, and inconsistent with our values and code of
conduct. As an investment service provider, it is our obligation to uphold the integrity of the
organization and its business.

Slide 5:
aa
Bribery of public officials is punishable under different Philippine laws. Pag sinabi nating public officer or
public official, it means:

- any person who, by law, popular election or appointment by competent authority, shall take
part in the performance of public functions in the government of the Philippine Islands, or shall perform
in said government or in any of its branches public duties as an employee, agent or subordinate official,
of any rank or class. (RPC)
- elective and appointive officials and employees, permanent or temporary, whether in the
classified or unclassified or exempt service receiving compensation, even nominal, from the government
(3019)
- elective and appointive officials and employees, permanent or temporary, whether in the career
or non-career service, including military and police personnel, whether or not they receive
compensation (6713)

As you can see the term public officer/public official is broad. Kaya whether mababa or mataas ang
position nila, they can be considered a public officer as long as their function or position satisfies yung
definitions under our laws.

Slide 6:

The following are the different laws that penalize the bribery ng public officials:
 1. Republic Act No. 3019
2. Revised Penal Code
3. Republic Act No. 6713
4. Republic Act No. 7080
5. Presidential Decree No. 46

The definitions are quite technical so we’ll just give you an overview or summary of what each law
covers.

Slide 7:

RA No. 3019 provides acts of public officials which constitute graft or corrupt practices such as:

 Persuading, inducing or influencing another public officer to perform an act constituting a

violation of rules, or an offense in connection with official duties
 Requesting or receiving any gift, present, share, percentage or benefit, for himself or for any
other person, in connection with any contract or transaction between the government and any
other party, wherein the public officer in his official capacity has to intervene under the law
 Requesting or receiving any gift, present or other pecuniary or material benefit, from any person
for whom the public officer has secured or obtained, or will secure or obtain, any government
permit or license
 Accepting or having any member of his family accept employment in a private enterprise that
has pending official business with him, during the pendency thereof or within one year after its
termination
 Causing any undue injury to any party, including the government, or giving any private party any
unwarranted benefits, advantage or preference in the discharge of his functions through
manifest partiality, evident bad faith or gross inexcusable negligence
 Neglecting or refusing to act within a reasonable time on any matter pending before him for the
purpose of obtaining some pecuniary or material benefit or advantage, or for the purpose of
favouring his own interest or giving undue advantage in favour of or discriminating against any
other interested party
 Entering, on behalf of the government, into any contract or transaction manifestly and grossly
disadvantageous to the same, whether or not the public officer profited or will profit thereby
 Having financial or pecuniary interest in any business, contract or transaction in connection with
which he intervenes or takes part in his official capacity, or in which he is prohibited from having
any interest
 Becoming interested, for personal gain, or having a material interest in any transaction or act
requiring the approval of a board, panel or group of which he is a member, even if he votes
against the same or does not participate in the action of the board, committee, panel or group
 Knowingly approving or granting any license, permit, privilege or benefit in favour of any person
not qualified
 Divulging to unauthorized persons valuable information of a confidential character acquired by
his office or by him on account of his official position, or releasing such information in advance
of its authorized release date

What you’ll notice here is that these acts are committed by the public officer by taking advantage of
his/her position.
Slide 8:

Under the Revised Penal Code naman, the following acts are prohibited:
1. Direct Bribery
- public officer:
 accepts an offer or promise, or receives a gift or present with a view to perform an act
constituting a crime in connection with his official duties
 agrees to execute an which does not constitute a crime but which is unjust, and the
officer executed the said act in connection with his official duties
 agrees to refrain from doing something which it was his official duty to do
2. Indirect Bribery
- public officer who accepts a gift offered to him by reason of his office
3. Qualified Bribery
- public officer entrusted with law enforcement, who refrains from arresting or
prosecuting an offender who has committed a crime punishable by reclusion
perpetua (imprisonment of 20 years to 40 years) and/or death
4. Corruption of Public Officials
- private person who shall have made the offer or promise or given the gifts or presents
to the public officers, as described in the crimes of bribery

So all these acts are committed in consideration of any offer, promise, gift or present. Then if you will
notice, yung punishments for the first 3 acts are imposed on the public official himself. Pero take note
that for corruption of a public official, it is done by a private person.

Slide 9:

For example, Jeff Malakas was tasked to handle the processing of the building permit of Company AA. In
order to expedite yung process, Jeff Malakas gave Php 20,000 to Fred Corrupt, who is the officer in
charge of processing and issuing the permit in Makati. Because of the Php 20,000 given to him, Jeff
Malakas issued the permit without requiring Jeff Malakas to submit the required documents.

Since Fred Corrupt accepted the money and issued the permit without the required documents, he can
be held liable for Direct Bribery. Yung act of issuing the permit is within the scope of his official function
pero it’s considered unjust dahil inissue niya ito kahit walang sinubmit na supporting documents si Jeff
Malakas.

Pano naman si Jeff Malakas? Since siya yung nag offer at nagbigay kay Fred Corrupt ng pera, siya yung
pwede maging liable for the crime of Corruption of Public Officials.

Slide 10:

Republic Act 6713 (The Code of Conduct and Ethical Standards for Public Officials and Employees)
prohibits public officials and employees from soliciting or accepting, directly or indirectly, any gift,
gratuity, favour, entertainment, loan or anything of monetary value from any person: (a) in the course of
their official duties; or (b) in connection with any operation being regulated by, or any transaction which
may be affected by, the functions of their office.
Presidential Decree No. 46 (Giving of Gifts on any Occasion) punishes the act of giving, or offering to
give, to a public official or employee, a gift, present or other valuable thing on any occasion, including
Christmas, when such gift, present or other valuable thing is given by reason of the public
official/employee’s position, regardless of whether or not the same is for past favour or the giver hopes
or expects to receive a favour or better treatment in the future from the public official or employee
concerned, in the discharge of his official functions. Included within the prohibition is the throwing of
parties or entertainment in honour of the public official or employee, or of his immediate relatives.
Republic Act 7080 (Plunder) penalizes a public officer who acquires ill-gotten wealth in the total of at
least PHP 50 million through overt or criminal acts.

Slide 11:

For INDIVIDUALS, these are the penalties that may be imposed:

For direct bribery, the penalties are:

 Imprisonment
 Payment of Fine
 Special temporary disqualification
 Penalty corresponding to the crime agreed upon, if the crime was committed by the public
official

For indirect bribery, aside from imprisonment, courts may impose the penalty of:
 Suspension
 Public censure

For qualified bribery, the penalty na iimpose will be the one for the offense that was not prosecuted.
And finally, for corruption of public officials, the same penalty imposed on the officer corrupted
(except disqualification and censure) will be imposed.

For CORPORATIONS, the penalties will be imposed on the officers/employees of the corporation who
authorized or performed the illicit act. BUT take note na yung registration or license to do business of a
Philippine or foreign corporation doing business here may also be revoked if it’s found to have
committed a serious violation of Philippine law or otherwise performed an act that would render it unfit
to continue doing business in our country.

Slide 12:

Bribery between private individuals is not punishable under Philippine laws, which is why we
implemented an ABC policy.

COL adopted this policy to prevent and avoid even the appearance of corrupt behavior in any form, but
not limited to bribery, fraud, extortion, collusion, conflict of interest, and money laundering. This Policy
covers all affiliated persons. It likewise applies to Company suppliers, business partners, contractors, and
service providers (“Company partner”). Lahat ng company transactions, regardless of location and value,
are subject to this Policy.
giving and receiving of gifts in the corporate world can often play an important role in helping to build
business relationships. However, organizations must be aware that there is a very fine line between a
simple gift or hospitality gesture, and an act of bribery.

Slide 8:
As mentioned before, bribery can be presented in subtle and sophisticated ways. Hindi na siya limited to
the old stereotype of brown paper bags na may lamang cash, it could include additional work, gifts,
loans, services, donations, even job offers.
Gifts and entertainment are commonly offered as gestures of gratitude or tokens of appreciation. The
Company allows these tokens and gestures when they are reasonable, proportional, made in good faith,
customarily given in the ordinary course of business and are appropriate for the occasion.

Can I accept gifts? As a general rule, COL employees shall NOT accept benefits, favors, or gifts from
sources EXTERNAL to COL with respect to any COL transaction, whether by way of compensation,
commission, favorable buying or selling arrangements, gift, employment, or otherwise.
Can I accept lunch invitations? In principle, COL employees should not accept free drinks or meals from
external parties if they perceive that a favor of any sort is expected in return, especially if the favor
potentially compromises the staff member’s integrity in the performance of official duties and
responsibilities.

Slide 10:
Do I have an obligation to report instances of integrity violations? Yes, you do. Complaints alleging
corruption may be submitted by any acceptable means, provided that the same contain sufficient
information or details that will allow the Company to conduct an investigation. And If available, the
complainant should present evidence that will substantiate his complaint.
Reports can be submitted to the HR Department or the Legal & Compliance Department, the Corporate
Secretary, or the complainant’s Department Head.

Some examples of situations which might raise a red flag include:

 Lavish gifts or hospitality being given or received
 Making unexpected/illogical decisions when accepting projects or contracts
 Missing documents/records regarding meetings/decisions
 Firm procedures/guidelines not being followed
 Pressure exerted for payments to be made urgently or ahead of schedule
 Payments being made unnecessarily through a third party
Slide 11:

The bottom line is you must never promise, offer, or accept bribes and must not participate in or
facilitate corrupt activities of any kind.
Our collective commitments specific to anti-bribery and corruption, include:
 Act lawfully, ethically and in the public interest;
 Not tolerate behavior within COL, by clients or suppliers, or public officials with whom
we deal, that is illegal and/or unethical
 Not accept or offer bribes, or participate in corrupt practices, and have a zero
tolerance for bribery and corruption in any form by any party; and
 Follow high standards of ethical conduct

We must remember that it is outlined in COL’s Office Handbook, the responsibilities we have to each
other, our clients, and the public. Dito pinapakita how our values inspire us in our vision and how it
guides all of our behaviors and actions. It also defines what it means to work at and be part of COL, as
well as our individual and collective responsibilities.
Our Values lie at the heart of the way we do things. To do the right thing, the right way. Always. They
drive our daily behaviors, guide our decisions, and shape our character. They form the foundation of a
resilient culture ready to meet challenge with integrity, so we never lose sight of our principal
responsibility, to protect the public interest.
Bribery and corruption are not only against our company values they are illegal and can expose both the
employee and the company to fines and penalties, including imprisonment and reputational damage.