MANILA — Business tycoon Manuel “Manny” Pangilinan is sounding the alarm on government corruption — and he’s not mincing words.

The Metro Pacific Investments Corp. chairman and president told the Financial Executives Institute of the Philippines (FINEX) that graft could stall economic growth, scare off investors, and even put the country’s credit rating at risk.

“Investor confidence could get affected. I think they’re slowly getting affected by this particular event. Perhaps even credit ratings, too, could be at risk if the institution’s responses are seen to be inadequate,” Pangilinan said.

He cited the alleged siphoning of ₱1 trillion in public funds from flood control projects as evidence of how deep the problem runs.

“The people themselves are on a wait-and-see attitude. All I’m saying is that we have to be careful,” he added.

Pangilinan warned that government spending could be cut, slowing growth further.

“It could (slow down growth) because the stock market is down. How can you raise money?”

He didn’t hold back on the human cost. “When cash of the magnitude of budget insertions – they say as much as ₱1 trillion – are taken out of the pockets of the many who are poor and diverted to the wallets of the few, the economy will indeed suffer, as the stock exchange has indeed suffered these past three weeks,” he said.
“The market may have declined anywhere between 1.5 and 1.8 percent in the overall value of the stock exchange.”

Pangilinan also warned that credit ratings are on the line. The Philippines is currently rated BBB+ by Standard & Poor’s with a positive outlook — just one step away from an “A” rating. But complacency, he said, could undo progress.

“It isn’t just about catching crooks,” he said. “It’s filling the gaps with financial experts with the competence and integrity. Corruption survives not because bad people are smart, but because good people are absent.”

“Citizens and concerned sectors should push back vs. graft”

Pangilinan urged citizens and the private sector to defend the media, academe, courts, and the Church, calling them vital in resisting coercion and corruption.

“So let me place the ethics of this flood control issue within the broader national context. The public is now increasingly aware to the fact that the presence of ethical attributes – or their absence – impacts businesses and the economy seriously,” he said.

“We should be engaged even as citizens, or even as private citizens, in the first instance, as business persons managing our affairs well and doing things right,” the tycoon stressed.

📷 Presidential Communications Office