THE Philippines risks losing foreign direct investments (FDIs) due to international perception of worsening corruption in the country, Sen. Loren Legarda warned Monday.

Legarda lamented that since 2000 the Philippines’ shares of trade and FDI inflows to gross domestic product (GDP) have declined compared with the late 1990s.

“In a nutshell, it means foreign investors are wary of corruption and an unfavorable business climate in our country is bringing their money elsewhere,” she said.

In a statement, Legarda added that the money lost to corruption and inefficiencies, such as cost overruns, “translates to lost opportunities for government to alleviate poverty.”

She noted that the foregone billions due to corruption, estimated by the World Bank at P30 billion a year, could have been channeled to investments in education, health, infrastructure, research and development, and livelihood assistance.

According to her, a report released for the 2008 Philippine Development Forum by the World Bank showed that an average of 20 percent to 30 percent of every contract in the Philippines is lost to corruption or inefficiency, and that the implementation of the procurement law has not progressed as fast as expected. She also cited perceptions of worsening corruption in the Philippines based on Transparency International’s Corruption Perception Index (CPI), which had the Philippines scoring 3.3 in 1998, 2.6 in 2004 and 2.5 in 2007.

The lower the CPI value, the more corrupt a country is seen by the international community, she said.

“Corruption scandals have also tainted numerous official development assistance [ODA] projects, with the Commission on Audit [COA] reporting in 2006 that at least 38 foreign-assistance projects had not complied with the procurement law and auditing rules,” Legarda added.

Unliquidated cash advances, absence of inventories, overstatement of accounts and delays were also among irregularities cited by the COA.

Of the ODAs examined, she noted that four infrastructure projects worth P101 million were suspended; land acquisitions totaling P36 million were found unnecessary and overpriced;  while double or excess payments of various transactions worth P273.4 million were discovered.

“Being tagged as a corrupt country entails the hesitation of foreign investors to invest in our country. This hesitation will translate to lower FDIs and, consequently, lower economic activities,” the senator warned.

She added that corruption in the public sector “undermines the people’s trust in government, the rule of law and encourage corruption by those in the private sector…corruption directly impacts all Filipinos as they divert money away from projects that should benefit them, wastes taxpayers’ money and leads to a stagnant economy.”

DAVAO CITY—At past lunchtime, rice retailer Rosario Perez knows that she would be in for another grueling day, a few hours actually, at the parish’s outlet for National Food Authority (NFA)-retailed rice imports in barangay Talomo in the southern part of this city.

AS THE prices of “hot pan de sal” and other bread products are expected to increase in the ensuing days because of the shortage in the supply of wheat, the search for alternative wheat and extenders has also intensified.

THE debilitating effect of the continued rise of fuel products in the world market has now affected the airline industry, forcing local and international air carriers to request for an upward revision of their fuel surcharges from the Civil Aeronautics Board (CAB).

PRESIDENT Arroyo on Monday appealed to the Senate to ratify the Japan-Philippines Economic Partnership Agreement (Jpepa) as without it, the country stands to lose as much as P365 billion in foreign direct investments  (FDIs) from Japan that may be channeled to other Philippine competitors in the region.

THE Philippines risks losing foreign direct investments (FDIs) due to international perception of worsening corruption in the country, Sen. Loren Legarda warned Monday.

A GERMAN trade mission informed President Arroyo on Monday that German businessmen are interested in investing in medical tourism, maritime personnel development and microfinance in the Philippines.

THE validity of the claim of publicly traded Oriental Peninsula Resources Group on two mining sites in Palawan is being questioned by the indigenous peoples residing in these areas, saying they have not given the company permission to conduct mining activities as required by law.

PHILIPPINE Airlines (PAL) is reopening its hub in Cebu to house its nine Bombardier turbo-prop fleet.