‘Shadow Cabinet’, whistle-blower hotline planned by MAP

The Management Association of the Philippines (MAP) will set up a "shadow Cabinet" and also a whistle-blower hotline, among others, as it bids to take a more proactive stance in scrutinizing the government and its policies, officials said Tuesday. "We have been reacting to issues but we want the organization to be more proactive," the MAP’s new president, Felino A. Palafox, Jr., said in a press briefing. "We will have a shadow Cabinet [represented by] MAP committees matched to each [government] department," Mr. Palafox said. "We have members who are former department secretaries and ambassadors. We can ask them to come out with a hindsight analysis on what could be done better." The MAP also plans to launch the "Text A Crook" campaign wherein the public can send in first-hand accounts of corruption to a hotline. The leads can be forwarded to advocacy groups that will pursue the complaints, Mr. Palafox said. "The idea is for MAP to be used to assist the government," he said. These programs will be laid down in line with the business group’s plans to focus on corruption, criminality and climate change this year. "Maybe the list of problems is longer but the board feels these are the challenges right now," Mr. Palafox said. "You can have the best management in the world but if you work in an environment of corruption, you cannot move forward." On the problem of criminality, Mr. Palafox said one way to address this would be to review the economic welfare of the police as their low incomes could be prodding some of them to get involved in crime. The country will also have to prepare for the impact of climate change by building infrastructure to make cities less vulnerable to disasters, he said. The new MAP board will also focus on recruiting new members from small and medium enterprises, its treasurer Eduardo V. Francisco said. "We’re pushing for broader membership to share whatever we know with SMEs. Their increased success will mean more employment," he said at the briefing. -- BusinessWorld