The Problem of Embezzlement in the Philippines

Have you ever experienced something was gone that you own? Maybe not, until you check that you are being robbed by someone that you entrusted your assets.

According to the website of Philippine Star, the Metrobank, the second largest bank got robbed by the service management head; where she embezzled 900 million pesos as she created two fake loans where she can get a million of pesos. She had the access to the corporate clients where, she has the rights to issue the checks for the bank.

Furthermore, another bank in the Philippines, the Unionbank, got robbed by an employee after having an unauthorized cash transfer worth 17 million pesos.

Embezzlement is an act of a stealing which you do not easily notice by the person whom you entrusted your assets. Stealing is as old as the bible which, until now it is a common crime of humanity. This form of stealing is from simple things like paper, pen, clips, etc. up to a high value property like money, land where the person who steal are entrusted by this things.

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Embezzlement is commonly seen in workplace as a counterproductive behaviour of employee. Bennett and Robinsons (2000) conducted a survey to Toledo, Ohio via mail. They found out that quarter of people, fake the receipt to reimburse the money that they not spend. This act is common to the Filipino people where they get things from other people or institution.

Employees who are dedicated and working hard for the company take revenge when their salary are deducted, delay or their superior are doing incivility to them; much better they take things in the company as a payment to the salary that was lost to them as counterproductive work behaviour.

This kind of behaviour according to Spector (2012) it hurts the organization or the employees of the organization.

As a collectivist nation, the Philippines, Filipino workers gives more importance to the interpersonal relationship of co-employee as well to their personal lives as F. Landa Jocano said, a Filipino anthropologist. Saito et al. suggested that Filipinos are more productive when they are into a group or work team in person. One of the Filipino values according to Virgilio Enriquez is “pakikisama”, which means having a smooth interrelationship with the fellow employee with a cohesion that has so strong that might encourage a counterproductive behaviour.

Fox et al, 2006 said, stressful conditions and, Hershovis et al, 2007 said injustice are reasons why employees done embezzlement, which results to a counterproductive behaviour such as theft. A revenge of employees who experience this, thus it gives damage to the company or organization.

Not only in the company setting where has counterproductive behaviour happened, but as well in politics. Corruption, “dishonest or illegal behaviour especially by powerful people” (Corruption, 2005). It is a dilemma of every nation of having leaders who are corrupt that makes the nation poverty-stricken, where embezzled the money that they are being entrusted. In 2012, the Philippines was shock by the scandal of our legislators involved in PDAF (Priority Development Assistance Funds) or Pork Barrel anomaly where, 10 billion pesos where embezzled. In 2016, Philippines are ranked to 101st out of 176 countries with a score of 35 on Corruption Perception Index, with anti-graft watchdog Transparency International which worsened than the previous years.

Then why some Filipino embezzled? On the aforementioned of 900 million pesos of embezzled by a service management head, the person has an access to issue a check, where she faked it until she stole almost a billion pesos to Metrobank. Moreover, from the Philippine Star website, a Filipino priest who is based in Virginia, USA, embezzled 600, 000 USD which found to be church fund of two Roman Catholic Church. The priest has the access to accept donations from the parishioners.

On the survey conducted by Bennett and Robinson in 2000, 52% of people took property from their work without permission. In 2016 survey by HISCOX (a specialty insurance company), 80% of small businesses which defined with 150 employees are being embezzled and 30% stealing with a loss of more than 500, 000 USD or PHP 24,982,000.

Above all else, every action that we made has consequences that needed to pay off. Embezzling other is no good, thus, punishments serves us right. The Supreme Court of the Philippines has iron fist on mandating of no compassion to the employees who betrayed their employers by stealing to them. In case of Manila Water Company versus CDR (name is abbreviated due to privacy), who stole 24 water meters, where he admitted that he stole it together with some workers. He was dismissed to his work and given separation pay for his long years of service in the company. The largest telecommunications company in the Philippines, the PLDT versus NLRC (name is abbreviated due to privacy), the supreme court of the Philippines set the separation of pay will be allowed due to instance termination of job for minor misconduct. In line with cases, the PDAF allegedly involved was filed plunder against the mastermind of the scam together with several legislators which was filed by the Department of Justice of the Philippines in 2013 while. On the website of ABS-CBN News in 2017, the office of Ombudsman filed the same charges, plunder /to the legislators where they been jailed in the Philippine National Police Custodial Centre in Camp Crame.

Embezzlement is old as the bible, where stealing is a main issue of every nation. In a company setting, according to the website of Philippine Star, 17 million was been embezzled by an employee in Unionbank which is a counterproductive behaviour according to Spector in 2012, because it hurts the company or the organization. However, not only in the company embezzlement is done, it happen in politics, where leaders are corrupting the money of the people. In 2013, the PDAF scam or Pork Barrel scam was in the spotlight in the Philippines where many of the legislators embezzled 10 billion pesos in the assistance fund. But, all of these things have consequences, in 2013, the alleged masterminds of the scam face their end in the filed charges for them in Department of Justice and office of the Ombudsman, and imprisoned in Camp Crame.