DBP’s ‘Good Governance Program’: A Key Component for Institution Building & Development Performance

In 2012, the Development Bank of the Philippines (DBP) upgraded to the next level its existing good governance system and has approved a holistic ‘DBP Good Governance Program’ (GGP), an umbrella framework to reinforce core ethical values critical to corporate governance – integrity, excellence, teamwork, service to others, and love for Filipino – values that dictate how the Bank deals with its stakeholders, including the National Government, clients, subsidiaries, regulatory agencies and its own officials and employees.

 

To ensure bank-wide implementation of the GGP, the DBP Board of Directors created a dedicated department – the Corporate Governance Office (CGO) – the first of its kind in all Government-owned or Controlled Corporations (GOCCs) and Government Financial Institutions (GFIs) in the entire Philippine Government.  It is headed by the Chief Governance Officer who oversees and coordinates implementation of the GGP and the overall compliance of the Bank with the Governance Commission for GOCCs (CGC) rules and issuances, acts as the Bank’s Resident Ombudsman Coordinator, and has direct supervision over the Bank’s Administrative Discipline Unit.

 

For its good governance efforts, DBP holds the distinction of being the first GOCC to be initiated by the Institute of Corporate Directors (ICD) into the Performance Governance System (PGS) in 2012.  Two years later, DBP achieved Compliant Status under the PGS that is administered by the Institute of Solidarity in Asia (ISA) which, along with sister institution, ICD, is the leading advocacy and accreditation agency for good governance in the public or government sector.  The Bank holds the distinction of being the first GFI to reach this level.

 

The Bank also received the Silver Governance Trailblazer Award, one of the only four government agencies to have been awarded.  The Bank is on track to be accredited as an ‘Island of Good Governance’, a project of the ISA to be presented during the APEC meeting in 2016.  Through the PGS, the Bank has remained focused in financing projects in its core development mandates (infrastructure and social services with Local Government Units, electric cooperatives and water districts and financing of micro, small and medium enterprises) and, at the same time, delivered robust and sustainable revenue sources.

 

To ensure sustainability and implementation of the DBP’s strategy, the Bank has also institutionalized the PGS mechanism of a ‘Multi Sector Governance Coalition’ (MSGC) through the creation of DBP Advisory Council composed of high impact sectoral leaders. As a key player in the banking industry, DBP has set the bar higher in the advocacy and practice of good governance in its policies and all levels of banking operations.  The performance of the Bank has proven that good governance pays, leading to a robust financial condition that allows the Bank to deepen and widen its developmental mandate.

 

The ‘DBP Good Governance Program’ won the 2015 ADFIAP Outstanding Development Project Award under the Corporate Governance Category.