The SWS survey noted the practice of paying taxes honestly and issuing receipts regularly "have steadily grown in Cebu (21 percent and 41 percent, respectively) and Davao but have dwindled in Metro Manila (15 percent and 33 percent).

More Davao entrepreneurs also say "almost all" companies in their line of business keep only one set of books at 28 percent. Fewer managers believe in that in Cebu (20 percent) and Metro Manila (19 percent.).

More Davao entrepreneurs also "always demand receipts for all payments for expenses," at 62 percent compared with 52 percent in Cebu and 50 percent in Metro Manila.

But more managers in Metro Manila and Metro Cebu say there is corruption in the public sector (59 percent and 71 percent, respectively) compared with Davao (55 percent).

More managers in Metro Manila and Cebu also see "most/almost all" companies in their line of business giving bribes to win public sector contracts (48 percent and 49 percent, respectively) compared with Davao (35 percent).

While the median percentage of public sector contract allotted for bribery has remained at 20 percent in Metro Manila since 2006, "it declined sharply in Metro Davao, from 20 percent in 2007 to 10 percent in 2008, and in Metro Cebu, from 15 percent to 10 percent."

The median percentage for bribing to win private sector contracts has been consistently at 10 percent since 2000, nation-wide.

These are among the key findings of the 2008 SWS Surveys of Enterprises on Corruption.

The SWS survey has been conducted yearly since 2000 under the Transparent Accountable Governance project spon-sored by The Asia Foundation. The results, earlier presented in Metro Manila and Cebu, were presented Thursday at The Marco Polo hotel.

The surveys aim to "promote transparency and accountability in government and to help build a counter-corruption culture."

The managers interviewed were Filipino managers.

On the ways for private businesses to help reduce corruption, the 2008 survey showed that:

- 88 percent of the managers in Davao go for using honest business practices at all times (against Cebu's 82 percent and Manila's 83 percent);

- 84 percent of the managers in Davao say "never pay bribes" (against Cebu's 77 percent and Manila's 75 percent).

Metro Manila managers go for joining a civil society organization whose mission is to fight corruption (25 percent against Davao's 23 percent and Cebu's 17 percent).

Metro Manila managers also will report corruption to the mass media (19 percent). Only 13 percent of the managers in Davao would do so, while only 8 percent will in Cebu.

Metro Manila managers will campaign against corrupt political candidates (19 percent); also Cebu (17 percent) but only 5 percent will in Davao.

But while only six per cent of managers in Metro Manila will report government corruption to the Office of the Ombudsman and only 11 percent will in Davao, 22 percent of Cebu managers will. MindaNews