ICTSI refutes claims about ‘culture of corruption’ in Manila

International Container Terminal Services Inc (ICTSI) has played down comments made last week by its president Christian Gonzalez that corruption and bribery are rampant at Manila’s container terminal.

After comments made to a senate committee on trade and commerce, which appeared in the Philippine Star, Narlene Soriano, ICTSI head of public relations, told CM: “This was an ambush interview and has been seriously taken out of context. What it fails to mention is that Mr Gonzalez was referring to areas leading up to the terminal, and not the terminal”.

She added: “The report also fails to mention that this may have been the culture in decades past, but that ICTSI has been championing automation since the 1980s primarily to change that culture and promote faceless transactions.”