Supreme Court Senior Associate Justice Marvic Leonen has challenged corporate leaders to look beyond profits, saying businesses should also be measured by how they serve the communities around them.
“The true beneficiary is the community whose law gave the corporation its being,” Leonen said during the Institute of Corporate Directors Forum in Makati City.
Leonen said corporate governance should not focus only on compliance or shareholder returns but also on fairness, dignity and social responsibility. He reminded company executives that corporations exist because society grants them legal personality.
The magistrate also urged independent directors to represent workers, consumers, affected communities and even future generations who often have no voice inside boardrooms.
According to Leonen, many ethical failures happen not because people do not know what is right, but because they choose not to act even after recognizing injustice.IMT
