In one of the biggest gatherings of government heads in the country, President Benigno Aquino III said he is considering setting up an oversight committee that will monitor the country’s compliance with international anti-corruption efforts.
Aquino made the announcement during the first State Conference on the United Nations Convention Against Corruption (UNCAC) Implementation and Review on Thursday.
Since signing the convention in 2003, the Philippines has crafted a five-year 21-point Anti-Corruption Action Plan.
“I was listening earlier to the [idea of] setting up of an oversight committee on our compliance, and if they [officials] are willing to again have additional duties, in addition to IAAGCC [Inter-Agency Anti-Graft Coordinating Council], I am more than willing to endorse that idea,” Aquino said.
“Hopefully you will never tire of accepting more assignments than what you originally thought you would receive,” he added.
Efforts against corruption
During Thursday’s event, Aquino trumpeted the accomplishments of his administration in the fight against corruption.
“Go anywhere in the country and you will have seen the changes of what we can do now versus what we couldn’t even imagine just a few years ago, and this is just the beginning. As the song by Michel Legrand said, ‘Watch what happens’,” he said.
He specifically cited the filing of cases “against a former president who is now under hospital arrest;” the removal from office of “a Chief Justice who chose to lie on his Statement of Assets and Liabilities and Net Worth; and the impeachment of “an Ombudsman who apparently saw it fit to put the interests of her political patrons over those of the people.”
“The very first element we identified in the fight against corruption is that no one can be above the law. It should not matter what position you hold in the bureaucratic ladder. If you do wrong by the people, then you should be held accountable,” he said.
The President also said that in the past three years, government has filed a total of 423 cases against smugglers and tax evaders.
He also cited the FAiTH website, which has been used to monitor foreign aid for Yolanda victims.
Aquino said they are also studying a National Payroll system which will “ferret out non-existent employees.”
“These are only a few of the many efforts we have made to curb corruption in government, but, suffice it to say, our improvements have not gone unnoticed,” he said.
In their speeches, Ombudsman Conchita Carpio Morales, Supreme Court Chief Justice Maria Lourdes Sereno, House Speaker Feliciano Belmonte, and Senate President Franklin Drilon also listed the efforts of their agencies.
Sereno specifically cited investigations initiated by the Supreme Court, among them against “Ma’am Arlene,” the high tribunal’s alleged version of trader Janet Lim-Napoles.
Sereno also cited the proposed internal rules of procedure of the Sandiganbayan meant to hasten the resolution of graft cases.
Drilon and Belmonte, on the other hand, cited various legislation Congress has passed and plans to pass in connection with anti-corruption efforts.
Ombudsman Morales also said they also hope to “push away the culture of impunity” in the coming year — JDS, GMA News
