Angara, Vice Chair of the Global
Organization of Parliamentarians Against Corruption (GOPAC) Executive Committee
and Charter President of Southeast Asian Parliamentarians Against Corruption
(SEAPAC), announced that over 300 lawmakers and 200 observers from over 46
countries will be participating in one of the biggest anti-corruption events in
the world.
“The goal of this event is to
exchange ideas and learn from our fellow parliamentarians who are all steadfast
in their desire to eradicate corruption in government,” he said in a press
conference on Thursday.
Said conference will carry the
theme "Good laws. Good leaders. Good Citizens."
“By hosting the 2013
GOPAC conference, we hope to demonstrate our untiring efforts to cleanse our
government of corruption--a plague in our house eroding resources that ought to
have gone toward improving the welfare of our people.”
Angara also commended the strides
made by the government in the fight against corruption but emphasized that a
lot more needs to be done.
Senator Franklin M. Drilon, Ways
and Means Chair of the GOPAC 2013 Steering Committee, credited this to the
"leadership by example" of President Aquino. He said that aside from
enacting anti-corruption measures, the Filipino people should have a collective
"zero tolerance" for corruption.
Transparency
International-Philippines President Dr. Georgina Encanto, who was also present
at the press conference, discussed the media’s role in promoting transparency
and good governance.
The Senate of the Philippines,
together with the SEAPAC, are the main proponents of the conference, with the
full support of the government and the Office of the President. The Manila
Steering Committee also includes retired Chief Justice Artermio V. Panganiban,
Dean Georgina Encanto, and the Department of Tourism.
In his message, President Benigno
“Noynoy” Aquino III said,
“The selection of the Philippines as host of the
biannual conference of GOPAC affirms our collective efforts to establish the
principles of transparency and accountability in our society. My gratitude to
GOPAC for this opportunity to lead this forum and to Sen. Edgardo J. Angara for
his endeavors on behalf of GOPAC as Vice Chair of this organization and head of
the Steering Committee of this conference.”
No comments:
Post a Comment