NEWS AND EVENTS
ExCHANGES Featured at Presidential Forum
THE LINK between the violation of human rights and rampant corruption in the country were high-lighted at the 2nd Conference on Integrity and Human Rights, held on February 23, 2010, at the Hotel Intercon.
The event was attended by three of the presidential candidates for the 2010 elections: JC De Los Reyes, Jamby Madrigal, and Noynoy Aquino. The three answered questions and responded to the call to fight corruption in the effort to uphold human rights.
The forum was broadcast live to our member schools, West Visayas State University in Iloilo, and Western Mindanao State University, in Zamboanga, via the ExCHANGES network.
Freedom from crooks
BASED on the outcome of Tuesday’s presidential forum on “Integrity and Human Rights,” the presidential candidates need to do more to prove to the public they have a full appreciation of the interconnectedness of the justice and human-rights issues, on the one hand, and corruption and poverty, on the other.
For while most of them have been heard every so often spouting bold promises to fight corruption and eradicate poverty, they have not quite shown us that they will do so as part of a broader governance framework. Or one that’s not hostage to the notion that democracy and economic progress are exclusive of each other; or that socioeconomic development can be pursued outside of the nexus of justice and human rights.
At Tuesday’s forum, for instance, diplomats, human-rights experts and academics were clearly frustrated over the apparent lack of interest of the presidential candidates to discuss their human-rights agenda.
3 presidential bets vow to open their bank records
News
Three presidential aspirants vowed to open up their bank accounts to public scrutiny should they win in the May 10 elections, a move seen to promote transparency among government officials.
Liberal Party standard bearer Senator Benigno “Noynoy” Aquino III, independent presidential candidate Senator Ana Consuelo “Jamby” Madrigal and Ang Kapatiran Party’s Olongapo City Councilor JC de los Reyes all agreed to waive their rights to their bank accounts’ secrecy.
Three presidential aspirants vowed to open up their bank accounts to public scrutiny should they win in the May 10 elections, a move seen to promote transparency among government officials.
Liberal Party standard bearer Senator Benigno “Noynoy” Aquino III, independent presidential candidate Senator Ana Consuelo “Jamby” Madrigal and Ang Kapatiran Party’s Olongapo City Councilor JC de los Reyes all agreed to waive their rights to their bank accounts’ secrecy.
Read more: 3 presidential bets vow to open their bank records
Institutionalized corruption next president’s big challenge
By Philip Tubeza, DJ Yap
Philippine Daily Inquirer
The incoming President will face a tremendous challenge in stamping out corruption with corrupt practices having been institutionalized in the Philippines, an official of Transparency International (TI) said Tuesday.
The incoming President will face a tremendous challenge in stamping out corruption with corrupt practices having been institutionalized in the Philippines, an official of Transparency International (TI) said Tuesday.
Speaking before the Second Integrity and Human Rights Forum in Makati City, Samantha Grant, program coordinator for TI-Southeast Asia, also warned that “envelopmental journalism,” or payoffs, had become “prevalent in the run-up to elections.”
“Any new government has a tremendous challenge to win back the respect of the people. To do this, they must tackle the institutionalization of practices currently accepted that are, in a word, corrupt,” Grant said.
Read more: Institutionalized corruption next president’s big challenge
Inquirer Headlines / Nation
MANILA, Philippines—The way it sounded, Olongapo Councilor John Carlos “JC” de los Reyes had conceded the presidency to Sen. Benigno “Noynoy” Aquino III. “Senator Aquino, there is a big chance that you will be the next president based on what the surveys are saying now. And I want you to succeed,” De los Reyes told the Liberal Party (LP) standard-bearer in his parting remarks at the 2nd Integrity and Human Rights Conference Tuesday at Hotel InterContinental Manila.
De los Reyes’ statement elicited a surprised buzz from the audience.
When it was Aquino’s turn to speak, he drew laughter when he started off with: “Thank you to Councilor JC for acknowledging that I have a good chance of running this country.”
Pera’t Pulitika Launched
THE ADVOCACY for good governance was once again affirmed by ASPAP with its partners in the Pera’t Pulitika Network. Together with LIBERTAS, the Philippine Center for Investigative Journalism (CER), and the Consortium for Electoral Reform (CER), the Pera’t Pulitika network geared up on February 17, 2010 to begin its activities of monitoring campaign spending and donations for the national elections in May.
ASPAP joins Center for Asian Integrity
In its continuing mission to link with other organizations involved in advocating good governance, ASPAP joined hands with the Center for Asian Integrity (CAI), becoming the consortium’s newest member.
On January 20, 2010, ASPAP president Dr. Grace Gorospe-Jamon met with the Ombudsman to sign a Memorandum of Agreement (MOA) formalizing the membership of ASPAP into the CAI. The Center for Asian Integrity is a regional group involved in providing education, training, and research supporting the advocacy of integrity, accountability and institutional development in government. ASPAP, as an association of over 120 schools of public administration and governance in the Philippines, was a welcome addition to the CAI partners. Other partners include the Office of the Ombudsman, the National College of Public Administration and Governance (NCPAG), the Development Academy of the Philippines (DAP) and the Institute for Ethics Governance and Law in Griffith University (IEGL).
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