Ombudsman, Palace ink MOA versus corruption

Ombudsman Conchita Carpio-Morales. INQUIRER FILE PHOTO

MANILA, Philippines—Ombudsman Conchita Carpio Morales on Friday pledged to support two major anticorruption programs of the Aquino administration that are “geared toward building a corruption-intolerant society.”

Morales and Executive Secretary Paquito Ochoa Jr., representing President Benigno Aquino III, signed at the Kalayaan Hall in Malacañang a memorandum of agreement (MOA) that seeks “to strengthen and rationalize government initiatives against corruption.”

The MOA formalized the partnership between the Office of the Ombudsman (OMB) and the Office of the President (OP) to give flesh to the UN Convention Against Corruption (Uncac).

Uncac became the basis for the crafting of 21-point “Uncac Agenda” in December 2012 that contained a multisectoral “Declaration of Commitments” for full institutional cooperation.

She said her office and the OP had “joined forces” in launching two major corruption prevention programs: review mechanism for state compliance to Uncac and institutionalization of integrity management program “as an output of the World Bank project of harmonizing the respective parallel programs of the OP and OMB.”

Morales said in a speech that the road to the implementation of the two areas of agreement under the MOA would not be easy “as it demands collective resolve and perseverance.”

She said the “historic partnership” should “foster a culture that rejects corruption and embraces the value of integrity, rule of law, sustainable development and inclusive growth.”

Ochoa, for his part, said the signing of the MOA is expected to institutionalize good governance and eradicate corruption.

He said in his speech that the partnership of the two offices is designed to strengthen and rationalize government initiatives against corruption to concretize the President’s vision of a good governance.

The MOA will take effect 15 days after the signing.

Also present during the signing were by Social Welfare Secretary Dinky Soliman, representatives from the World Bank, United Nations Development Programme and other development partners, civil society and business groups and other oversight agencies on anticorruption, and officials of the OP and OMB.

The country is a signatory to Uncac which was ratified by the Senate on Nov. 8, 2006.