With Senator Franklin Drilon as Head of Delegation, Senators TG
Guingona, Bongbong Marcos, Pia Cayetano, and I attended the 127th
Inter-Parliamentary Union (IPU) Assembly in Quebec, Canada, last week, on
October 21 to 26.
The IPU adopted “Better
Parliaments, Stronger Democracy” in October, 2011, as the guiding principle of
its strategy from 2012 to 2017 – a vision shared by the Global Organization of
Parliamentarians Against Corruption (GOPAC).
GOPAC’s regional arm, the South
East Asian Parliamentarians Against Corruption (SEAPAC) and the Philippine
Senate will host the 5th Global Conference on Anti-Corruption in Manila in
January, 2013. The conference, themed “Good Laws. Good Leaders. Good Citizens,”
is expected to draw 500 leaders from all over the world.
Senators Drilon, Guingona, and
Marcos joined me in extending a personal invitation to the IPU participants to
attend the GOPAC conference, widely considered as one of the largest
anti-corruption events in the world.
Acemoglu and Robinson, in their
seminal book “Why Nations Fail,” note that when people in power use economic
and political institutions to benefit themselves over the rest of the country,
they create a vicious cycle of “extractive institutions” that leads to the
failure of the state. Curbing corruption is a key component to ensure long-term
economic growth for our country and the ASEAN region.
It is imperative for policymakers
to safeguard institutions from abuse. This is one of the objectives of the 5th
Global Conference – to equip parliamentarians with the knowledge and tools to
enact responsive and effective legislation. Among the topics to be covered are
parliamentary oversight and the procurement process. Such reforms are
indispensable to rebuilding our people’s trust in government – a step that the
Aquino administration has taken with its outspoken stand against corruption.
Our fellow parliamentarians from
the Asia Pacific, the Middle East, Latin America, African countries, and the
Caribbean responded positively to this invitation, citing it as “timely and
meaningful.” They commended our country’s collective effort to facilitate
reform in all branches of government. We look forward to their participation in
this global effort.
This is made even more urgent as
we prepare for regional economic integration in 2015. While the Philippines
jumped 10 places to 65th in the Global Competitiveness Index, we remain behind
our ASEAN neighbors, with the exception of Vietnam and Cambodia. One main cause
is weak infrastructure – the result of longstanding corruption. While ASEAN
2015 will give us greater access to education, employment, and commercial opportunities,
it will also require us to boost the country’s competitiveness to bring us up
to par with our neighbors.
Abuse and corrupt practices weigh
us down and prevent us from realizing our full potential. This is something
that both the IPU and GOPAC, along our current national government, recognize.
I am optimistic that the dialogues we initiate, and the actions and policies
resulting from them, will be our stepping stones to a place of prominence in
the ASEAN neighborhood, and in the world.
SEN. EDGARDO J. ANGARA
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