Malacañan Palace
19 December 2013

President Benigno S. Aquino III graced the First State Conference on the United Nations Convention against Corruption (UNCAC), a globally recognized convention that centers on a wide and detailed anti-corruption measures.

During the convention, the President recalled how he started his term in office with the slogan, “kung walang corrupt, walang mahirap” and since then, the administration has heeded the UNCAC’s call and worked non-stop to prevent corruption in government.

“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,” the President said.

Moreover, President Aquino mentioned some of the administration’s preventive measures to avoid corruption, thus promoting transparency among the Filipino nation. Among these is the so-called FAiTH or the Foreign Aid Transparency Hub that records all the foreign aid given to the national government in the wake of typhoon Yolanda that struck the Visayas region last November.

In the end, President Aquino reminded everyone of the duties and responsibilities of every Filipino towards a corruption-free government.

“I think all it takes is for us to open our eyes — go anywhere in the country and you would 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,” the President said.

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