EdAngara.com - The Official Website of Senator Edgardo J. Angara

Senator Edgardo J. Angara recently went overseas to attend and moderate over key sessions in two international conferences on global development.

Angara will first arrive in Baku, Azerbaijan as head of the delegation from the Global Organization of Parliamentarians Against Corruption (GOPAC) that will participate in the 10th Annual Conference of the Parliamentary Network on the World Bank and the International Monetary Fund from May 23 to 24, 2013.

The United Nations Development Program (UNDP) is one of the driving forces behind the Global Organization of Parliamentarians Against Corruption (GOPAC), which convenes its 5th Global Conference in Manila from January 30 to February 2, 2013.

UNDP and GOPAC have been partners for almost a decade, with the UNDP Bureau for the Arab States funding the launch of GOPAC’s regional arm, the Arabian Parliamentarians Against Corruption (ArPAC) in 2004.

H.E. President Benigno Simeon C. Aquino III, H.E. Vice President Jejomar Binay, Senate President Juan Ponce Enrile, House Speaker Feliciano Belmonte Jr., GOPAC Chair Dr. Naser Al-Sane, Excellencies of the diplomatic corps, fellow parliamentarians, honored guests, ladies and gentlemen:

To begin, we express our profound gratitude to the country’s highest national political leaders —the President, the Vice President, the Senate President, and the Speaker of the House—for their unequivocal support to this fateful gathering.

President Aquino no less noted the unflattering tag our country once carried—the “Sick Man of Asia,” a nation that could not seem to sustain genuine economic takeoff, a country deeply mired in corruption and corrosive politics.

But things have been turning around. The world has taken notice of a purposeful and deliberate transformation. To us, this conference is a rare opportunity to showcase our progress, as well as our commitment to deal with one of the most compelling issues of our time.

For decades, the United Nations has strived to come up with a variety of small instruments to battle corruption,1 until in 2003 universal consensus emerged when the United Nations Convention Against Corruption (UNCAC) was signed and came into force in 2005.

The UNCAC became the first legally binding and internationally accepted anti-corruption instrument. The Philippines was among the first signatories of the UNCAC, and among the first in the ASEAN to ratify the treaty.

Prior to this, corruption was an indelicate word, a phenomenon rarely condemned, and even occasionally tolerated, internationally.

The times have dramatically changed since. In many places around the world, people have increasingly clamored for a better life, a better economy, a better government.

In one word, good governance is humanity’s shared aspiration.

Corruption in business today has taken on scale and sophistication of unforeseen destructive force. Powerful bankers manipulating and rigging interest rates (LIBOR) and giant investment houses knowingly selling in the international bond market toxic sub-prime mortgages to unsuspecting buyers have caused global recession and wrecked some economies.

We, parliamentarians, have a huge part to play. Unfortunately, the institution people perceive to be most affected by corruption is the political party. And to a certain extent, parliament.

By coming together, we demonstrate we are able to cleanse our own ranks and are not afraid to face the challenge. We are prepared to show the strong political will that is our strongest weapon against corruption. (30)

The Global Organization of Parliamentarians Against Corruption (GOPAC) officials and heads of partner agencies conduct a dry run and inspection of the Philippine International Convention Center (PICC) in preparation for the GOPAC 5th Global Conference on January 31 to February 2 with more than 400 foreign delegates from 86 countries and 300 local leaders, lawmakers and NGOs participating.

On January 29, 2013, the who’s who of Philippine election agencies and organizations will gather for a momentous Roundtable Discussion on Electoral Reform, hosted by the Angara Centre for Law and Economics.

Manila, Philippines—Twelve heads of parliament are set to arrive in Manila next week to attend the 5th Global Conference of the Global Organization of Parliamentarians Against Corruption (GOPAC).

The Conference, co-hosted by the Senate of the Philippines and GOPAC’s regional arm, the Southeast Asian Parliamentarians Against Corruption (SEAPAC), will be held at the Philippine International Convention Center from January 30 to February 2, 2013.

The country’s efforts to strengthen anti-money laundering legislation have received a nod from the international community. Two world-renowned experts on anti-money laundering are coming to Manila later this month to speak in the 5thGlobal Conference of the Global Organization of Parliamentarians Against Corruption (GOPAC).

Hon. Peter Loney, member of Australia’s Labor Party, and Hon. Bryon Wilfert, are among the top-notch international speakers for the upcoming 5th Global Conference of the Global Organization of Parliamentarians Against Corruption (GOPAC) to be held at the end of the month. There are two of over 300 international parliamentarians who will flock to Manila to attend this much-anticipated global event.

Two of the country’s most prominent public servants in the justice sector, Ombudsman Conchita Carpio Morales and Justice Secretary Leila De Lima, are among the roster of distinguished local and international speakers to grace the 5th Global Conference of the Global Organization of Parliamentarians Against Corruption (GOPAC) to be held in Manila later this month.

A powerhouse cast of anti-corruption experts are coming to Manila to discuss best practices in institutionalizing good governance during the 5th Global Organization of Parliamentarians Against Corruption meeting.