Roxas: Fight vs. corruption starts from the top down

To stop graft and corruption has always been the battlecry of most politicians running for office, but until now this remains to be one of the biggest problems in the country.

Newly-elected Liberal Party president Sen. Mar Roxas, during a recent press conference at the Marco Polo Plaza, said graft and corruption can be eradicated if people start with those in the higher ranks as this will create a domino effect all the way to the bottom.

He also said cleaning from the top is the most difficult part of the process, but after that it will be easier.

Roxas also said that our government has long been under siege and it is difficult to believe in talk concerning different issues, like what happened in the said Glorietta bombing which was later found out to have been caused by a gas explosion.

“Many Filipinos during that time believe that the said explosion was made by the government to divert the attention of the public from the more pressing issue that the government is facing,” Roxas said.

Roxas also advised the Department of Trade and Industry to set up a Philippine Trade Representative Office to strengthen the country in dealing with foreign trade and economic agreements.

Roxas requested Sen. Edgardo Angara, the sponsor of the DTI’s budget to instruct the DTI to undertake such organizational restructuring and set forth funding and budgetary realignments that is important to create the PTRO.

“I believe it is incumbent on the DTI to restructure a portion of its organization so that it can organizationally support this very important undertaking, in terms of resources and personnel, every agreement, every provision of any trade agreement that we enter should have a positive impact all across our country” he added.

The PTRO shall be the central government agency to handle international trade policy formulation and negotiation, while maintaining effective coordination with other branches of the government.  -Phoebe Jen Indino/BRP