Ombudsman fair in fight vs corruption – Noy

MANILA, Philippines - The Office of the Ombudsman is making everyone, even allies of the administration, account for irregularities, President Aquino said yesterday.

Aquino cited the role of the ombudsman in the administration’s efforts to fight corruption in the bureaucracy as part of his daang matuwid or straight path policy.

He issued the statement during a forum with officials of the Semiconductor and Electronics Industries in the Philippines Inc. (SEIPI) yesterday.

During the forum, SEIPI members aired various concerns to the President, including corruption and red tape in the bureaucracy, air traffic, the need to generate more foreign investments, how to improve the industry through research and development, regulations on controlled chemicals, among other issues.

The President cited the gains by the administration in the fight against corruption but conceded the problem was systemic. Two of the businessmen during the forum with the President cited the improvements made at the Bureau of Customs.

The President called for the cooperation of those in the industry to curb corruption, saying this problem had always been a two-way street.

“We admit that there are still instances of corruption. There are some agencies that have so much rooted corruption in them. But, I guess, the challenge is for us to continue weeding out these people and not just tolerating the situation,” Aquino said.

“Perhaps, if I may just add, whenever anybody talks about corruption, they talk about the person in government. But what about the necessary partner who is the briber?” he stressed.

Aquino said the system must be reviewed continuously to determine what had been making it difficult to comply with laws and which was leading to all of these avenues for corruption.

As regards red tape, Aquino said they were striving to eliminate a lot of steps for businessmen seeking to come into the country.

Aquino said the next president should not make political decisions on infrastructure projects.

He said the next leader of the country must remove as much as possible the idea that all decisions should start with political considerations.

“Next year, my bosses – the Filipino people – will be voting on whether or not they want to continue the progress we have made. Given all that we have achieved together as one unified nation, I am convinced of their resolve to sustain our upward trajectory borne of good governance and reform,” Aquino said in his speech.