PAGC to step up moral renewal campaign

MANILA, Philippines - The Presidential Anti-Graft Commission is set to intensify the implementation of the moral renewal action plan (MRAP) by various government agencies and state-owned financial institutions and corporations.

PAGC chief Secretary Constancia de Guzman said the MRAP’s vigorous implementation would be discussed with various government officials in a meeting slated at the Land Bank of the Philippines’ Diosdado Macapagal Hall in Malate, Manila on Tuesday.

“The meeting includes a workshop to provide the agencies with evaluation tools to help them monitor and assess the progress of their anti-graft program,” De Guzman said.

“The MRAP’s successful implementation is very important since it serves as the culminating phase of President Arroyo’s intensified anti-graft campaign, which began in 2004 with the formulation of the Integrity Development Action Plan as the national anti-corruption framework in preference to the anti-corruption thrust specified in her Medium Term Philippine Development Plan for 2004-2010,” De Guzman said.

The IDAP consists of 22 specific and doable measures under four major areas of implementation – corruption prevention (systems control), education (values formation), deterrence (investigation and enforcement), and strategic partnership (multisectoral involvement).

Additionally, the MRAP has four pillars: Ethical Leadership, Enhancing Individual Integrity, Strengthening System Integrity, and Monitoring, Evaluation and Affirmation.

The four pillars surfaced from the 16 moral renewal measures and “Moral Renewal Program Formulation of Ministry Action Plan International Experience” presented by PAGC and Hong Kong anti-graft expert Tony Kwok, respectively, during the workshop on MRAP in March last year.

Kwok, the anti-graft adviser to President Arroyo, will again grace the Feb. 9 workshop to give more insights into corruption prevention.

“The focus on MRAP’s implementation by over 200 government agencies, therefore, is aimed to produce tangible and lasting results as the President’s legacy when her term expires on June 30,” De Guzman said.

The MRAP requirement is mandated by Administrative Order 255 issued by the Chief Executive in Jan. 30 last year.

AO 255 also mandates all bureaus, regional offices and attached agencies of government departments nationwide to adopt and implement IDAP, which now covers 184 agencies from only 39 in 2005.

“The outcomes of this moral renewal effort can create and institutionalize anti-graft policy infrastructure and systems at the agency level and consequently be among the many legacies of the Arroyo administration in the area of governance,” De Guzman said.

PAGC will also announce at the IDAP/MRAP meeting the Top 10 Anti-Graft Champions in terms of compliance to the requirements of the IDAP.