UN convention on corruption to make recovery of ‘dirty’ money easier — Ombudsman

It may now be easier for the government to recover "dirty" cash and other assets stashed abroad by corrupt officials with the Senate’s ratification of the United Nations Convention Against Corruption (UNCAC), Ombudsman Merceditas Gutierrez said over the weekend.

The Senate recently voted 17-0 for the ratification of the UNCAC which introduces a comprehensive set of standards, measures and rules that governments can use to fight corruption.

Although 140 countries signed the Convention, only 79 countries ratified it.

The Philippines is the second country in Southeast Asia and the fifth in the whole of Asia to ratify UNCAC, the Ombudsman said.

Aside from the Philippines, the convention was also ratified by China, Sri Lanka, Mongolia and Indonesia.

"(The) UNCAC sends a clear message to all that there is no more safe haven anywhere in the world for corrupt officials to hide their illicit assets," Gutierrez said.

"It (UNCAC) can very well serve as our guiding operational framework on account of its inherent multi-sectoral anti-corruption coordination, collaboration and partnership," she said.

Gutierrez added her office has long been pushing for UNCAC’s ratification to reaffirm the country’s support for the global fight against corruption.

UNCAC outlines the implementation of preventive measures directed at both the public and private sectors, criminalization of a wide range of corruption acts, international cooperation in every aspect of the fight against corruption, and stolen asset recovery. The UN General Assembly adopted UNCAC on Oct. 31, 2003. — Mike Frialde