'APEC can learn from Phl'

MANILA, Philippines - President Aquino believes member-countries of the Asia-Pacific Economic Cooperation (APEC) can now learn from the successes of the Philippines in fighting corruption for the benefit of the entire region.

Speaking during a dinner he hosted in Malacañang for the participants of the APEC Anti-Corruption Code of Conduct for Business on Thursday night, the President cited the gains that his administration had achieved in two years of carrying out reforms in the Philippine bureaucracy, with the private sector and the government working together.

“And I believe this success can be replicated on a regional scale, for the collective benefit of all APEC member-economies,” the President said.

“We are working to foster the same culture of doing what is right in our business environment. We want to make this country a place where it’s profitable to do right; and we want corruption to be a road that leads not just to bankruptcy, but, more importantly, to jail.”

“In many ways, we have been successful – from holding people accountable, whether they be in the rank and file, or in the highest offices in the land, to making certain that companies do not just deal with fixers, and instead file the right taxes,” Aquino said.

He said the week that was had been vital in the government’s campaign against corruption since he had also spoken before the 2nd Integrity Summit, where some of the country’s business leaders renewed their pledge to combat corruption.