Aquino: More cases vs corrupt officials will come

MANILA, Philippines - The government will file more cases against individuals who allegedly abused the public coffers, President Benigno Aquino III said Tuesday.

In his speech at the Second State Conference on the United Nations Convention against Corruption, Aquino trumpeted the government's achievements in its campaign against corruption.

Since his administration took office, Aquino said anomalous projects had been cancelled while government-owned and -controlled corporations (GOCCs) that were once the "cash cows of a corrupt few" had undergone reforms.

Aquino also touted the filing of cases against smugglers, tax evaders, and erring government officials including those implicated in the pork barrel scam.

"Prominent lawmakers, former heads of GOCCs and government agencies, and others in the private sector who conspired to steal from the people through the Priority Development Assistance Fund have been arrested and are now undergoing the appropriate processes to determine accountability," Aquino said.

"We should emphasize: these are only the initial cases filed; more will come once the necessary evidence is assembled," he added.

Aquino assured that the government is working to rid the country of the corruption that has tainted its reputation and plagued it for so long.

"Indeed so much progress has been made in our drive to weed out corruption in government, and in so doing, better our capacity to serve the people," he said.

The President believes that his administration's good governance reforms have intensified efforts to empower the Filipino people.

And with the elections drawing closer, Aquino reminded officials to remain committed to good governance after 2016.