United Nations Convention Against Corruption

In today's Editorial of Philippine Star, entitled Beyond lip service ... it briefly described Philippine involvement in United Nations Convention Against Corruption (UNCAC). It was first opened for signature on Dec. 9, 2003 in Mexico and the Philippines became one of the 128 on Nov. 8, 2006.

As stated by the Philippine Star, "Last Tuesday, as the nation joined the rest of the world in marking Anti-Corruption Day, the government reaffirmed its commitment to UNCAC. This commitment should go beyond lip service and the nation should start adhering to the UNCAC, which proposes wide-ranging measures to eradicate corruption."

In relation to transparency and deletion of some parts of Constitution, while it's true that reaffirming the nation's commitment to UNCAC is not enough, Philippine Constitutional Change might serve as barometer of democratic process and hence, scrutiny of implementation of existing laws pertaining to maoney laundering and corruption.

Corruption, Kofi Annan declared, “undermines democracy and the rule of law, leads to violations of human rights, distorts markets, erodes the quality of life and allows organized crime, terrorism and other threats to human security to flourish.”

Fluorishing of life and human security will only be possible if changes will be initiated not only in the government but also in the moral fiber of fellow Filipinos. Corruption and fight against it comes from within, not from just signing in any ratifications. I just can't believe that the people deserves the right government if they, themseves are corrupt. Of course, you can always say, "hey, Christian... that's another story." Yeahh.. sure but just like what Jose Rizal said in one of his novels: "Tal amo, tal esclavo; tal gobierno, tal pais."

"Like master, like slave; like government, like country."


Minnesota Mansion, Cubao, QC.