MANILA, Philippines – Sinabi ni Pangulong Ferdinand R. Marcos Jr. na kailangang magpatuloy ang anti-corruption efforts ng gobyerno kahit lampas pa sa kanyang administrasyon.
Layon nito na matiyak na ang reporma at pagbabago sa gobyerno ay mananatli.
Sa isinagawang presidential luncheon ng Foreign Correspondents Association of the Philippines sa Diamond Hotel Philippines sa Lungsod ng Maynila, sinabi ng Pangulo na ang korapsyon ay nagkaroon na ng malalim na ugat sa political landscape ng bansa, dahilan para magkasa ang administrasyon ng mga hakbang na naglalayong baguhin kung paano ang public servants ay tingnan ang kanilang posisyon at responsibilidad.
“There is corruption everywhere. What you want to do is to lessen and, if not eliminate, as much as possible,” ang sinabi ni Pangulong Marcos.
Aniya, ang atensyon na ibinibigay sa iregularidad sa gobyerno ay dapat na magpatuloy para i-discourage ang mga public officials at iba pang partido na bumalik sa lumang nakasanayan.
Winika ng Pangulo na ang gobyerno ay nagpatupad ng reporma para i-promote ang transparency at bawasan ang oportunidad para sa pang-aabuso.
“This is not something that you can stop. Because if you do stop, then we’re back to the old system, then we’re back to all of these ridiculous contracts that you don’t see any progress, you don’t see that they’re doubled, they’re charged over and over and over again after the same project,” ang tinuran ni Pangulong Marcos.
“All of these things that we have uncovered, that is an ongoing process. The government has to continue to do that, because corruption is not a Filipino problem. Corruption is a human problem,” aniya pa rin.
Aniya, inaayos na ng kanyang administrasyon ang government processes upang ang pagpapasya ay hindi naabuso o unnecessarily exercised, partikular na sa mga paraan na ang resulat ay illegal o wasteful activities.
Pinalakas aniya ng gobyerno ang transparency at accountability measures sa Department of Public Works and Highways, kabilang na ang paglikha ng transparency portal kung saan maaaring i-check ng publiko ang infrastructure projects sa kanilang komunidad.
“The portal allows the public to identify projects by district, town and specific location and report concerns involving substandard or unfinished projects or questionable contracts,” ayon sa Pangulo sabay sbaing “That similar dashboards and portals are now being developed or maintained by other government departments to provide the public with more specific information on government projects.”
“And should they find that those are not going well, or they are post-projects, or they are substandard, or the contract is questionable, then they can report it back to us,” aniya pa rin.
Nagpapatupad din aniya ang gobyerno ng legal at administrative reforms at pinalalakas ang monitoring mechanisms para mapigilan na muling maulit ang iregularidad.
He identified digitalization as one of the administration’s most powerful tools in curbing corruption because it reduces human discretion where wastage and corruption can occur.
“Digitalization is our most powerful tool for that. Because we remove the human element where wastage, corruption can creep into,” aniya pa rin.
Ang mga hakbang aniya na ito ay para mas maging ligtas at mas equitable ang government spending at project implementation.
“And that’s where, I believe, this administration has focused and that is what we are continuing to focus to make, again, the process safer and more equitable in terms of our, in terms of our spending and the projects that we are undertaking,” ang sinabi ni Pangulong Marcos. (KRIS JOSE)
