Press Release
June 4, 2011

2013 GLOBAL ANTI-CORRUPTION CONFERENCE SUPPORTED BY P-NOY

Malacañang is throwing its weight behind the country's hosting of the 2013 conference of the Global Organization of Parliamentarians Against Corruption (GOPAC), said Senator Edgardo J. Angara.

Angara added that Manila was picked for the next biennial conference because the GOPAC's mission fits perfectly with the Aquino administration's strong anti-corruption policy.

"Aside from our successful record in hosting international conferences, the global community also recognizes that we are serious about stamping out corruption," he said after the Steering Committee's recent meeting.

GOPAC is an international network of more than 900 parliamentarians from over 90 different countries dedicated to good governance and combating corruption. Angara is the Asian representative in the GOPAC executive board as well as the founding president of the Southeast Asian Parliamentarians Against Corruption (SEAPAC), one of the active regional chapters. He was also elected as GOPAC's vice-chairman during the conference held in Mexico City last March 11-13.

"Based on previous conferences - including the one in Mexico earlier this year - about 300 to 500 international parliamentarians are expected to attend. About a quarter of the participants will be from the Philippines but the bulk of the guests will fly in from abroad," Angara reported.

The three-day conference has been scheduled tentatively for January 31 to February 1 and 2, which will include workshops, fora and plenary meetings.

GOPAC's Philippine Steering Committee involves stakeholders from government agencies, private sector, nongovernmental organizations and academe. Participants from the government include Aurora Rep. Juan Edgardo "Sonny" Angara; Sen. Franklin M. Drilon, chairman of the Senate Committee on Finance; former Chief Justice Artemio V. Panganiban; Bagong Henerasyon Rep. Bernadette Herrera-Dy, also the SEAPAC secretary; Tourism Assistant Secretary Domingo Ramon Enerio; and Atty. Tess Herbosa, chair of the Securities and Exchange Commission.

Among the other members of the steering committee are Dean Marivic Leonen, UP College of Law; Dean Cesar L. Villanueva, Ateneo Law School; Dean Antonio A. Agustin, MLQU College of Law; Dean Amado D. Valdez, University of the East College of Law and president of the Philippine Association of Law Schools; Atty. Avelino V. Cruz, founding partner of ACCRA Law; Atty. Raoul R. Angangco, senior parter at CVC Law; Atty. Roan Libarios, president-elect of the Integrated Bar of the Philippines; and Dr. Georgina R. Encanto, president of Transparency International-Philippines.

Aside from SEAPAC, GOPAC's other active regional chapters are in Latin America (LAPAC), Arab Region (ARPAC) and Africa (APNAC), and they are all expected to join the Manila conference in 2013.

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