Respected Guests, Fellow Workers in Fighting Corruption, Friends, Ladies and Gentlemen!

In the Philippine context, never before was there a recognition of the "Role and Rights of People's Organizations" in any statute book in the country until the passage of the 1987 Constitution. I am extremely proud and happy that our New Constitution, under Article XIII, Sections 15 and 16, has enshrined the power of people's organizations, and have provided the following:

"Sec. 15. The State shall respect the role of independent people's organizations to enable the people to pursue and protect, within the democratic framework, their legitimate and collective interest and aspirations through peaceful and lawful means. "People's organizations are bona fide associations of citizens with demonstrated capacity to promote the public interest and with identifiable leadership, membership and structure.

"Sec. 16. The right of the people and their organizations to effective and reasonable participation at all levels of social, political, and economic decision- making shall not be abridge. The State shall, by law, facilitate the establishment of adequate consultation mechanisms."

Indeed, the New Constitution requires that the people be consulted and their views considered in matters that affect them. Thus, for the first time, the Constitution recognizes the role of independent people's organizations as a means for the protection and promotion of the people's collective interests. People's organizations are granted the right to effective and reasonable participation at all levels of social, political and economic decision-making; and the state is required to facilitate the establishment of adequate consultative mechanisms. By special provision, in the matter of economics, the central planning agency of the Government, which is the National Economic and Development Authority or (NEDA), must consult, among other groups, the various private sectors, before recommending to Congress policies and programs for national development.

Going beyond this institutionalization of people's right to be heard, which in itself is an improvement over both the 1935 and 1973 Constitutions, the 1987 Constitution ensures that the people will be sufficiently represented. Thus, in the political arena, the restrictive two-party system is broken up and a free and open party systems is allowed to evolve according to the free choice of the people. Hence, the party-list method of selection is mandated for twenty (20) percent of the members of the House of Representatives, thereby insuring proportionate representation of many parties, espousing different views. Some of the remedies for the inherent limitations of a Republican Government, Congress is tasked to provide a system of initiative and referendum whereby the people can through the recall system ten (10) percent of the registered voters can themselves propose and enact laws or reject any law passed by Congress or any local legislature. Likewise, the Constitution goes so far as to allow the people to directly propose amendments to the Constitution through initiative upon petition of at least twelve ( 12) percent of the total number of registered voters. All these insure that the people will have a recognizable input in the directions and policies of Government, thereby making it responsive to the people's concerns and aspiration. To give impetus to the above provisions, the Philippine Constitution also provides the following:

"Sec. 14. The President shall provide for regional development councils or other similar bodies composed of local government officials, regional heads of departments and other government offices, and representatives from non- governmental organizations within the regions for purposes of administrative decentralization to strengthen the autonomy of the units therein and to accelerate the economic and social growth and development of the units in the region."

The above provision is founded on the principle of "Accountability of Public Officers", which states:

"Sec.1. Public office is a public trust. Public officers and employees must at all times be accountable to the people, serve them with utmost responsibility, integrity, loyalty, and efficiency, act with patriotism and justice, and lead modest lives."

To ensure the participation of the public and private institutions, the Constitution also provides in Section 4 thereof, the following:

"Sec. 4 (1). The State recognizes the complementary roles of public and private institutions in the educational system and shall exercise reasonable supervision and regulation of all educational institutions."

Likewise, the "Role and Rights of People's Organizations" were added to the 1987 Constitution, by providing Sections 15 and 16, as follows:

"Sec. 15. The State shall respect the role of independent people's organizations to enable the people to pursue and protect, within the democratic framework, their legitimate and collective interest and aspirations through peaceful and lawful means. People's organizations are bona fide associations of citizens with demonstrated capacity to promote the public interest and with identifiable leadership, membership, and structure.”

"Sec. 16. The right of the people and their organizations to effective and reasonable participation at all levels of social, political and economic decision- making shall not be abridged. The State shall, by law, facilitate the establishment of adequate consultation mechanisms."

Notwithstanding the above mandate, some instances of denial of the rights of the people's organizations and their roles, have been demonstrated, most especially in the program of privatization of government corporations and their assets. The sale of a large portion of the former Air Force Base in the outskirts of Manila, is one example. Foreign loans is another area where the government has excluded the public from knowing how and the conditionalities tied to the loan could affect the people.

Thus, the EDSA I and EDSA II people power, were manifestations of the awakening of the people to the need for utmost vigilance in their fight against corruption.

Translating the above Constitutional mandates into legislative fiats, the Local Government Code, under Chapter 4 - provides for the "Relations With People and NGOs." In particular, Sec. 34, "Role of People and NGOs; Sec. 35 'Linkages With People and NGOs" and Sec. 36 "Assistance to People and NGOs", are clear acknowledgements of the ability of the people's participation in government.

For these reasons, TI-Philippines is emboldened to explore the possibility of using these avenues and render to the people the tasks reposed in us, you and me, as members of society. As mandated by the fundamental law of our nation, the Preamble of the Constitution embodies the principle on which the government is founded; it regulates the division of sovereign powers, it directs how these powers are to be exercised, and to whom they are to be entrusted. As such therefore, we are supposed to be motivated by nothing more and nothing less but to promote the welfare of the people collectively and individually as persons. And if we can imbibe the precepts of our beautifully crafted Preamble, we would not have any reason to allow corruption to creep into our innermost being and destroy our patrimony and legacy as a nation.

The Preamble states:

"We, the sovereign Filipino people, imploring the aid of Almighty God, in order to build a just and human society and establish a Government that shall embody our ideals and aspirations, promote the common good, conserve and develop our patrimony, and secure to ourselves and our posterity the blessings of independence and democracy under the rule of law and a regime of truth, justice, freedom, love, equality, and peace, do ordain and promulgate this Constitution."

To the above, we also have the responsibility that results from authority. A noted parliamentarian, former Senator Neptali Gonzales Sr., said when he spoke before a symposium on ethics, that: "Let us as a people take and bear our moral arms to force those who govern us - the ruling party and the opposition as well - to shape up and unite for the attainment of our shared goals, to turn the tide and reach the shore of safety, happiness and posterity. Thus, if we have to monitor government projects, let us do it! If we have to report irregularities to the appropriate authority, let us do it. If we have to sacrifice for the sake of the majority, let us do it. We owe it to our people the majority of which is groaning under a tremendous load of poverty, to alleviate their sufferings and provide them with security from want of shelter, hunger, illiteracy, illness and fear, by managing our resources properly and judiciously. Their share in community, health, and public service should not be denied them.

To be able to succeed in our resolve to fight this social menace, we should know our individual strengths and of course our weaknesses. Coalition is one of the tools to undertake such a challenge. In the Philippines, we have moved a step or two forward by joining our resources, and capabilities through transparency and accountability. Under the mantle of the above provisions in our fundamental law, we have established coalitions with various non-governmental organizations, civil society organizations, business, media and professional groups, vowing to effect concerted efforts in facing the problem of corruption. We have this group called Transparency and Accountability Network or TAN for short. Some groups have entered into covenants with specific government agencies, such as the Commission on Audit, Ombudsman, Integrated Bar of the Philippines, Trade Union Congress of the Philippines, National Economic and Development Authority or (NEDA) and many others, for the purpose of carrying out programs to enhance reforms in governance.

Lately, TI-Philippines has recently concluded a two-day Conference Workshop participated in by participants from various regions throughout the country, on the topic "Towards Developing a People's Reporting and Monitoring Mechanism for Government Projects". During this forum, representatives from the Commission on Audit, National Economic and Development Authority (NEDA), the Department of Public Works and Highways were invited to demonstrate current directions and policies evolve by stakeholders in monitoring and reporting initiatives of the non-governmental organizations based on the Constitutional mandate mentioned above. Experiences of the Concerned Citizens of Abra for Good Government or CCAGG and the Iloilo Code NGO were presented, demonstrating the ability of the people's organizations in the local level to join forces with government agencies and monitor government projects.

Earlier, from August 8 - 9, 200 1, the Mindanao Business Council likewise held a Conference Workshop composed of all stakeholders representing government, private sector, business organizations and funding agencies and tackled the possibility of working together to enhance the climate for investment. The topic given to me as representative of Transparency International-Philippines, was "Bureaucratic Corruption in Government", where the challenge put forth to the audience was the call for strengthening and regeneration of moral values, not only among government officials and employees, but to all the peoples in all walks of life.

The Supreme Court of the Philippines, for its contribution, has come up with an Action Program for Judicial Reforms for 2001 to 2006. Consultation with the NGOs was tucked in the process of developing actions in undertaking judicial reforms. Accordingly, the revised program will include two (2) chapters on a) Corruption and b) Integrity formation in the Judiciary. Thanks to the dynamism of the Magistrates in the helm of the Supreme Court.

Mention about the initiatives in the three Branches of Government, such as the Judiciary, Legislative and Executive was made. It was decried in that occasion, which some government transactions do not measure up to the standard of transparency needed in order to attract investments. Red tape do exist and from the definition of bureaucracy, it is admitted that it is endemic to the system. There was also a consensus that some major government activities were miserably wanting in transparency.

One specific instance is privatization. In the Philippines, we have recently passed the Power Bill, which would enable the National Power Corporation, a government entity, to be privatized. Comparing this exercise with the Constitutional mandate, the assurance of transparency enshrined in the Constitution, has not been observed.

In the end, if we, in the non-governmental organizations, people's organizations, business sector, media and other civil society groups, can join our forces together, first in our own national perimeters, then regional and lastly international, with God's help, we can rely on some Biblical truths, one of which is in Psalm 55:22-23:

"Cast your cares on the Lord and he will sustain you; he will never let the righteous fall. "But you, 0 God, will bring down the wicked into the pit of corruption; bloodthirsty and deceitful men will not live out half their days, "But as for me, I trust in you."