Source: ANN
Taking note of corruption's "insidious hold on the Philippines", the Australian government has made several suggestions to the Aquino administration in sending the "strongest signal possible" against corruption.
In a statement, the Australian embassy in Makati City urged the Aquino government on Thursday to:
- Pursue convictions for high profile graft and fraud; - Diligently undertake lifestyle checks on public officials; - Systematically address the vulnerabilities in government departments by conducting a comprehensive audit and performance assessment of big-spending agencies; and - Expand opportunities for the public to have access to feedback and grievance mechanisms.
Australia also pinpointed armed conflicts in the country's provinces as among the Philippines' biggest challenges.
It said that "instability and insecurity continue to act as a brake on development. Low-level insurgencies and difficulties in bringing the peace process to completion contribute to unrest."
"There is a large opportunity cost to not securing peace. Scarce government resources will continue to be sapped, investment will remain constrained and efforts to raise living standards will be diluted," said the mission.
Citing the latest poverty figures, it said "Mindanao accounted for more than half of the increase in the total number of poor families between 2006 and 2009."
"Conflict in Mindanao is dragging down national achievement against key Millennium Development Goals targets and insecurity in a small part of the country is being perceived by potential investors as insecurity across the entire country," it also said.
The embassy said Australia "welcomes recent efforts (by the Philippine government) to put the peace process with the (secessionist) Moro Islamic Liberation Front back on track."
"We encourage both government and the Moro people to bring one of the oldest conflicts on this earth to an end," it said, stressing "the peace dividend for the Philippines will be considerable."
Australia welcomed the "quality of the Aquino administration's first budget. And we congratulate the legislature for its timely passage."
"It sends an unambiguous signal that this government and the legislature are committed to being fiscally responsible, transparent and performance-oriented. Importantly, it underlines the priority placed on restoring allocations to the social sections that have suffered from years of fiscal consolidation," it said.
It also cited the government's efforts to "provide a pathway out of poverty by investing in education and emphasizing the delivery of quality education."
"We do not underestimate the challenges of fixing a system under stress while moving to an international standard of a 12-year cycle. Continuing key reforms to the education sector and appropriately phasing in the transition to a 12-year system are critical to ensuring the Philippines' most important asset - its well-educated people - does not decline further," it said.
It also commended the government for "maintaining and seeking to expand the Pantawid sa Pamilyang Pilipino Program," the cash doleouts for poor families on condition that they send their children to public schools and have their kids regularly checked at local health centers.
"We are confident that over time, those who are skeptical about this program will come to recognize the benefits through improved targeting of the real poor, increased school enrollments and greater health service utilization," the Australian embassy said.
On tourism, it expressed hope that "an executive order to enable limited open skies is issued soon to jump start tourism."
On mining, it said "if the development potential of the sector is to be realized, greater certainty and transparency of regulatory arrangements will be critical to attract investors and ensure the highest standards of social and environmental responsibility."
The challenges confronting the Philippines have been "immense but by no means insurmountable. President Aquino's social contract with the Filipino people provides not only a way forward but also an unprecedented basis for a transformative partnership by which government and civil society can work collaboratively to move the country ahead," it added.
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Taking note of corruption's "insidious hold on the Philippines", the Australian government has made several suggestions to the Aquino administration in sending the "strongest signal possible" against corruption.
In a statement, the Australian embassy in Makati City urged the Aquino government on Thursday to:
- Pursue convictions for high profile graft and fraud; - Diligently undertake lifestyle checks on public officials; - Systematically address the vulnerabilities in government departments by conducting a comprehensive audit and performance assessment of big-spending agencies; and - Expand opportunities for the public to have access to feedback and grievance mechanisms.
Australia also pinpointed armed conflicts in the country's provinces as among the Philippines' biggest challenges.
It said that "instability and insecurity continue to act as a brake on development. Low-level insurgencies and difficulties in bringing the peace process to completion contribute to unrest."
"There is a large opportunity cost to not securing peace. Scarce government resources will continue to be sapped, investment will remain constrained and efforts to raise living standards will be diluted," said the mission.
Citing the latest poverty figures, it said "Mindanao accounted for more than half of the increase in the total number of poor families between 2006 and 2009."
"Conflict in Mindanao is dragging down national achievement against key Millennium Development Goals targets and insecurity in a small part of the country is being perceived by potential investors as insecurity across the entire country," it also said.
The embassy said Australia "welcomes recent efforts (by the Philippine government) to put the peace process with the (secessionist) Moro Islamic Liberation Front back on track."
"We encourage both government and the Moro people to bring one of the oldest conflicts on this earth to an end," it said, stressing "the peace dividend for the Philippines will be considerable."
Australia welcomed the "quality of the Aquino administration's first budget. And we congratulate the legislature for its timely passage."
"It sends an unambiguous signal that this government and the legislature are committed to being fiscally responsible, transparent and performance-oriented. Importantly, it underlines the priority placed on restoring allocations to the social sections that have suffered from years of fiscal consolidation," it said.
It also cited the government's efforts to "provide a pathway out of poverty by investing in education and emphasizing the delivery of quality education."
"We do not underestimate the challenges of fixing a system under stress while moving to an international standard of a 12-year cycle. Continuing key reforms to the education sector and appropriately phasing in the transition to a 12-year system are critical to ensuring the Philippines' most important asset - its well-educated people - does not decline further," it said.
It also commended the government for "maintaining and seeking to expand the Pantawid sa Pamilyang Pilipino Program," the cash doleouts for poor families on condition that they send their children to public schools and have their kids regularly checked at local health centers.
"We are confident that over time, those who are skeptical about this program will come to recognize the benefits through improved targeting of the real poor, increased school enrollments and greater health service utilization," the Australian embassy said.
On tourism, it expressed hope that "an executive order to enable limited open skies is issued soon to jump start tourism."
On mining, it said "if the development potential of the sector is to be realized, greater certainty and transparency of regulatory arrangements will be critical to attract investors and ensure the highest standards of social and environmental responsibility."
The challenges confronting the Philippines have been "immense but by no means insurmountable. President Aquino's social contract with the Filipino people provides not only a way forward but also an unprecedented basis for a transformative partnership by which government and civil society can work collaboratively to move the country ahead," it added.
