No corruption under a Villar government
Transparency will be a governance rule under a Manny Villar administration, according to the Governance Matrix of the Nacionalista Party (NP) standard bearer formed by the Global Filipino Nation (GFN).
GFN, an international organization of global Filipino leaders and organizations committed to “Building the Global Filipino Nation for Good Governance,” formed Villar’s Governance Matrix from the many speeches and interviews given by the NP presidential candidate.
It says in the matrix that if elected, Villar will provide easy access to information, aggressively simplify all government transactions, reduce discretionary powers of bureaucrats, and improve the efficiency of government services.
Armed with his years of experience as a private sector businessman and a public servant, Villar knows how to get these activities done quickly and efficiently. He has likewise chaired various committees in the lower and upper house of Congress, giving him invaluable experience to ensure success of his presidential directives on transparency.
Aside from transparency, a Villar administration will strengthen and consistently enforce Anti Graft and Corruption Laws, which will entail the government to provide more implementation efficiency to anti-graft and corruption agencies and provide ample protection to the enforcers of the law.
Anti-corruption efforts of a Villar administration will start with identifying specific government agencies where corruption tends to thrive and seek the assistance of non-government organizations, civic groups, and anti-corruption watchdog groups for the implementation of the campaign.
Individuals who have shown an impeccable record for having honesty in public service will lead anti-corruption agencies such as the Ombudsman and the President Anti-Graft and Corrupt Commission, and other agencies that are perceived to be graft-prone.
Moreover, Villar intends to institute a system of rewards and punishment to promote efficient and effective public services. Villar believes that fostering a culture of competition amongst employees and officials in government is a cornerstone of worthwhile efforts to reduce corruption in public service.
“Government employees, officials, school administrators, local government officials will all be a part of the culture of competitiveness to reward those who are worthy of recognition and financial rewards. Those who are laggards or non-productive will be transferred to noncritical functions of government or induced to retire early,” Villar says in his platform.
In a recent interview with the media, Villar says that he will not spare anybody from his all-out campaign against graft and corruption: “Yes, anybody. We will run after all those who are corrupt and had been corrupt.”
To prove his no nonsense drive against graft and corruption, which is being blamed for the loss of more than one-third of the country’s annual budget, Villar said he will even encourage the prosecution of the President who has been implicated in several anomalies during her term of office.
NP spokesperson Gilbert Remulla echoed Villar’s statement in an earlier interview.
“If you check Villar’s track record during his term, he opened the investigation on various cases against the president, like the NBN-ZTE Broadband deal... His actions alone, prove that he is very independent and he does not tolerate all the shenanigans of the Arroyo administration,” he said.
