UP Ibalon Bicol: Fighting corruption with "Moral Force Movement"

Fighting corruption with "Moral Force Movement"

4/08/2009 | Posted by mesiamd | Edit Post

Chief Justice Reynato Puno of the Supreme Court finds the Holy Week celebration an apt occasion to remind Filipinos to fight corruption. In spite of the Philippines being the only Christian country in Asia, he tells the country's moral degeneration that has made it a pariah among its neighbors.

“Corruption in the country has been deforming all its institutions, undermining our stability and security and preventing our socio-economic development. We can arrest this social decadence through a moral force.” ----Reynato Puno. Philstar (04/07/09, Punay, E.)

Last year’s Global Corruption Report revealed that RP's corruption index hase fallen into the 141st spot tying with Cameroon, Iran, and Yemen, among 180 countries. This is a 10 point drop from the country’s rating of the previous year. The worsening corruption index had been attributed to major corruption cases that the government had been unable to solve.

Recently, World Bank (WB) exposed collusion in the giving of road project contracts in the Philippines which brings shame to government officials running the Department of Public Works and Highways (DPWH.) Jose Miguel Arroyo, the husband of Pres. Gloria Arroyo is implicated in the scandal, but little effort is made to fully investigate his case.

Puno envisions the moral movement to be politically neutral. A moral force is being harnessed by tapping leaders for the "Moral Force Movement"----from business, church, youth, and the media to combat the debilitating effects of dishonesty in government. Similar to the goals of "Kaya Natin Movement," the moral force's current focus is to help attain an honest presidential election in 2010.

Religious organizations like the Catholic Bishops’ Conference of the Philippines (CBCP), the Philippine Council of Evangelical Churches, the National Council of Churches in the Philippines, the Philippine Bible Society and the Ecumenical Bishops Forum are supportive of the initiative that is long-overdue. (Photo Credit: by Zero_Q)=0=

"Moral Force" Movement Core Group

Reynato Puno, Chief Justice, Supreme Court
Marixi R. Prieto, Chair, PDI; trustee Metrobank & Gerry Roxas Foundation
Henrietta de Villa, Chair, Parish Pastoral Council for Responsible Voting
Mgsr. Gerardo Santos, Pres. Catholic Educational Asso. of the Philippines
Dr. Emerito Nakpil, (Ret.) Bishop of United Mathodist Church
Brig. Gen. Jaime Echeverria, (Ret.,) Asso. of Generals and Flag Officers
Dr. Milwida Guevara, Dir. of the Synergeia Foundatin
Atty. Andres Juan Bautista, Dean, FEU Institute of Law
Noorain Sabdulla, TOYM Awardee and Muslim Representative

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Labels: Chief Justice Reynato Puno, Corruption, Corruption in Government, government, Kaya Natin, Moral Force Movement, moral values, morality, Totie Mesia

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Fighting corruption with "Moral Force Movement"

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