Aquino to tell Obama, others about Filipinos’ ‘integrity pledge’

President Benigno Aquino III and US President Barrack Obama. INQUIRER and AP file photo

MANILA, Philippines — President Benigno Aquino III said Wednesday he would tell US President Barrack Obama and other leaders about the integrity pledge for good governance entered into by both government agencies and private enterprises in the Philippines.

Aquino will be in New York next week to attend the Open Governance Partnership against corruption.

The OGP is a new multilateral organization and is co-chaired by Obama and Brazilian President Dilma Rouseff.

“Next week, I will be in the United States for some very important meetings. I was invited by President Obama, among others, to talk about open governance; and I will be proud to tell him, as well as the representatives of several other countries, how in the Philippines, the effort for integrity in governance — the effort for creating a transparent relationship between the people and their government — is one that is shared by the government and the private sector,” Aquino said in a speech at the First Integrity Summit.

“I am hopeful that you can all follow through on your respective commitments. This is the first ever Integrity Summit, but I hope to see even more participants from the private sector when the second one comes around,” he added.