GYEONGJU, South Korea – The member countries of the Asia-Pacific Economic Cooperation (APEC) on Saturday vowed to push for measures that will ensure the denial of “safe haven” for those involved in corrupt activities, noting that these practices destroy market trends.
In the Gyeongju Declaration, the member economies “recognize the detrimental impact of corruption as a threat in that it transcends borders, distorts markets, erodes public trust and facilitates crimes, including organized crimes.”
”We reaffirm that anti-corruption efforts must be more innovative, better coordinated, and more effective. We will continue our efforts to deny safe haven to corruption offenders and illicit assets,” the member economies stated.
For the Philippines alone, there has been a public outrage against corruption and irregularities in flood control projects, as some lawmakers and government officials are involved in these anomalies. —VAL, GMA Integrated News
