MANILA, Philippines – The Philippines has been elected as one of the vice-presidents of the 76th session of the United Nations General Assembly (UNGA) for 2021-2022.

Ambassador Enrique Manalo, Permanent Representative of the Philippines to the United Nations, will represent the Philippines at the session.

“I look forward to working with the President of the General Assembly and representing the Philippines as Vice President of the 76th session. Along with the other Vice-Presidents, I will work collaboratively with colleagues to effectively contribute to solving the complex issues facing the United Nations, ”said Manalo.

The election of vice-presidents took place on June 7 following the election of the UNGA president of the 76th session, in which Minister Abdullah Shahid of the Maldives was elected after a secret ballot, with Dr Zalmai Rassoul from Afghanistan as another PGA. candidate.

The nomination of the Philippines for the post of vice-chair was approved by the Asia-Pacific Group through a silence procedure on May 12, with three other candidate vice-chairs to represent the 54 member states of the Asia-Pacific Group. Pacific: Bangladesh, Kuwait and Lao PDR. .

There are 18 vice-presidents in all regions, including the African Group, the Group of Latin American and Caribbean States, the Group of Western European and Other States, the Eastern European Group, also elected. by acclamation.

Phl renews its commitment to fight corruption

At the same time, the Philippines renewed its commitment to fight corruption by fostering a culture of integrity through prevention, deterrence and enforcement.

In a statement to the UNGA special session on corruption, Foreign Secretary Teodoro Locsin Jr. noted that “the simplest harmful disparity in an offer calls for a charge of corruption” and that “corruption hits the life and soul of nations, killing the credibility and therefore the viability of states that are the political expression of nations, encouraging the deadly and rapidly spreading virus of public cynicism that kills love of the homeland.

He added that the Philippines’ fight against corruption is not only punitive but also recognizes integrity.

Locsin cited the law on the seal of good local governance which rewards transparency and accountability in the use of public funds, the anti-terrorism law which fills gaps in the investigation and prosecution of money laundering, in particular for Terrorist Financing, and the Philippine Procurement and Reform Law. this requires the presence of civil society observers in local and national government tendering procedures in public procurement.

The secretary also highlighted the creation of joint oversight committees under the Bayanihan to Heal as One and Bayanihan to Recover as One laws in response to the pandemic.

The special session of the General Assembly on challenges and measures to prevent and combat corruption and enhance international cooperation was convened by General Assembly President Volkan Bozkir in accordance with resolutions 73/191 and 74/276 of the General Assembly, as well as decisions 74/568 and 75. / 562.

In his statement, Bozkir urged policymakers to use the special session to take concrete steps to prevent and fight corruption, saying in his remarks that “corruption erodes public confidence, weakens the rule of law , sows conflict, undermines human rights and hinders efforts to achieve the goals of Agenda 2030.

United Nations Deputy Secretary-General Amina Mohammad stressed that corruption in the delivery of public services increases costs, decreases quality and distorts the allocation of resources.

She encouraged the General Assembly to use the special session on corruption to chart a different course through a transparent, inclusive and accountable approach to governance that will strengthen the social contract between the state and the people.

“Expectations are high,” she said, “I encourage you to lead by example, by fulfilling the commitments you made in the draft declaration, with the support of the United Nations system. “