MANILA – US Secretary of State Hillary Clinton on Friday urged the Filipino youth to help fight corruption by making use of the latest information technology available to them, like texting.
In making the call, Clinton reiterated the US government’s firm and continuing commitment, under US President Barack Obama, to make governments the world over accountable to their peoples, especially on the issue of graft and corruption.
Clinton, who arrived in Manila on Thursday for a one-day visit, attended a town hall meeting entitled “Manila Forum with Clinton” organized by ABS-CBN, the country’s largest radio and television network, at the centuries-old University of Santo Tomas run by Dominican priests in Manila.
The forum, which was covered live and telecast nationwide, had selected student leaders throughout the country, including those from Luzon, Mindanao and the Visayas, to interact with the visiting US secretary of state, described as one of the most powerful women in the world.
Asked by a student on what they could do to help fight corruption, Clinton pointed out that the Filipino youth could do their part by exposing anomalies both at the local and national government levels.
She said they could achieve this by making use of the latest information technology provided by cellular phones as she noted that the Philippines is the “texting capital of the world.”
In particular, Clinton said that Washington wants to ensure that US assistance granted to nations “goes direct to the people and not siphoned off” to the pockets of unscrupulous officials.
Summing up the US government’s stand on the issue, Clinton stressed: We want to encourage citizens to to stand up for their rights and say, We don’t want it.
Corruption was one of the major topics brought up by the students in the well-attended forum held inside the auditorium of the university’s College of Medicine building. In front of the campus, their more militant counterparts also launched rallies, protesting Clinton’s visit and demanding the abrogation of the controversial Visiting Forces Agreement (VFA) between the Philippines and the United States.
Scuffles broke out between the placard-waving student protesters and anti-riot policemen, part of the 5,000 lawmen deployed by the Metro Manila regional command of the Philippine National Police (PNP) to help ensure the safety and security of Clinton and her party.
But on the whole, Director Roberto Rosales, the head of the PNP regional command, reported there were no major untoward incidents between the police and the demonstrators.
Meanwhile, Clinton and her party flew to Singapore at 1 pm Friday to join President Obama, who is on his first visit to Asia since taking over the White House in 2008, in attending the meeting of leaders of the Asia-Pacific Economic (Apec) forum scheduled Saturday and Sunday.
Another major topic brought up by student leaders was the US participation in the determined efforts to bring peace to strife-torn Mindanao.
Clinton acknowledged the difficulty in achieving peace but she also expressed optimism that the government and the separatist Moro Islamic Liberation Front (MILF) would succeed in resolving the thorny issues that divide them.
Clinton pointed out that a joint strategy of political settlement plus the implementation of socio-economic programmes, such as eradication of poverty as well as the building of schools and health centers, would help bring peace to Mindanao.
A political framework is needed because it will allow the entry of socio-economic programmes vital for the development of the island, Clinton emphasized.
But, at the same time, she warned that any peace agreement reached should be within the law of the country, especially the Constitution.
To do otherwise would bring in more problems that will make the problem even more complicated, Clinton said.
Clinton was apparently referring to the controversial draft agreement on ancestral domain between the government and the MILF, which was, however, declared as illegal by the Supreme Court in 2008 because it was outside the bounds of the Constitution.
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