Manila, Philippines — With the 2016 National Elections looming, it is critical to promote fair, clean, and transparent elections through citizen empowerment and engagement.
According to a report issued by the Electoral Integrity Project, the Philippines ranked 91st among 127 countries in terms of Perceptions of Electoral Integrity. The report added that the biggest areas of concern are transparency in political finance and the voting process.
To help address challenges to electoral integrity and to help build an empowered citizenry, Asia Society and the International Center for Innovation, Transformation and Excellence in Governance (INCITEGov) will hold “Transparency 4.0: The Road to an Empowered Citizenry” on 25 November 2015 at the Makati Diamond Residences in Makati City from 9:00am to 4:00pm.
The Transparency Forum is an annual symposium that discusses relevant topics and issues on governance, drawing from Asian perspectives and experiences in order to determine positive outcomes for the Philippines. The past three Transparency fora presented best practices and concrete initiatives and legislation addressing good governance, accountability and participation.
On its fourth year, the Transparency Forum will focus on the foundation of democracy – its citizens – and how to empower them. With rapid and dramatic technological changes, citizens have come to expect from government the same thing they experience from technology: innovation, efficiency, and accessibility.
The Forum’s first session will feature an overview of the trends in innovation and case studies of innovations in governance in Asia. Mr. Agung Hardjono from the Executive Office of the President of Indonesia will discuss LAPOR!, a national complaint handling system. Mr. Sanghak Lee from Transparency International Korea will discuss South Korea’s Government 3.0 which aims to make the government more service-oriented, competent, and transparent.
Atty. Theodore Te, spokesperson for the Supreme Court, will discuss how they have been using technology for judicial reform.
The Philippines’ fast growing economy also demands from the citizenry to choose leaders that will help make the country more economically viable and competitive. Thus, electoral integrity and voter empowerment are more relevant than ever.
COMELEC Chairperson Hon. Andres Bautista and NAMFREL National Chairperson Mr. David Balangue will discuss this topic in second session. The final session will feature practical tools and advice for voters from Mr. Richard Amazona from Youth Vote Philippines and Mr. Quintin Pastrana from Movement for Good Governance. “Transparency 4.0: The Road to an Empowered Citizenry” is presented by Metro Pacific Investment Corporation and is supported by Integrity Initiative and Go Negosyo.
Media partners are ANC, Bloomberg TV Philippines, Eagle Broadcasting, Malaya Business Insight, Manila Times, and The Standard. For more information, visit the Eventbrite page: tinyurl.com/TF4citizens and hashtag #TF4citizens.
Asia Society Philippines aims to strengthen relationships, deepen understanding and bridge differences across the Philippines, Asia and the United States. It develops cross-sector programs that bring together individuals, companies, policymakers and other non-profits to promote collaboration and understanding of Asia across the fields of policy, business leadership, education and arts and culture.
The International Center for Innovation, Transformation and Excellence in Governance (INCITEGov) is a policy think-tank that aims to develop and operationalize policy agendas that link Democratic Politics, Good Governance and Development Outcomes (PGD) in critical reform areas. These three points define and encapsulate the broad range of options in the arenas that are engaged by the reform and development community.
