Duterte to attend first anti-corruption summit

President Rodrigo Duterte will be attending the first ever anti-corruption summit that will be held this week, which seeks to put an end to the chain of corruption in the country.Organised by the Volunteers Against Crime and Corruption (VACC) and the Vanguard of the Philippine Constitution the two-day conference will focus on how the Philippines can make deeper strides in fighting corruption.Dante Jimenez, founding chairman of the VACC, said the summit from November 27 to 28, at the Philippine International Convention Centre (PICC) in Pasay City, would be a historic event and no less than the president would be joining the conference.Jimenez said the president would be in the summit tomorrow when organisers would present to him the action plan and output of the seminar.“The president’s attendance in the summit clearly shows the sincerity of his administration in fighting corruption,” Jimenez said in an interview.The summit, entitled “Breaking the Chains of Corruption” will be attended by experts from various fields namely Clarita Carlos, executive director, Strat Search Foundation Inc; Tamario Rivera, chairman of the Centre for People Empowerment in Governance; and Eduardo Araral, vice dean of research at Lee Kuan Yew School of Public Policy.Solicitor General Jose Calida will also be attending the summit to discuss Duterte’s anti-corruption campaign.Jimenez said it was important for the government to start focusing on combating corruption to ensure that the financial gains obtained by the country from the recent Association of Southeast Asian Nations (Asean) Summit and pledges from other countries would be used properly.