Seoul, 1 September 2013 - Ombudsman Conchita Carpio Morales addressed overseas Filipinos residing in South Korea on the controversial issue of Priority Development Assistance Funds (PDAF), commonly known as “pork barrel”, in a special forum held on Sunday evening at the Philippine Embassy in Seoul.

Justice Carpio Morales, who had just arrived in Seoul for a two-day meeting starting on the 2nd of September of the heads of anti-corruption agencies in Asia-Pacific countries, went straight from the airport to the Embassy to meet with 70 representatives of the Filipino Community to answer their queries about the programs of her Office and developments about the pork barrel issue in the Philippines.

“I know how frustrated you must be because of the sacrifices you are making for our country,” Ombudsman Carpio Morales said at the town hall-style meeting. “You are not the only victims; everybody is a victim. So this should be an eye-opener.”

Asked about the prospects of getting to the bottom of the problem, Ombudsman Carpio Morales, who heads the Inter-Agency Anti-Graft Coordinating Council (IAAGCC), made reassurances: “We believe that the evidence of the Office of the Ombudsman is very strong. It’s just a matter of time.”

Participants from eight Asia-pacific countries exchanged opinions on how to eliminate corruption among public servants at this year’s Anti-Corruption Agency Forum. Representing the Philippines, Ombudsman Carpio Morales spoke on the management integrity program of her office. The objectives of the program include: a) building a culture of integrity and excellence in the private sector; b) Installing the Integrity Management System standard at the department/agency level; and c) ensuring that the standard norms of conduct for public officials are consistently applied.

The event is being hosted South Korea’s Anti-corruption and Civil Rights Commission. The commission highlighted South Korea's anti-corruption laws at the meeting.

In his opening remarks, Philippine Ambassador to Korea Luis T. Cruz praised the Filipino community in Korea, in particular Filipino students in Korea, for having taken the initiative to find out more about the PDAF issue and participate in a discussion, instead of simply taking to the streets to express their disapproval in the wake of the One Million March at the Luneta Park in Manila on 26 August 2013.

Asked about how she took up the current position, the former Supreme Court justice said "I felt challenged by people telling me that I was too old to become Ombudsman. Do you remember that line that went, 'too young but too corrupt?' Why can’t they [instead] give me the benefit of the doubt by saying, ‘so old yet so upright’.”