Chief Justice Reynato S. Puno will lead a multi-sectoral group in the launching Monday morning of the Moral Force Movement that would spearhead a continuing battle against graft and corruption, poverty and other problems in the country.

Set at 8:30 a.m. at the auditorium of the Far Eastern University in Morayta, Manila, the launching of the MFM will be hosted by the Movement for Good Governance and will coincide with today’s celebration of National Heroes’ Day.

According to Puno, “the birth of the MFM signifies not only a call but also a response of Filipinos to consecrate ourselves, without flinch or relent, to the moral transformation of our nation.”

Indeed, weaving a moral fabric that enclothes our country with dignity is a mammoth and enduring task.

But with the Master Weaver threading the strands of every Filipino’s effort, we can hope in a Philippines that stands tall in the community of nations as a country where the truth, the good, and the right prevail,” the chief justice said.

In their invitation, MGG interim chairperson Dr. Milwida Guevara and incoming chairperson Solita C. Monsod said the program launching will be simple and anchored on the theme, “Honor.”

“The launch will usher programs that we will collectively do to strengthen our faith in democracy, advocate the need for transformational leaders, and encourage our citizens to work together,” said Guevara, who is in the MFM’s core group.

The others in the core group are lawyer Andres D. Bautista, chairman of the Philippine Association of Law Schools and dean of the FEU Institute of Law; Ambassador Henrietta T. De Villa, chairperson of the National Movement for Free Elections and head of the Parish Pastoral Council for Responsible Voting; Retired Brig. Gen. Jaime C. Echeverria, president of the Association of Generals and Flag Officers; Dr. Guevara, former Undersecretary of Finance and head of MGG and Synergeia Foundation; Bishop Emerito P. Nacpil of the United Methodist Church of the Philippines; Ms. Marixi Rufino Prieto, chairperson of the Philippine Daily Inquirer and trustee of the Metrobank Foundation; Ms. Noorain S. Sabdulla, one of the 2008 Outstanding Students of the Philippines awardee; and Msgr. Gerardo O. Santos, E.D., president of the Catholic Education Association of the Philippines and executive secretary of the Catholic Bishops’ Conference of the Philippines (CBCP) Episcopal Commission on Catechesis and Catholic Education.

Earlier, Puno had called for the country’s “moral force” to make itself manifest because the only way to free the country from poverty and other problems is “for its leaders to uphold the interest of the public over their own and to have a strong sense of morality.”

According to Puno, leaders should place moral principles at the center of setting goals, making decisions, choosing strategies, and carrying out plans of action.

“Moral courage in leadership means doing what is right and accepting its consequences, many times at the cost of convenience, popularity, and even friends,” he said.

He pointed out that “transformational leaders inspire, develop, and empower followers.”

“They are leaders who do not only motivate followers but at the same time appeal to the moral values of followers in an attempt to raise their consciousness about ethical issues and to mobilize their energy and resources to reform institutions, and induce them to transcend their self-interest for the sake of the organization or the greater whole,” he said.

“These ills of our society are manifestations of self-interest, self-centeredness and self-absorption. They are testaments to the pervading culture of bluntness in upholding what is right and fighting what is wrong. They are embodiments of the disintegrating moral fabric of our society,” the chief justice said.

“Moral courage in leadership means doing what is right and accepting its consequences, many times at the cost of convenience, popularity, and even friends,” he said.

Under Puno’s leadership, the judiciary has put in place judicial reforms that afford justice not just to the moneyed and influential few but to all, especially the marginalized in society.

The Judiciary’s Rules of Procedure have been revised and reformulated under his watch to make litigation inexpensive, time and efficient, and gender- and child-sensitive and the great writs of Amparo and Habeas Data have been introduced to protect the first generation rights in the form of individual and civil rights.

Other projects aimed at the bridging gap between the rich and the poor by improving access to justice by the latter are the court-referred mediation and the Enhanced Justice on Wheels (EJOW) Program.