BOSTON, November 5, 2018—Suffolk County District Attorney John P. Pappas last week welcomed a group of officials from the Philippines as they begin a month-long fellowship focused on improving the prosecution of government corruption.

Attorneys Maria Janina J. Hidalgo, Czarina May C. Altez-Domingo, and Melissa Christina S. Santos of the Filipino corruption investigation agency Office of the Ombudsman on Friday met with Pappas and members of his Special Prosecutions Unit, which prosecutes white-collar crime and offenses committed by public employees. The visiting attorneys arrived in Boston last week for a month-long International Justice Sector Education Training Fellowship through a program of the American Bar Association Rule of Law Initiative. The program aims to help the group gain the knowledge necessary to help their government develop reforms to enhance the efficiency and impact of corruption prosecutions.

Suffolk County District Attorney John P. Pappas and members of his staff on Friday met with visiting prosecutors from the Philippines through the American Bar Association Rule of Law Initiative’s International Justice Sector Education and Training Fellowship program.

“There is no greater honor than a career in public service, but when government employees abuse their authority or act without integrity, it threatens the public’s trust in the very institutions created to serve them,” Pappas said. “Our Special Prosecutions Unit preserves that trust through its daily work and made the most out of this meeting to share and compare strategies.”

The International Justice Sector Education and Training Fellowship connects teams from various countries with month-long fellowships offering institutional visits, mentorship, training, and other assistance to support the implementation of strategic reforms in their public agencies. Suffolk prosecutors also hosted a group of Serbian prosecutors through the program earlier this year.

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