Being a public servant demands the commitment to public interest.

This is so because once

you come into the government service, a relationship between you and the government is
created. ... One more way is by having decisions that should be for the interest of the common
good.

What is acting in the public interest?

Acting in the public interest means acting for the common good of the community. ...
Proponents and opponents of a proposal can equally and strongly argue that a
particular proposal is, or is not 'in the public interest', often leading to confusion about
the application of the term.

What is meant by public interest what are the principles and procedures to be followed
by civil servants in public interest?
The principles and procedures to be followed by the civil servants in public
interest are: Civil servants shall perform their official duties in compliance with the
Constitution and law. ... Civil servants shall ensure equal treatment of the citizens and
the legal entities when performing official duties

Why is public interest important?

The most common justification that journalists make for their work is that it is “in
the public interest.” ... Put simply, the public interest is about what matters to
everyone in society. It is about the common good, the general welfare and the security
and well-being of everyone in the community we serve.

What are examples of public interest?

Examples include public benefit, the public good, and the common good – the latter in
the sense of the public having a common purpose, rather than goods to which there is
common access. While we use the public interest throughout, the same issues apply
to use of these other terms.

How does the government work to promote the public interest?

They must perform their official functions and duties, and exercise any discretionary
powers, in ways that promote the public interest that is applicable to their official
functions. ... “The institutions of government and the officials and agencies
of government exist for the public, to serve the interests of the public.”

Ethical behavior is good for business and involves demonstrating respect for key moral
principles that include honesty, fairness, equality, dignity, diversity and individual rights. The full
definition of “professionalism” is the conduct, aims or qualities that characterize or mark a
profession or professional person.
 Why is ethics and professionalism important?
Professional ethics are important for several reasons. First, most professionals have
an informational advantage over those they serve. ... Professional ethics will provide
the useful function of identifying these moral hazards and providing the appropriate
avoidance or work-around strategies.

What are the types of professional ethics?

Generally, people in all lines of work should adhere to a basic list of professional
ethics that include the concepts of honesty, trustworthiness, loyalty, respect for others,
adherence to the law, accountability and avoiding harming others whenever possible

Here are 10 characteristics true professionals possess in the workplace (not in

any order of importance).
 A Neat Appearance. A professional is neat in appearance. ...
 Proper Demeanor. Your demeanor should express confidence, but not
attitude. ...
 Reliable. ...
 Competent. ...
 Communicator. ...
 Good Phone Etiquette. ...
 Poised. ...
 Ethical.

What is the role of professional ethics?

One function of professional ethics is to assure clients that professional services will
be rendered in accordance with reasonably high standards and acceptable moral
conduct. This confidence enables professionals to exercise relatively independent
judgments in decisions affecting clients.

What is the purpose of professional ethics?

Professional ethics serves several useful purposes: It can protect the public. ... In this
way, professional ethics accelerate the socialization of new professionals into their
respective roles and helps maintain high standards and ethical conduct that promote
the common good.

What is the concept of professional ethics?

professional ethics. Professionally accepted standards of personal and business
behavior, values and guiding principles. Codes of professional ethics are often
established by professional organizations to help guide members in performing their
job functions according to sound and consistent ethical principles.
What is professionalism and its characteristics?
Professionalism includes a variety of personal qualities and behaviors that
demonstrate commitment to effective performance in a given job. Commitment and
confidence, responsibility and dependability, honesty and ethics, and appearance
and professional presence are central professional characteristics.

Why are professional ethics important answer?

Answer by James Fisher: Professional ethics are important for several reasons.
First, most professionals have an informational advantage over those they
serve. ... Professional ethics will provide the useful function of identifying these moral
hazards and providing the appropriate avoidance or work-around strategies.

What is justness and sincerity?

JUSTNESS AND SINCERITY. In the context of the law, justness means an impartial
decision of conflicting claims; a fair determination of a problem or situation requiring
action. Sincerity, on the other hand may be defined as a state of mind which is truthful,
free from hypocrisy or deceit.

HR INITIATIVES

The basic idea we have at the CSC is that good people equals good governance. Hence, our focus
now is on strategic human resource and organization development or HR/OD, and through this we
are able to provide technical assistance and developmental interventions for the optimum
performance of government agencies.

After streamlining our programs, we have introduced five (5) HR initiatives. We have the Program to
Institutionalize Meritocracy and Excellence in Human Resource Management or PRIME-HRM that
aims to upgrade the maturity level of HR systems in government agencies to make them at par with
global HR standards. We also have the Competency-Based Recruitment and Qualification System
or CBRQS that gauges both applicants and employees not just on the basis of their education,
experience, training, and eligibility, but on a set of required competencies as well.

Through the Leadership and Coaching Program or LCP that we have, we adopt the coaching
approach to help our human resource get over hurdles and challenges in their career. Meanwhile,
the Competency-Based Learning and Development Program or CBLDP directly addresses the
problem of competency gaps through trainings and HR interventions, preparing individuals as their
agencies upgrade their maturity level. Lastly, we have the Strategic Performance Management
System or SPMS – a performance evaluation system that links individual performance to
organizational performance.

The CSC’s HR initiatives are meant to help both individual and organization reach their maximum
potential. By focusing on HR/OD interventions, we are fulfilling our role as the Philippine
government’s premier HR institution and helping agencies nationwide to efficiently reach their goals.
INTEGRITY

Integrity, also known as moral uprightness and strong adherence to honesty and fairness, is closely
linked to ethics. Integrity also refers to wholeness and completeness. This is an important definition
and well worth thinking over. We hear expressions such as “the integrity of the exam” or the “the
integrity of the document”, which means something remains untainted, and was not tampered with or
altered. When a person commits something unethical, in a sense he or she also loses his or her
wholeness. There is damage already done to a person’s character.

As much as possible, we would want to maintain our integrity. We cannot afford to do something that
would damage it. Some people may think that they maintain their integrity by keeping their
wrongdoings a secret. Exposed or not, however, they have already damaged their integrity. After all,
integrity involves doing the right thing even if nobody sees you.

As public officials and employees, we have the duty of protecting not only our integrity but also that
of the government. We owe it to the Filipino people to have integrity. It means we cannot be bribed,
bought, swayed, coerced, or made to do something that does not adhere to the highest moral
standards.

As the saying goes, “people may doubt what you say but they will always believe what you do.”
Leading hotel management executive, Maria R. Zec, expounds on this and advises people, “Your
reputation and integrity are everything. Follow through on what you say you’re going to do. Your
credibility can only be built over time, and it is built from the history of your words and actions.”

Our government may be measured by the history of its words and actions. This is how our people
gauge our integrity. I hope all of us here will be part of the best moments of our government’s history
– moments that champion integrity instead of destroy it. That is a challenge that I hope all of us will
be eager to accept.

ACCOUNTABILITY

We always hear the phrase “public office is a public trust”. Ang ibig sabihin nito, may pananagutan
tayo sa taumbayan. Lahat ng ginagawa natin, ginagastos natin, isinasa-katuparan natin ay
pananagutan natin sa taumbayan. Sabi nga sa Panunumpa ng Lingkod Bayan: “Ang bawat sandali
ay ituturing kong gintong butil na gagawin kong kapaki-pakinabang. Lagi kong isasaalang-alang ang
interes ng nakararami bago ang sarili kong kapakanan.”

Working in government is different because we are not only looking out for ourselves or for our
organization. Our focus is delivering services for the benefit of our main clientele—the Filipino
people. We are primarily here to serve, and not to be served.

Kapag pinag-uusapan ang accountability in the context of public service, laging tutumbukin ang
public funds. This is especially a touchy topic in a country like ours kung saan mas nakararami ang
namumuhay below poverty line, at mataas pa ang buwis at presyo ng mga bilihin.

Ang isyu ng korupsyon ay damang-dama ng ordinaryong Pilipino sa kanyang bulsa. Kaya

napakahalagang maging accountable sa pamamahala ng pondong ipinagka-katiwala sa atin. Ito ay
galing sa taumbayan, at nararapat lamang na maibalik sa kanila in the form of public service
excellence. DBP is an expert in this discourse, especially since it is a development bank and
addresses issues in poverty and social inequality. That is why I trust that it is a financial institution
that practices a great amount of accountability.
Needless to say, we will always be answerable to our own actions. When that time comes, I hope we
will be able to account for what we have done truthfully and straightforwardly.

INTRODUCTION OF CSC

Good governance is almost always a contentious topic. The way public institutions manage public
affairs and public resources is something that draws controversy and criticism. This also concerns us
to the very core. Why? As the premiere human resource institution of the Philippine bureaucracy, our
work cuts across human resource management, organization development, national development,
and anti-corruption.

Historically, the CSC was created to uphold a merit-based recruitment system. We should take this
in the context of reversing the growing culture of corruption in the colonial government, where
positions could be bought and officials could be bribed. This means only the best and the brightest
should be in the government service. The rationale behind this is that excellent human resource
equals excellent public service. From a bureau in the early 1900s to a Commission in the 1950s and
onwards, the CSC has assumed many roles in the broad range of HR functions, all in a bid to rid the
bureaucracy of corrupt and mediocre practices.

Today, CSC functions as the premiere human resource institution of the Philippine government. It
also acts as adviser to the President on human resource management of the Philippine government.
As provided under the 1987 Constitution, we are mandated to “establish a career service, adopt
measures to promote morale, efficiency, integrity, responsiveness, and courtesy in the civil service,
strengthen the merit and rewards system, integrate all human resource development programs for
all levels and ranks, and institutionalize a management climate conducive to public accountability.”

Your theme, Ethics, Integrity, and Accountability for Good Governance, is always a timely topic for
the CSC. I find it relevant because we are always in the thick of fighting corruption. It is an uphill
climb, as proven by what we see and hear in the media, in our offices, on the streets. It seems
curbing corruption is a mammoth task that cannot be neatly resolved like one would a simple
mathematical equation.

The web of corruption has different layers, many tentacles, and may spread like a virus if not
contained. If we all do our little part, however, we create opportunities to nip corrupt practices in the
bud. People say it is a hopeless case, but I say it is a work in progress. Let us not be disheartened
by criticism. Instead, let us take our jobs seriously, and be responsible and accountable in fighting
corruption.

Throughout my talk, let me share with you what the CSC has learned in upholding ethics, integrity,
and accountability for good governance.

ETHICS

Ethics has been defined in a variety of ways. In general, it is identified as “the branch of philosophy
that deals with issues of right and wrong in human affairs”. The University of Sta. Clara’s academic
journal, Issues in Ethics, says that ethics “refers to well-founded standards of right and wrong that
prescribe what humans ought to do, usually in terms of rights, obligations, benefits to society,
fairness, or specific virtue”.

In the context of Philippine government, the highest standards of ethics are embodied in Republic
Act No. 6713 or the Code of Conduct and Ethical Standards for Public Officials and Employees. RA
6713 also bears the eight (8) norms of conduct – commitment to public interest, professionalism,
justness and sincerity, political neutrality, responsiveness to the public, nationalism and patriotism,
commitment to democracy, and simple living. These norms of conduct govern the principle of ethics
for the lingkod bayani who works in an environment where corruption thrives. The same norms
promote the idea that even in the smallest of matters, a lingkod bayani should be able to withstand
temptation, reject mediocrity, and protect his or her integrity.

Administrative and disciplinary cases stem from failure to uphold ethical standards. A public servant
who does not spend all paid hours in official work is already stealing from the Filipino people.
Someone who does not report an anomalous transaction may have just allowed something worse to
happen. Sexual harassment in the workplace is also unethical and wrong. Today, we seem to be
more and more lax on what we consider as unethical.

It is alright to overlook things sometimes, or to let things pass. We tend to say, OK lang ‘yan, lahat
naman ginagawa ‘yan. But as they say, we become what we repeatedly do. Habits soon become
lifestyles. By not being vigilant enough, we become participants in maintaining an unethical culture.
In government, it is important to care enough so as to stop or stem unethical practices before they
become ingrained or systemic. The more we “let things pass”, the more ethical standards get
lowered.

Justness and Sincerity

               Few years ago, I was also a victim of temptation.  I have gone through a lot of
things and mistakes.  You will just have to realize that we should learn from it and do
not repeat the same mistake again.  There are lots of instances when being right and just
is being tested.  But all that matters is, you have to admit making an error when you commit one,
learn from it and put forward your own solutions. 

            For me being honest starts within yourself and that I should know first what
things are good.  I should have adequate knowledge and resistance to temptation to
prevent myself from engaging in dishonest practices.  Honesty and justness also start
with strong leadership.  It also requires elected officials to be accountable for their
actions and words.  We need to remember, as elected officials and government
employees, that the taxpayer is our boss and serve them by being good steward of their
money.  An honest and just person possess God-centered values and attitudes,
understands co-workers and fellow men and shows genuineness of concerns for country
and people.  An honest and honorable life has many characteristics.  Here are some of
them; It is a life full of faithfulness and obedience to God’s laws.  It means turning away
from sin – serious wrongdoings such as stealing from the government you are working
in.  It also means giving up bad habits like using foul language, gossiping and bribery.  It
is striving to be good and holy, a life of honesty and integrity.  It also means not cheating
and taking advantage of others, a life free from greed and free from seeking your own
interest at the expense of others.

Justness and Sincerity: Ethics and Accountability in Public

Officials and Employees
(This paper was delivered to MA students of a particular school in San Jose on April 2004).

The Context of Justness and Sincerity (As Among the Demands of Ethical and Accountable Conduct
of those in Public Service:

The issue of ethics and accountability pose a direct challenge to any government, and to any act of
governance per se. The former are the key to the latter. For practically the people's trust in the
integrity of political institutions seems to lie on the existence of ethics and accountability mechanisms
and infrastracture and how these are effectively functioning.
The Philippine government actually has accordingly enough initiatives in ensuring ethics and
accountability in public officials and accountable behavior in the public sector. In Art XI, sec. 1, "Public
office is a public trust." Those in public service, it adds, must observe accountability to the people and
offer a service that is done with utmost responsibility, integrity, loyalty and efficiency. In addition, the
Constitution obliges the State to ascertain honesty and integrity in the public service and take positive
and effective measures against graft and corruption. We have comprehensive laws -- (Some Philippine
laws against graft and corruption: RA 3019 as amended by Presidential Decree No. 677 -- Anti-Graft and
Corruption Practices Act; RA 6713 -- Code of Conduct and Ethical Standards for Public Officials and
Employees; RA 7080 as amended by RA 7659, or the Death Penalty Law -- An Act Defining and
Penalizing the Crime of Plunder; RA 6770 -- The Ombudsman Act of 1989; Presidential Decree No. 46
Making it Punishable for Public Officials and Employees to Receive, and For Private Persons to Give
Gifts on Any Occasion, Including Christmas). In particular, we have RA 6713, the Code of Conduct and
Ethical Standards for Public Officials and Employees, which is quite clear in matters of public officials
and employees' standards of personal conduct in its fourth section under the heading "Norms of
Conduct of Public Officials and Employees".

It has the following on justness and sincerity: "Public officials and employees shall remain true to the
people at all times. They must act with justness and sincerity and shall not discriminate against
anyone, especially the poor and the underprivileged. They shall at times respect the rights of others,
and shall refrain from doing acts contrary to law, good morals, good customs, public policy, public
order, public safety and public interest. They shall not dispense or extend undue favors on account of
their office to their relatives whether by consanguinity or affinity except with respect to appointments
of such relatives to positions considered strictly confidential or as members of their personal staff
whose terms are coterminous with theirs."

To reinforce these legal infrastractures, our political leaders at least claim they are politically
committed to ascertain the observance of prescribed ethical conducts of public servants and
employees. And their political commitment, although too difficult to benchmark, are often
demonstrated by some policy pronouncements -- examples are the promotion and institutionalization
of one-stop shops in some government agencies, or the implementation of sustained training and
orientation program on anti-graft and corrupt practices laws (as in Angat Pinoy 2004, the MTDP or the
framework of the Philippine socio-economic development). The legal infrastracture and the political
commitment of our leaders are further supported by the existence of oversight institutions -- such are
the Civil Service Commission (the central personnel agency of the government), the Office of the
Ombudsman, and the Commission on Audit (the fiscal watchdog of the government)-- which are not
subject to the fiscal controls of the executive and possess quasi-judicial powers.

We may likewise count among the ethics and accountability infrastractures the role of active citizenry.
The people are actually contributing either through government programs that bank on the market
principle at work in government operations -- e.g., the Mamamayan muna, Hindi Mamaya Na! program
-- or through the people's (PO's and NGO's) initiatives.

But still we have to contend with the very high cost of betrayal of public trust that has become
endemic in the government and in public service! Actually, the curving of corrupt practices in the
Philippine government has become concern of even the foreign aid donors, including the World Bank,
as the correlations between the strong presence of corruption and the undermining of State
capabilities are well established.

Failures in the Specific Demands of Justness and Sincerity:

While in delving into the specifics of justness and sincerity, it would have been desirable to "positively"
expound on the topic, I fear I have to resort to identifying the failures that are observably obviously
committed viz. the demands of justness and sincerity. And I strongly believe you would more easily
have a handle on.

A part of life -- that it is in the Philippines! Imagine that just to acquire a driver's license, we shell out
"grease money" to facilitate the processing of one's application by the licensing office. To make the
matter worse, people do not seem to care enough to weed these practices out on account of the time
and effort involved in filing cases and appearing as witness when it is uncertain that erring public
servants will be penalized.

We can with great ease identify six main areas of government areas identified as graft-prone. These
are:

 Elections -- For example, vote buying and padding of voters' list.

 Legislation -- The perks and privileges of our solons; they have discretion over the allocation,
use and disbursement of development funds.
 Revenue Assessment and Collections -- Bribes are paid to lower assessments or into into
compromises.
 Regulatory and Licensing Arrangements -- Money is given to obtain licenses.
 Law Enforcements -- Bribe money is paid to avoid prosecution or to settle cases.
 Appointments or/and Promotions --- Preference is given to relatives or friends in appointment
or promotion, some positions are "sold" to highest bidder.

As we identify these failures, we must over and over again remind ourselves with the national condition
that they have brought us to. Lest we forget that as public servants we are potential contributors to
our already sad state.

 In 2000, it was estimated that 34% of the Filipino population lived below the poverty threshold
level. The cost of living escalates, while the purchasing power of our monetary unit
depreciates. The prices of basic commodities steadily rise, while the minimum daily wage
remains the same, even eroded by the decelerating value of the peso.
 Social inequity, i.e., concentration of landholdings in landlord's hands, political power in
political dynasties, and wealth in the hands of the rich
 As of January 2004, the country's foreign debt is P3.41 trillion. If the liability is equally divided
among all Filipinos, each must cough up PhP41,585.00. 40% of the national budget is for debt
servicing (big thanks to PD 1177!), while the budget allocations for health, education and
agriculture, among others are on steady decline.
 It has been observed that, after deducting debt servicing and personnel expense, at least 20%
of the national budget is eaten by corruption.
 Corruption wolfs down 30% of tax collection, 20% of government's procurement budget, and 50%
of allocations for road building (2004 World Bank Report: Combatting Corruption in the
Philippines).
 The Corruption Perception Index survey conducted annually by Transparency International
reveals that corruption in the Philippines is worsening -- 65th least corrupt in 2001 when 91
countries were surveyed; 77th among 102 countries in 2002; and 92nd among 133 in 2003.