PHILIPPINE ADMINISTRATIVE THOUGHTS & INSTITUTIONS CHAPTER 10: "COPING WITH CORRUPTION THROUGH WORK ETHIC AND ACCOUNTABILITY IN PUBLIC SERVICE" PRESENTED BY GROUP 10 1. TRANSPARENCY INTERNATIONAL 1.1 TRANSPARENCY INTERNATIONAL: Transparency International (TI) is a global coalition against corruption. It is an international organization dedicated to documenting and tracing levels of government corruption. 1.2 TRANSPARENCY INTERNATIONAL: |• As stated, Transparency international ranked Philippines as the 141" most corrupt government in the world in 2008. Corruption in the country is very high: politics is very dishonest as compared to other neighboring Southeast Asian states. 1.3 TRANSPARENCY INTERNATIONAL: |• On the contrary, Transparency International also identified 10 of the most clean and honest states in the world as shown in the table. 2. CORRUPTION EVERYWHERE 2.1 CORRUPTION EVERYWHERE: Corruption means that something has been changed so that it no longer meets its proper purposes. In the Philippines particularly, corruption is understood as "the misuse of public power for private profit." In political democracy, our concern with corruption is with official s performing their public tasks improperly in order to receive personal benefits. 2.2 CORRUPTION EVERYWHERE: Corruption exists not only in government bureaucracies; they do dwell in the private sectors as well. But the question of corruption is more public in scope, involving government official s and even employees alike. Corruption as a distortion to government efficiency and accountabil ity has been present since time immemorial, and it seems though there is not much we can do about it. 2.3 CORRUPTION EVERYWHERE: The goals of efficiency and accountabilit y have been sacrificed in favor of some politicians . Corruption is not something society should tolerate. Nevertheless, corruption does exist everywhere, it is worse in some places than on others so there are things we should do about it, after all, widespread corruption breeds political instability. "It is worth noting that corruption is not equally pervasive everywhere, and that should give us some hope. If it varies, there must be reasons that cause it to be greater in one place than another. Unfortunately, a number of these reasons do not offer much leverage. Societies undergoing rapid change often appear susceptible to corruption, partly because norms of behavior are in flux, so people do not have stable moral guides for behavior and partly because there are so many opportunities for corruption in a situation of rapid economic change." -Shively (Political Analyst) 3. ETHICS AND GOVERNANCE 3.1 ETHICS AND GOVERNANCE: The integration of moral values and eth ical standards in public adm inistration is one effective strategy of responsive and good governance in the midst dishonesty. corruption, and mediocrity in the public service. Eth ical values traits would ensure proper guidance am ong government employees only if th ese m oral recovery principles are enforceable in actions am ong all public officials and employees, and punitive in ch aracter w h enever violated, suppressed or restricted personal advantage. 3.2 ETHICS AND GOVERNANCE: Ethics is gaining prominence in the discourse about governance today. There is a perception that standards in public life are in decline. This raises questions about the costs of misconduct on the part of those who have been entrusted with guarding public interests and resources. These costs are losses in trust and confidence in public institutions and losses in precious resources which were meant to support the economic and social development of nations and peoples. 4. BUILDING AN HONEST TO GOODNESS CIVIL SERVICE BUILDING AN HONEST TO GOODNESS CIVIL SERVICE: 1. 2. 3. -Honesty is the best policy, so public servant must have the values of being an honest person and they are expected to discharge his duties and responsibilities regard to the values of accountability, honesty, transparency and neutrality. -As declared in the 1987 Philippine Constitution under Sec. 27, of Article II, provides a leading declaration that the State shall maintain honesty and integrity in public service and take positive effective measures against graft and corruption. -The civil servants are driven in public purpose, public interest and public service, so they must not be selfish in their duties. However, in spite of all the efforts to keep the civil service efficient, competent, accountable and professional, the civil service, together with officers and employees remain politically vulnerable to graft and corrupt practices. 5. A CALL FOR WORK ETHIC AND RENEWAL 5.1 A CALL FOR WORK ETHIC AND RENEWAL: Work ethic is a system of values in which central importance is ascribed to work or purposeful activity and to qualities of character, believed to be promoted by work. For the purpose of this chapter, work ethic refers to a set of values based on the moral virtues in public service like: honesty, account abil ity and professionalism. A CALL FOR WORK ETHIC AND RENEWAL |• Ethical behavior for ci vil servants is enshrined in numerous laws and regulations i n the Philippines. The Philippine Constitution for one sets, the legal framework of accountability of public offi cials under Article XI, which is primarily pred icated on the declaration that "public official is a public trust. " |• As declared in the 1987 Philippine Constitution under Sec. 27, of Article II, provides a leading declaration that the State shall maintain honesty and integrity in public service and take positive effective measures against graft and corruption 5.3 A CALL FOR WORK ETHIC AND RENEWAL: There are also three constitutional Oversight Bodies: • The Office of the Ombudsman. • The Commission on Audit, and • The Civil Service Commission. The i ssue of graft and corruption has been a topmost concern perhaps of al l top government administrators in the country then and now. But, i t appears that i nsti tuti onal efforts failed to address c orruption in government offices, and yet it became bigger and wi der si nc e even those in top l evel management are implicated. 6. A CASE OF CORRUPTION: THE POPLE'S PERCEPTION MAIN FORMS OF CORRUPTION: No transparency in public bidding General bribery or gift-giving Overpricing procurement Diversion of budget away from projects Doing substandard projects Tax and tariff evasion Cronyism Pork barrel fund Underreporting of tax collection MOST NUMBER OF CORRUPTION COMPLAINTS RECEIVED BY THE OFFICE OF THE OMBUDSHAN IN THIS ORDER: De pa r tme nt o f Public Wo r k s a nd H ighwa y s (DPWH ) Bureau of Internal Revenue (BIR) De pa r tme nt o f Env ir o nme nt a nd N a tur a l Re s o urces (DEN R) De pa r tme nt o f H e a lth (DOH ) De pa r tme nt o f Educa tio n (De pED) De par tme nt o f Inte r io r a nd Lo ca l Go v e r nme nt (DILG) B ur e a u o f Cus to ms (BOC)/ P hilippine Po r ts Autho r ity (PPA) National P o we r Co r po ra tion (N APOCOR) N a tio na l Ir r iga tio n Adminis tr a tio n (N IA) B ur e a u o f Immigr a tio n (B OI) THREE NOTABLE STRUCTURAL SOURCES OF CORRUPTION WERE IDENTIFIED: 1. That candidates must finance their own electoral campaigns, owing a debt of gratitude to many sponsors who call in favors when the candidates are elected. 2. The incredibly poor compensation and reward system for civil servants. 3. The poor enforcement of anti- corruption laws in the Philippines that renders corruption a low risk, high reward activity. A.) WIDE DISCRETION OF BUREAUCRATS B.) BUR DE NS OME R E GULATION S A N D T R A N SACTIONS S YS T E MS C.) WEA K CONT ROL MECH ANISMS D.) INFORMATION ASYMMETRY BETWEEN THE RICH AND THE POOR E.) WEA K PUBLIC VIGILANCE F .) ELEMENTS OF FILIPINO POLIT ICAL CULT URE 7. THE CULTURE OF CORRUPTION 7.1 THE CULTURE OF CORRUPTION: In many countries, graft and corruption has indeed become a culture or a way of life. The culture of graft and corruption is an administrative issue since time, particularly in underdeveloped societies, and the Philippines is privy to this. In most cases, corruption has a material or narrowly financial character, its most particular political manifestation is bribery or sleaze. Regarding politics, corruption is understood with officials performing their public tasks improperty in order to receive individual repayment. Corruption means a "failure to carry out proper or public responsibilities because of the pursuit of personal gain." FURTHERMORE, STUDIES OF CORRUPTION IN THE PHILIPPINES POINT TO THESE ADVERSARIAL EFFECTS WHICH INCLUDE, BUT NOT LIMITED TO: 1. Wastage of public resources as when infrastructure projects are poor and substandard and do not last their projected useful lifetime. 2. Low revenue collection, as when bribes are paid in lieu of taxes and charges in revenue collecting agencies. 3. Other socially unfeasible behavior such as tax evasion and smuggling. 4. Cronyism, the highest form of corruption expressed in cartels and monopolies that reduce competitiveness in industry 5. 6. Increase in the cost of doing business in the country Waste in the resources for development, which postpones the poor Filipino escape from poverty. 8. PUBLIC OFFICE IS A PUBLIC TRUST 8.1 PUBLIC OFFICE IS A PUBLIC TRUST: A public office has the following characteristics: a. It is a public trust b. It is not vested right c. It is not a property d. It cannot be inherited *A publi c o ffi ce is the right, authority, an d dut y cre at ed and conferred by law, by which, for a given period, either fi xed by law o r e n during at the pleasure of the cre at i n g po w e r to be exercised by him for t h e be n e fi t o f t he public. Art. XI Sec . I of the 1987 constitution of the Philippines, states the ac countability of public offi cial s, i n the wise: "Public Office i s a Publ ic Trust. Public officers and employees must at all times be ac countabl e to the people, serve them wi th utmost responsibility, integrity, loyalty, and efficiency, act wi th patrioti sm and justice, and l ead modest l i ves." 9. PUBLIC OFFICERS AND EMPLOYEES IN THE CIVIL SERVICE 9.1 PUBLIC OFFICERS AND EMPLOYEES IN THE CIVIL SERVICE: As a normative value, civil servants should be professional, competent, efficient and responsive to the political and top administrators, committed to implement policies and programs, honest, and accountable to the people they should serve. The civil service or bureaucuracy is a major institution in democratic administration. |• A public officer shall not be liable by way of m oral and exemplary damages or acts done in the perform ance of official duties, unless there is a clear showing of bad faith, malice or gross negligence. AMONG RIGHTS OF CIVIL SERVICE OFFICIALS AND EMPLOYEES IN THE PHILIPPINES INCLUDE: In spite of the political values imposed upon them, the public officials and employees of the civil service shall likewise enjoy the following rights: 1. They have the right to be protected from their conditions of work and reassured of living ages. 2. They have the right to make organizations or associations among themselves but are prohibited to conduct strikes or rallies. 3. No officer or employee of the civil service shall be dismissed except for a cause. 4. They have the right to be paid regularly when they retired from service and to receive pensions and gratuities by law. 5. They have the right to overtime and holidays pays, including sick leave/ vacation leave with pay, maternity benefit allowances, and other benefits. 10. ANTI -GRAFT AND CORRUPTION PRACTICES 10. ANTI-GRAFT AND CORRUPTION PRACTICES: 1 In August 17, 1960, a comprehensive law was passed to tackle and curb the commission of malfeasance in government agencies which is RA 3019 or otherwise known as the Anti -Graft and Corrupt Practices Act. Pursuant to RA 3019 as amended in addition to acts or omissions of public officers already penalized by existing law. THE FOLLOWING SHALL CONSTITUTE SOME CORRUPT PRACTICES OF ANY PUBLIC OFFICER: 1. Persuading, inducing or influencing another public officer to perform an oct constituting a violation of rules and regulations or an offense in connection with official duties or allowing himself to be persuaded, induced or influenced to commit such violation or offense. 2. Directly or indirectly requesting or receiving any gift for himself or for any other person in connection with any contract between the government and other party. 3. Accepting or having any member of his family accept employee in a private enterprise which has pending official business with him. 4. Causing and undue injury to any party, including the government or giving any private party any unwarranted benefits in the discharge of his official functions. 5. Neglecting or refusing without sufficient justification to act within a reasonable time on any matter pending before him. THE FOLLOWING SHALL CONSTITUTE SOME CORRUPT PRACTICES OF ANY PUBLIC OFFICER: 6. Entering, or behalf of the government, into any contract that is grossly disadvantageous to the government. 7. Directly or indirectly having financial interest in any business or contract or in connection with which he Intervenes or takes part in his official capacity; 8. Directly or indirectly becoming interested for personal gain in any transaction or act requiring the approval of the board, panel or group of which he is a part; 9. Knowingly approving or granting any license, permit in favor of any person not qualified; 10. Divulging valuable information of a confidential character. 11. BUREAUCRACY AND ACCOUNTABILITY 11.1 BUREAUCRACY AND ACCOUNTABILITY: • Bureaucracy - basically means rule by office. |• Bureaucracy refers to: "All the rules and procedures followed by government departments and similar organizations." Ac countabil ity is a central problem for governments which are or c l ai m to be democratic. The ac ti viti es of c i vi l servants and publ ic agenci es must follow the wi l l of the people to whom they are ul ti matel y responsible. The publ i shes of their employment and goals thus prescribes their behavior and c i rc umcised their choices. TWO FORMS OF ACCOUNTABILITY: EXTERNAL CONTROL: INTERNAL CONTROL: |• External Control in the bureaucratic accountability may be in the form of criticisms from the mass media, judic ial branch or legislative departmen t and/or the pressures from the Ombudsman . |• Internal Control in the bureaucratic accountability may take the form of ministerial direction, formal regulation, competition between departments and professional standards. BUILDING AN HONEST TO GOODNESS CIVIL SERVICE: 1. TRADITIONAL ACCOUNTABILITY - Is a responsibility of the bureaucratic who has been given the authority to discharge a particular function as an expression of hierarchy-ordered legal responsibilities. *Focuses on the regularity of fiscal transaction and the faithful compliance as well as adherence to legal require ments and administrative policies. 2. MANAGERIAL ACCOUNTABILITY 3. PROGRAM ACCOUNTABILITY - the person accountable is the manager, and he is responsible to his superiors in the bureaucracy, the President and external controllers such as the legislature which provides the resources for the operations of the agency. - Process accountability emphasizes on procedures and methods of operation and focuses on the black box inside systems which transforms inputs (the concern of traditional and managerial accountability) to the outputs (the concern of program accountability). *Concerns itself with efficiency and economy in the use of public funds, property, manpower and other resources (Tantuico in Cariño, 1993). *This type of accountability recognizes that some goals may not be measured directly, and surrogates, representing how goal-directed activity may be performed, are used instead. 12. CODE OF CONDUCT ETHICAL STANDARDS FOR PUBLIC OFFICIALS 12.1 CODE OF CONDUCT ETHICAL STANDARDS FOR PUBLIC OFFICIALS In 1989, the Philippine legislature passed RA 6713, a law embodying the Code of Conduct and Ethical Standards for Public Officials and Employees. According to a Civil Service Commi ssion R eport on Ethics and Ac c ountabil i ty i n 2000, It is said that the Code spells out in fine detail s the do' s and don'ts for government offi cials and employees i n and out of the workplace. These do's and don'ts are encapsulated in the ei ght norms of conduct to be observed by al l government officials and employees. 12.2 CODE OF CONDUCT ETHICAL STANDARDS FOR PUBLIC OFFICIALS 13. BASIS FOR DISCIPLINARY ACTION UNDER THE CIVIL SERVICE LAW, THE FOLLOWING ACTS SHALL CONSTITUTE GROUNDS FOR DISCIPLINARY MEASURES, SUSPENSION, OR REMOVAL FROM WORK OF ANY PUBLIC OFFICER OR EMPLOYEE. This is also reinforced under the Code of Conduct and Ethical Standards for Civil Service Officers and Employees and the Moral Recovery Program and lists the following traits. 1. 2. 3. 4. 5 6 7. 8 9. 10. Dishonest Oppression Neglect of duty Misconduct Disgrace and immoral act Being notoriously undesirable Discourtesy in the course of official duties Inefficiency in the performance of official duties Bribery or other acts punishable under anti-graft laws Conviction of a crime involving moral turpitude THIS IS ALSO REINFORCED UNDER THE CODE OF CONDUCT AND ETHICAL STANDARDS FOR CIVIL SERVICE OFFICERS AND EMPLOYEES AND THE MORAL RECOVERY PROGRAM AND LISTS THE FOLLOWING TRAITS. 11. 12. 13. 14. 15 16 17. 18 19. 20. Improper or unauthorized solicitation of contributions from subordinate employees. Falsification of official documents Frequent unauthorized absences or fardiness Habitual drunkenness Refusal to perform official duties Disgraceful, immoral or dishonest conduct Physical or mental incapacity or disability due to immoral or vicious habits Borrowing money by superior officers from subordinates Willful failure to pay just debts Nepotism and many more 14. A POLITICAL COMMITMENT 14.1 A POLITICAL COMMITMENT: The legal infrastructure that prescribes ethical conduct of public servants is reinforced by political commitment. This political commitment, while difficult to benchmark, has been demonstrated by some policy pronouncements. Quite significant is the 10 -point action agenda of the government and the Medium Term Development Plan (2000 -2004) which embody the framework for the country's socio -economic development. 14.2 A POLITICAL COMMITMENT: The agenda and the MTDP place the implementation of a training and orientation program on Anti -Graft and Corruption Practices Laws and on the Ethical Standards Act of Public Officials and Employees among the administration's priorities to reduce graft and corruption and exact high standards of ethics in government. 15. THE RULE OF THE OMBUDSMAN 15.1 THE RULE OF THE OMBUDSMAN: |• An Ombudsman is a public of f icial who investigates allegations of misadministration in the public sector. |• T he role of an Ombudsman "is to supplement, not replace, normal avenues of complaints such as administrative courts or elected representatives. The framers of the 1987 Constitution defined the role of the Office of the Ombudsman as a watchdog, to monitor the "general and specific performance of government officials and employees." It also serves as a mobilizer, to effectively "utilize the support of nongovernmental organizations, the youth sector, and other major sectors in the campaign against graft and corruption. 15.2 THE RULE OF THE OMBUDSMAN: • In the Philippines, the Ombudsman has the badge of recognition as "protector of the people." The Ombudsman protects the people from abuse and misuse of government power for personal aggrandizement. The passage of RA 6770, otherwise known as the Ombudsman Act of 1989 made the Ombudsman in a better position to execute his power, authority and responsibilities. Art. XI of the 1987 Constitution of the Philippines provides for the accountability of public officials. The office of the Ombudsman is an independent and a constitutional office, which cannot be abolished by the legislative. The appointment of the Ombudsman and his deputies need no confirmation by the Commission on Appointments. 15.3 THE RULE OF THE OMBUDSMAN: |• The Office of the Ombudsman assumes five major functions. These are public assistance, graft prevention, investigation, prosecution and administrative adjudication. The Comp osition of Omb udsman shall b e: • The Omb udsman • One overall dep uty • One dep uty for Luzon • One deputy for Visayas • One dep uty for Mindanao • A sep arate dep uty for the Military Service 16. OVERSIGHT BODIES AGAINST CORRUPTION THE THREE CONSTITUTIONAL OVERSIGHT BODIES: 1. 2. 3. Office of the Ombudsman- is an ombudsman responsible for investigating and prosecuting Philippine government officials accused of crimes, especially graft and corruption. Civil Service Commission - is a government agency that is constituted by legislature to regulate the employment and working conditions of civil servants, oversee hiring and promotions, and promotes the values of the public service. Commission on Audit - is an independent constitutional commission established by the Constitution of the Philippines. It has the primary function to examine, audit and settle all accounts and expenditures of the funds and properties of the Philippine government. 17. ANTI -RED TAPE TOLE ACT [RA 9485] 17.1 ANTI-RED TAPE TOLE ACT [RA 9485] RA 9485, otherwise known as the Anti -Red Tape Act, is the newest legislation signed by PGMA in June 2007 in an effort to ensure honesty and responsibility among public officials and employees. It shall be maintained through measures that shall promote transparency with regard to the manner of transacting with the public. Moreover, RA 9485 likewise holds the heads of the agencies accountable to the public in the delivery of fast, efficient, convenient and reliable services and these can be easily done as the new Law requires the establishment of service standards or a Citizen's Charter. * Any official or employee found guilty of violating the new Law's provisions shall be sanctioned with varying level of penalties depending on the nature of violation. Grave offenses, on the other hand, like fixing or colluding with fixers will merit dismissal or and perpetual disqualific at ion from public office. 18. THE FUTURE OF CORRUPTION 18.1 THE FUTURE OF CORRUPTION: The government has continuing initiatives to come up with more responsive public administration structures and processes are ongoing efforts to address the ever pervasive problem of corruption. • Corruption or the "misuse of public power for private profit" inhibits growth and development, distorts access to services for poor communities, undermines public confidence in the government's will and capacity to serve the public, deters trade and investment, reduce revenues, increases costs and propagates wasteful allocation and use of scare resources. 18.2 THE FUTURE OF CORRUPTION: • Coping with corruption in government includes a number of practical suggestions like public education program; acting as watchdogs: encouraging more the civil society for plunder and corruption watch: living by good examples by highly public officials; changing incentive programs; professionalizing the bureaucracy. International pressure can also help. Recently, a new internationa l Transparency International was founded to help states around the world reduce corruption in their governments. V arious sectors of the society are doing their best to combat corruption, enhance government ef f iciency , ef f ectiveness, and accountability . It is noteworthy to state that institutions have been set up and several laws were enacted to f ight against graft and corruption. 19. OPERATIONAL THRUST OF ETHICS AND ACCOUNTABILITY 19.1 OPERATIONAL THRUST OF ETHICS AND ACCOUNTABILITY: Without a strand of doubt, public officials become corrupt for personal enrichment. The material or physical gains one reaps from corruption is the motivation why this culture exists or will continue to persist particularly among underdeveloped countries. 19.2 OPERATIONAL THRUST OF ETHICS AND ACCOUNTABILITY: |• Corrupt officials often have strong, domineer ing persona lities; they are popular and are viewed by colleagues as effective, thereby creating for themselves "space to maneuver" ; they slowly "slide down toward corruption" and are unlik ely to view themselves as corrupt; and they "do not limit their corruption to one incident" but instead maintain "a long institutiona lized relationsh ip" with their corruptors. An agency's culture can encourage corruption, notably when "supervision of corrupt of f icial is not strong management has not promoted a clear integrity policy " and "loyalty and solidarity" among colleagues both inside and outside the agency deter reporting of corrupt activities. 20. LEVEL OF ETHICS PERSONAL MORALITY PROFESSIONAL ETHICS ETHICS IN ORGANIZATION SOCIAL ETHICS - is the basic sense of right and w rong. This is a function of our post and is dependent on factors such as parental influences, religious beliefs, cultural and social norms. - public administrators increasingly recognize a set of professional norms and rules that obligate them to act in a professional way. - every organization has an environment or culture that includes both formal and informal rules of ethical conduct. - the requirements of social ethics oblige members of a given society to act in ways that both protect individuals and further the progress of the group as a whole. 21. TOWARDS ETHICAL AND ACCOUNTABLE GOVERNNCE 21.1 TOWARDS ETHICAL AND ACCOUNTABLE GOVERNANCE: The public education program against corruption places extra premium on work ethic and accountability for government officials and employees in the bureaucracy. The need for moral recovery is an utmost importance in redefining the political culture of the leaders and the public towards more responsive, professional and competent public administration. 21.2 TOWARDS ETHICAL AND ACCOUNTABLE GOVERNANCE: The government though has been truly responsive to fighting against graft and corruption but officers and employees, whether elected or selected, must learn to institutionalize the laws against corruption particularly the Code of Conduct and Ethical Standards. If public servants learned to value these pertinent laws and regulations and operationalized the requirements set by laws on how public service should be delivered will be marked with good governance instead. THANK YOU! REPORTERS: PRINCE IVAN ARCANGELES MICHAELA L. ANDANTE BACHELOR OF PUBLIC ADMINISTRATION - BPA 1A BACHELOR OF PUBLIC ADMINISTRATION - BPA 1A EDITOR RYANPHILIP BANTIGUE BACHELOR OF PUBLIC ADMINISTRATION - BPA 1A STEPHANIE KIRSTEN BARREDO BACHELOR OF PUBLIC ADMINISTRATION - BPA 1A