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By Rene Q. Bas, Editor In
Chief
FILIPINOS lament the
deterioration of public governance. They do not trust government
officials. They deplore the bad management of the central government
and the Cabinet departments, the wholesale corruption in government,
the tendency to do things in secret despite the law that requires
government officials to act in the open and make their documents
available
to the media and
the public.
They have a very low opinion of
the President and most other holders of political power.
Unfortunately, they also tend not
to be pleased with government employees as a “race.” Perhaps
this is because they have experienced poor service from their
barangay officials and some lowly clerks at City Hall.
The fact, however, is that most
government employees are honest, hardworking and long-suffering
Filipinos.
Government employees are also
victims of the consequences of corruption in high places and
decisions made for the country by officials thinking of their
self-interest instead of the common good.
What’s wrong with the
Philippine Civil Service then?
Why can’t the civil servants
here be as good as those in Italy and Western Europe, which all have
parliamentary systems and forms of government, or even in the United
States, which has a presidential system?
The truth is that Filipino civil
servants—who do not get their jobs unless they pass an exam
(except those who are forced on the various government offices by
dint of Malacañang’s power)—are essentially just as good as
those in other countries.
This is proved by their excellent
performance when sent abroad— or when they are able to find jobs
as OFWs.
Palace’s vast appointing
power
The problem is that politicians
who gain power end up also ruling over the civil service.
Our analyst, Juan T. Gatbonton,
writes:
“Malacañang’s appointing
powers beggar those of the White House. The World Bank estimates its
appointees [including the officers of public corporations] to number
4,800. By comparison, the American President appoints 800, and the
British Prime Minister only 200. The Philippine president can name
bureaucrats down to assistant-director level—which potentially
wipes out the civil-service leadership every time a new president
takes over.
“In the context of utang na
loob, the presidency could influence even the workings of the
Supreme Court. Under the 1987 Constitution, presidential
appointments to the high court no longer need Senate confirmation.
“But it is in the Philippine
presidency’s control of the state’s purse-strings on which its
dominance depends. The power to ‘realign’ the Budget—after the
Marcos years limited to the executive branch—still gives the chief
executive great leeway in amassing and deploying public moneys.”
The Philippine presidency’s
ability to have control of billions also buttresses its power over
the civil service.
In the article “The civil
service they wish our country would have one day,” Prof. Alex
Brillantes, Dean of the UP’s National College of Public
Administration, envisions the future excellent Philippine service as
one insulated from partisan politics.
Insulate the civil service
“Insulation from partisan
politics is a must. These range from excessive political appointees
especially at the top levels of the civil service, to the foregoing
of eligibility requirements, something that causes considerable
demoralization and, more significantly, massive de-professionalization.”
This was also the biggest
complaint against the Arroyo administration of the former CSC
chairman, Mrs. Karina Constantino David.
The story of Juan Miguel Luz’s
removal as Education undersecretary—because he refused to honor an
order from Malacañang that was absolutely against government
rules—is a painful episode that until now rankles among government
employees.
Similar abuses by most presidents
or the aides they assigned to handle the job were committed in the
tenure of all the past presidents of our country.
Civil Service Month
The whole month of September is
Civil Service Month.
I met some CSC people for this
special report. I noticed a sense of new hope among employees of the
Commission.
Perhaps this is because their new
leader—an appointee of the most unpopular president our country
has ever had, and one who was the secretary of President Arroyo’s
Cabinet—did his job as if he were a professional civil servant not
like others in the Palace whose fame is in being astute users of
political power to advance themselves.
Dean Brillantes says of Chairman
Saludo’s MERCI project, which he introduced as soon as he warmed
his seat:
“Chairman Ricardo Saludo’s
MERCI as a battlecry is an initial step in the right direction.
MERCI stands for morale, efficiency, responsiveness, courtesy and
integrity. To a certain extent, these appropriately build upon the
gains of previous CSC administrations, address the imperatives as
incorporated in the proposed Civil Service Code, and also recognize
the values of good governance. But perhaps MERCI may be pushed still
further and expanded to MERCI-PIPP, where PIPP stands for
‘Partnerships and Insulation from Political Partisanship.’”
Pamanang Lingkod Bayan
Chairman Saludo is working to set
up the “ Pamanang Lingkod Bayan.”
He explains it:
“It’s sad that people in
government who are killed in the line of duty might get some praise
but are largely forgotten and their families left to fend for
themselves. Through the Pamanang Lingkod Bayan Fund, we hope to
bring in contributions from different sectors both within government
and outside so that we can give financial assistance to dependents.
“There are many of these
families. The family of the teachers in Batangas who were killed
while protecting the ballot. There’s the late Assistant Solicitor
General Nestor Ballacillo who was known for the cases he prosecuted
against the Marcos wealth and the Meralco refund. He was murdered in
2007 along with his son. Their families should be given assistance.
“In my first week on the job,
we signed an agreement with the Philippine Association of State
Universities and Colleges for its members to provide scholarships to
the immediate family of slain civil servants.
“We hope to raise P10 million
initially. It will be set up as an endowment and only the earnings
will be used to help families of slain government workers. A
P10-million fund can generate P700,000-P800,000 in benefits. With
its budget of P1.2 trillion, the national government can easily save
P10 million to establish this endowment.”
Government wages
I asked him if government wages
will ever catch up with the private sector.
His reply: “The Salary
Standardization Law passed in the late 1980s had three phases.
We’re now on the third phase, which is supposed to really narrow
the gap between the government and the private sector. This third
phase is now in the works at the Department of Budget and Management
and will hopefully be submitted to Congress by September or October.
If Congress approves it, it could be implemented in 2009 under the
2009 proposed budget.
“We certainly want to boost the
pay of government workers and the Administration has done that over
the past three years ever since the budget reforms generated
increased revenues. In 2006, there was a P1,000 across the board
increase. In 2007 and 2008, it was 10 percent across the board.
That’s faster than inflation and we hope we can continue with the
adjustments under phase three of the Salary Standardization Law.
“The issue of pay has always
been a sore point with many people in the government. In the past,
we had to limit increases because of budget constraints. Now we are
able to provide decent increases because we have more revenues; our
deficit has gone down.”
Remember, we used to have a
deficit of 5.2% of GDP. Now it’s close to 0%. Because of the ample
resources from increased revenues in government, the salary scale
has gone up. And hopefully phase three of the Salary Standardization
Law will narrow the gap with the private sector even further.
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