THREJANN ACE L. NOLI MPA 202 (Public Ethics and Accountability) PROF.

MOHAMMAD GUIMBA POINGAN Reaction Paper on the Report of Ms. Jalila Ibrahim

NEO-MORALITY TOWARDS BETTER SERVICE

The common issue of todays public service revolves on the classical and modern ethos of public administration which are effeciency, effectiveness, responsiveness, accountability, transparency, predictablity, economical and etc. that became the basis of measuring whether or not a program or social service is beneficial to the intended beneficiaries and attain its purpose. In every legislation being made by the state has an intervention of the church that focuses on the issue of morality. In the context of political aspect of the coutnry, it is undeniable that the church plays crucial role in the victory of a candidate running for govenrment position specifically higher positions. Considering that most Filipinos are Catholics, what the church will say, most of their followers upheld it. If the church will condone a government official, it will stain its name that cant be removed by any means except to win the sympathy of the church. Thus, an official who is aiming for a 2nd term in his position is very conscious of the churchs presence or role in the election. The situation above is very strong in the Philippine political system. Every law being ratified by the legislative body passed through the meticulous eyes of the church. And every proposed bill usually undergoes this, its became a standard operating procedure of our government. Although it is very clearly stated in our Constitution the separation of the church and the state, the churchs influence is still overwhelming.

I will consider the proposed RH Bill which until now is in the hot seat of debate which my reaction, interpretation and professional judgment as a public administration student in the Graduate Level will revolve around it. Morality is absolute if we will try to consider the Law of God. And it will become the guiding principles of the government if it is embedded in its constitution. However, except Islamic Nations, Christian countries didnt absolutely adhere to the Law of God though most of its foundations are anchored from it. The question now is whats wrong with the RH Bill? If you are a public servant proposing this bill, you are considered by the church as antilife. The use of contraception and other artificial family planning methods according to the church is against the will of God because it prevents the union of sperm and egg cell. According to Biology, the beginning of life starts in the union of the sperm and egg cell. But the stand of the church, how could there be union of the two if in the very first place, it is impeded by the artificial methods, thus they advocate for natural family planning which in return, has no control of procreation activities among Filipino people respectively the catholic followers. Sometimes in doing our tasks inside the bureaucratic organization usually affected by our personal values where our beliefs embedded on it. However as public servant dedicated to public service, you are not in the position because of personal reason but instead for objective reason, thus depersonalization and impersonality are highly observed. My stand as future administrator, I will support RH Bill to make our government preventive in terms of inflation rate and rapid increase of our population except those questionable and anomalous provisions that should be modified. In the population commission, the parents are given the opportunity of what type of family planning are they going to follow.

Using the Rational theory of understanding morality and ethics, this is acceptable for it outweighs the possible negative consequences by the positive consequences if the bill will be ratified and in full force implementation. On the debate of the query, Who is more devil, the parents who practice family planning with 2-3 children and able to provide the needs of these kids or the parents who dont uphold it with more than 5 children and cant provide their basic needs which might lead to children neglect, malnutrition, street children cases and child labor?. These situations basically are against the rights of a child. And worst scenario, these children are susceptible to abuses that might lead to death and children at risk to become children in conflict with the law. In the proposed bill, these are overlooked which for me as public servant and social worker should be given paramount attention, thus for me, the bill satisfies these concerns. Furthermore, the Bill should incorporate mechanisms in the provision that will make it more substantive such as empowerment activities. If the government is trying to control the rapid increase of our population, then it is also its duty to transform its constituents from liabilities to assets through the means of empowerment. Philippines should emulate what China did to their people. They utilized it as their utmost resources to achieve development. Sometimes, upholding the human rights has boundaries. Cloning and same sex marriage on the issue of neo-morality is outside my jurisdiction of favor. I would not in favor that the advancement of science will use humans as object of experimentation. Scientist should adhere to the Humanistic Perspective or aspect of science. Same sex marriage is allowed by other countries. In the case of Philippines, its very far to be favored by the citizens. The wrongness and uprightness of approving the same sex and

marriage and for whom, I think its inappropriate and illogical to pave the way for this. Furthermore, only minimal or least portion of the population will benefit on this if we are looking on the consequences of our actions. Instead of spending lot of budgets for the hearing and examination of this potential proposal bill, the government should invest it on projects where large portion of people will benefit from it. It is supported by the claim in public administrations peculiar characteristics that it has priorities of communal activities. Since budget is concerned, the government should redirect its strengths, efforts and investments on laws that will give in return maximum desired results. I think the issue on bringing our personal values in our work is the greatest concern to be considered if we are talking about neo-morality. Some workers jeopardize their job because of personal values and in the other side, because of personal values; the work efficiency and effectiveness are upheld. Accordingly, PA is value-laden. But the execution of its unique disposition largely depends on the person who possesses values. Whether we like it or not, our service is affected by our personal interest. As future public administrator, it is a challenge on our part to weigh things out on the extent of its consequences; negative and positive. In proposing new bills, the legislative body should consider the values and possible consequences of the undertaking to avoid lengthy discussion and debate on the legitimacy of the bill to save money and time. Furthermore, it should be that the legislative body, sponsors or authors of the proposed bills and other social welfare policies should be geared strongly on research activities and not merely on statistical data without clear mechanism of its acquisition. Through factual and solid

evidences and documents, everyone in the congress and even the public can ponder; internalize the rightness and wrongness of the proposed bill. Thus, it is a must for our government to develop this as a culture of Philippine Legislature System.