REFLECTIONS ON THE DISTANCE LEARNING PROGRAM ON THE RULES OF CONDUCTAND

ETHICAL BEHAVIOR IN THE CIVIL SERVICE

To be honest, when I enrolled in this DLP about R.A. 6713 I was only concerned with thecertificate
that I will earn to be used in my quest for promotion. It was when I started reading thecontent of
the book that I began to realize the importance of R.A. 6713 to myself as a publicservant.
Everything in it is a must to be learned.

Lesson 1 enumerated the norms of conduct namely: commitment to public interest,professionalism,

justness and sincerity, political neutrality, responsiveness to the public,nationalism and patriotism,
commitment to democracy and simple living. These were thoroughlyexplained with the help of some
situations. I became absorb with the reflection for deepeningwherein I was able to give my own
point of view regarding the stated questions. It was ameaningful experience to organize my
thoughts and ideas. It was really good that the questionswere directed to me as a public servant. I
became more aware of my duties and responsibilitiesand that these should be discharge with high
standard of ethics. Sometimes, the norms wereoverlooked by others. This was a good reminder and
guide for us in the public service. R.A. 6713will really strengthen good value system in the
bureaucracy which is very beneficial to the publicand to our country as well.

If we will all be committed and dedicated to imbibe in our lives these norms, there will begood
relationships between the people and government officials and employees. The people willcontinue to
support the different activities or programs of the government because they trusttheir officials.
We will work hand in hand to achieve our ultimate goal of improving our country.

Lesson II provided me with knowledge with regards to the prohibited acts andtransactions, the
system of incentives and awards, duties and responsibilities of public officialsand employees, about
divestment and penalties under the Code. I would say that from thislesso
n, I became more familiarize about the things I didn’t know before. These are the things thatpublic
employees must know because of the nature of our work. The different learning I’ve
gained was very important for me as a public servant especially with the prohibited acts
andtransactions. This I believe would be my guide in discharging my duties and functions so all
mydecisions will all be legal so as to prevent any violations on the Code.

Lesson III was very meaningful since all the case studies presented were very timely. I wasgiven an
opportunity to express my ideas and opinions regarding the situations. I would say thatthe insights
I have drawn from this will be used and applied for better public service.

To sum it up, I would like to commend all the people behind this DLP ON THE RULES OFCONDUCT
AND ETHICAL BEHAVIOR IN THE CIVIL SERVICE. It was nice that you have come up withthis
kind of program. I have learned a lot from this wonderful study.
Justness and SincerityCan you recall an experience when your honesty was tested? Or when you
becamea victim of dishonesty?In my everyday life, I handle trusts due to the nature of mypart
time job which requires honesty.My clients entrust me with their works andpay me appropriately. In
the same time, I should produce to them a quality job andon time. I always have the option to not
finish the articles but
my principle doesn’t allow me to. Plus, it will tarnish my integ
rity to them and might result inthem firing me. This might be considered as honestybut given the
consequences of my actions, itcould not be considered as just andsincere.In school, I also face
challenges in my honesty. There were several timesthat I
didn’t study for a
certain exam and I had no choice but to cheat or else I would fail. My seatmateswere willing togive
out some of their answers to me but I refused to accept it andthank them instead saying thatI
appreciated their concern but I needed to do it bymyself. For me, it was honesty. Unfortunatelymy
honesty was not converted intopoints in those exams and I failed. Anyway, I was happy thatI
preserved justice.Basically, all of us were victims of dishonesty. Thousands or even millions ofpesos
were stolenfrom the national funds of corrupt government officials andemployees. I will assure that
thatreputation will not haunt my batch of civilservants.In a workplace, by simply stating the correct
amount or giving the moneywhere it is due is asimple form justness and sincerity to public service.
Mostimportantly, it is honesty.Honesty cannot be tested exclusively on monetaryprocesses. Taking
home supplies on our government offices is a simple form ofdishonesty. There was another form of
honesty whenemployees will go to theoffice on time.Honesty is a very good virtue that every person
should follow.Though it may not be applicableon all times, this principle is vital on the formationof
our integrity as civil servants.

Responsiveness to the PublicHow can you show Responsiveness? What realization did you gain from
this session?I know forthe fact that the government was built through the power of the people. By
the people,
and for the people. It was the reason why our current president says “Kayo ang Boss Ko”. What
he meant was that he is just in that position because of the people. Because the
peopleelectedhim.Coming from the most powerful man on our country that the people are superior
tohim, it can beconcluded that a government employee is just a servant of the people. Now, itmakes
sense whythese people are called public servants. As servants of the people, it is
their dutyandresponsibility to accommodate everyone.People from all walks of life shall be treated
equally.However, the concept of this equality
varies from another person’s interpretation to another.
For me, my concept of equality is thatthose who are underprivileged (the poor) shall be givenmore
consideration. It is a more liberal
view of equality. For example, the poor people shall have access to the government’s resources
easily. The projects of the government like the highways and other economic infrastructures
shallbe made available more for the poor rather than for the rich people. It should be used for
theirsocial mobility. In this way, the gap between the rich and the poor will be lessened.I wil
l not consider what I learned from this session as a realization because I’ve been thinking
about that all the time. I started questioning everything about this hierarchy. I even
despisedtherich because I witnessed hardships of my countrymen.As a Social Science student, I
wasexposed to many people. My countrymen who werestruggling just for their everyday survival.
Iblame the capitalistic system because it exploits the poor. They were alienated from themselvesas
most people cannot even enjoy what they
’re producing. From their own efforts. Ironically, there were instances when a farmer doesn’t
haveany rice to cook. This situation really happens in our country.Unfortunately, our government
isruled by the elite who think only of the growth and preservation of their wealth. How could
abourgeoisie understand how a typical Juan Dela Cruzlives
? How can he formulate solutions if he doesn’t know the problem?
In the meantime, the best thing that a public servant can do to his/her country men is to
maketheservices easier for them. Outreaching in their communities is the best method

authorities. Maybe she should go to theDENR because this is the proper agency to inform
andconsult about the matter, because if shewill go either to the press or to the politician, the
issuewill just create noise and will put her lifein danger. There is a possibility that the media or
thepolitician will just use the issue or her fortheir personal interest. So instead of going to the
mediaor to a politician, she should rather goto the office of the DENR who has the main right about
thisissue. The DENR has the knowledgeon what is the best thing to do regarding the matter.But
ifthe proper authorities will not act on it, then that is the time for her to go to the media orthe
toan elected national officialase Study #4What happened to Ronnie is a normal happening in most if
not all of the governmentoffices.People give money to the public or government employees as a form
of gratitude. But if Iwas in
Ronnie’s shoes, I wil
l return the money to Ms. Santos. This is because I know from the verybeginning that
acceptingmoney is a prohibited act. It is very unethical for a governmentemployee to receive any
amountfrom the people its because as a public servant, it is my dutyand obligation to serve the
peopleto the best of his ability. As a public servant I have toperform my responsibility to the
people withall my heart without expecting any amount inreturn. Upon returning the money, I
will just explainto Ms. Santos the reason why I cannotaccept the money. I will tell her that I know
that she is justhappy and satisfied of myperformance but despite that it is improper to give money
to me. Inaddition, I will tell her alsothat it is my responsibility to serve him since I am a public
servant. Onthe other hand, I willthank her for the offer anyway. I appreciate her kind act of
thanking me. Bydoing so, I canmake her realize that what she did is a prohibited act and that it
should not bedone to thegovernment employees. And so that she will not do it again to other
employeesCase Study #9If I happen a chance upon a government service vehicle parked in a place
wher Ileast expect agovernment official may transact business with, the firt thing that I will do is
tothink thatmaybe the government official using the government vehicle just drop by from
anofficialbusiness transaction near that place. But if I happen to see it twice or more, then I will
trytoknow the reasons why the vehicle is parked there. Then I will report it to the
Ombudsmansothat they will conduct an observation and investigation on the government official
usingthesaid government vehicle.My purpose of going to the Ombudsman is not to destroy
thecredibility and the reputation of the government official, but to exercise my right to show my

concern to the government. SinceI am aware that government vehicle should be used for
officialbusiness transactions only andnot for personal business of course I have to inform the
properauthorities of it so that thiswrong act of government officials will be stopped. Aside from
that,this may serve as warningalso to the other government officials who are using the
governmentvehicles for personalinterest. Government vehicles are government property which are
issued togovernmentofficials to make and perform their task and to serve the people in a fast
manner andnot to beused in their personal matters. These should be used for public interest and
not forpersonalinterest.Case Study #10A government official or employee should always possess
the spirit ofprofessionalism in anyway. One way of showing it is by reporting to work on time. A
governmentemployee should bevery conscious of the time; they should utilize the time well. It is not
good tosee employeesreporting to office for work late, and then once he arrives in the office the
peoplewho need hisservice are already waiting for him. It is very embarrassing and very
disgusting.Inthe situation given, Roy is right when he said that his boss should not be exempted
from thepolicyimplanted for the late comers since like him his boss always come to work late also.
Buthe iswrong when he made the distance of his house from his office. As an employee, it
ishisresponsibility to report to office on time. He has to use his initiative on how he can report on
time despite the location of his residence. It is not his boss’ fault if his house is far fr
om theoffice.On the other hand, his boss is not right when he said that Roy should wait until he
becomesaboss. A boos should act as a model to his subordinates. What a boss does will be imitated
by his
subordinates. To avoid complaints like Roy’s complai
nts, he also should come to office on time,this is because the law excuses no one. The law was made
for everyone. In governmentoffices,there is no law that says that a boss is exempted from going to
office late.Case Study #1If I were the official concern, I will make further investigations on the
matter. Andthen I willcause for the enactment of an ordinance or local legislative policy to govern
andregulate theoperation of all the beaches in the island. The ordinance must specifically provide
fortheresponsibilities of the beach operators in the island in the maintenance of
cleanlinessandsafety of the place and a prescribe penalty for violation thereof. The ordinance must
likewisefixallowable fees and charges within the limitations provided by the law to generate
localincomewhich may be used by the LGU as one of the sources in the implementation its
programsandprojects. This presupposes the payment of license to operate, as a regulatory fee,
intheexercise of police power of the Local Government Unit concerned. Through this
initiative,theplace will be restored and the local income will be augmented

Rules of Conduct and Ethic al Behavior in the Civil

Service

Case Study#5

A government property should be utilized properly whether it’s just

a simple office supply. Using government properties in
any form forpersonal is not proper. The government
purchased those
s u p p l i e s , which came from publicfunds sourced from the taxpayer, not for the
employee’s used but official business only. In the case
given, I wouldtake Cynthia’s side. The act of Emy was a
form of stealing
government property because it does not belong to her.

Bringing home office supplies to be used for personal int

erestis obviouslyunethical and unbecoming. This may gav
e wrongperceptions of all the government officials or
employees. People whohave knowledge of an employee
doing such thing will make wrongconclusio ns or
generalizations ongovernment employees. Asmentioned in
R.A 6713 that public officials and employees shallutmost
devotion and dedication to the duty. Finally,
agovernmentemployee has the responsibility to take care
of every governmentproperty and util ize them properly
for public interest and not forpersonal one.