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 all 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.

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. As applied to public officials, justness requires open –
mindedness, sincerity and humility. You have to have an open mind before making
a decision so that it will be free from prejudice and an honest and humble mind
disposed to admit a mistake and to correct it.

Unjust decision is perpetuated by intellectual pride and mental dishonest.

Discrimination is caused by religious or political affiliation, regionalism of social
status. Favoritism on the other hand is caused by family relationship, or by any
above-mentioned considerations.

Justness and sincerity come into play in the following areas

 Office discipline
 Promotion/Demotion of Staff
 Incentives and rewards
 Performance appraisal and decision / actions on the grievances of
people.
 Justness and sincerity stemmed from the basic value called honesty. Honesty
leads not only to justness and sincerity but also to loyalty, fairness and truth.

According to CSC an honest bureaucracy is the sine qua non for an honest
government and honesty in government is essential for the effectivity in working
for public welfare.

Honesty is reinforced by this verse from the Bible (Luke 16:10) –“Whoever
is faithful in small matters will be faithful in large ones; whoever is dishonest in
small matters will be dishonest in large ones.” Ponder about it.

Do you think it is right when you get small things not on your own? It is
dishonesty. And it is still dishonesty when you are not true or faithful in a
relationship.

Also, when a government official use government resources to make an

administration candidate win an election is another form of dishonesty. As long as
you take advantage of another or of any situation it is dishonesty.

Jesus said (John 8:32) “The truth shall make you free”.

When you tell the truth, it does not need any defense or justifications. If you
are firm to your commitments and values, if you know where your heart is, it will
be easy for your body to follow. This means if the truth is your heart, then it will
be easy for you to be honest in small and big ways.