Public perception

If there is one thing that President Marcos can instill as his legacy after his term, it is professionalism and neutrality in public service.

A professional and efficient public administration, according to the Organization for Economic Cooperation and Development (OECD), depends not only on the quality of recruitment, but also on the organization of career development.

Political neutrality and impartiality are key to attaining this. A neutral civil service, the OECD said, implies the existence of a corps of officials recruited and promoted on the basis of their professional qualifications and serving the public interest.

Neutrality means one with regard not only to the political authorities but also private interest groups. Political neutrality precludes the possibility that political appointees will be able to surround themselves with close collaborators in whom they have confidence. It implies the absence of interference in the form of partisan concerns in the management of careers, the OECD noted.

In the Philippines, the Career Executive Service includes the positions of undersecretary, assistant secretary, directors and assistant director of bureaus, regional directors of departments and bureaus, assistant regional directors and chiefs of department bureaus.

The CES however excludes, among others, elective officials and their personal or confidential staff, secretaries and others Cabinet officials who hold their positions at the pleasure of the President, chairman and members of commissions and boards, to name a few.

The 1987 Constitution itself provides that the civil service embraces all branches, subdivisions, instrumentalities, and agencies of the government, including government-owned or controlled corporations with original charters. It further states that appointments in the civil service shall be made only according to merit and fitness.

It also mandates that the State shall guarantee equal access to opportunities for public service and shall maintain honesty and integrity in the public service.

Public office, it adds, is a public trust, and that public officers and employees must at all times be accountable to the people, serve them with utmost responsibility, integrity, loyalty, and efficiency, act with patriotism and justice, and lead modest lives.

So what does it say of our public servants when government offices are allowed to spend over P3 million for a new logo prepared by a company that was enrolled in the Philippine Government Electronic Procurement System (PhilGEPS) only last month and registered with the Department of Trade and Industry with only a barangay scope for its business name? Not to mention that the logo has an obvious similarity with several logos already out in the market, such as that of Petron.

Then there’s the bungled Department of Tourism “Love the Philippines” campaign. The video presentation of the new slogan drew heavy criticism after it was discovered that stock footages of tourist sites in Thailand, Indonesia and Dubai were used for a campaign that was supposed to promote the Philippines.

Trending on social media are rumors that Presidential Adviser for Creative Communications Paul Soriano meddled in the production of the video and that the DOT and Soriano had already shot and edited the material using their chosen production house to the surprise of DDB, the ad agency that was supposed to handle the video production.

And now, there are reports that a fleet operator and one who was earlier ordered removed from the LTFRB as board member but later ordered reinstated is being pushed by certain Cabinet officials to become the next chief of the Land Transportation Office, and concurrently, assistant secretary of the Department of Transportation.

Last June 27, some Cabinet officials sent a letter to the Office of the President through Executive Secretary Lucas Bersamin endorsing the appointment of Vigor Mendoza II. One of the endorsing officials made it very clear that the endorsement letter he sent was upon the recommendation of another colleague in the government who is very close to the Marcoses.

In 1999, former president Joseph Estrada through then Executive Secretary Ronaldo Zamora issued Administrative Order 97 to order the dismissal of Mendoza as LTFRB board member, as recommended by the Presidential Commission Against Graft and Corruption (PCAGC).

Mendoza was dismissed for violation of Section 3(a), Republic Act 3019, as amended, and Section 4(c), of RA 6713, based on a complaint that he, as officer-in-charge of LTFRB at that time, lifted the moratorium on processing of public utility buses applications on his own, contrary to the existing policy of the board, which is a collegial body.

It appears that Mendoza issued a memorandum on Oct. 29, 1998, under his sole signature, ordering the respective heads of the technical and legal divisions of LTFRB to receive all PUB applications for certificate of public convenience for routes entering Metro Manila and to set for hearing all pending cases, contrary to the board’s existing moratorium policy.

LTFRB, under former chairman Dante Lantin issued Memorandum Circular 97-009 dated  Aug. 6, 1998 reimposing the moratorium on the acceptance, processing and resolution of all applications, including those pending, for certificates of public convenience for the operation of buses in Metro Manila and on provincial routes. This was given the fact that those issued CPCs terminating outside Metro Manila have been entering Metro Manila as far as Cubao and other points inside Metro Manila and also due to the difficulty of monitoring their operations to ensure compliance with the terms and conditions of their franchises.

The PCAGC said a closer look at Mendoza’s memorandum had a net effect of a policy change, effectively lifting the moratorium policy.

On Oct. 21, 2000, then president Estrada issued another administrative order recalling AO 97 that dismissed Mendoza from service after then DOTC secretary Vicente Rivera Jr. sought the recall of AO 97 on the ground that Mendoza merely acted pursuant to recommendations from the DOTC. In AO 141, Estrada said Mendoza acted, under the premises, in good faith and without any dishonest motive and that the finding by the PAGC upon which AO 97 was principally predicated is without factual basis.

We do not know for sure what really happened. But is there a dearth of good talents that we need rehash old ones?

Observers have also expressed concern that Mendoza’s appointment as LTO chief could also open the flood gates for potential conflict of interest since he currently owns and operates a fleet of modernized public utility vehicles.

In two weeks, the President is going to deliver his second State-of-the-Nation Address (SONA) and report on his achievements after one year in office.

It is indeed too early to tell whether his presidency is a success or a failure. But what is good about it is that, he still has five years to work on leaving a good legacy.

While professionalism and neutrality in public service is important, equally important is how the public perceives its servants and how proud these public servants of the government they are serving.

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