Ethics, Accountability and Integrity : Input 102

ETHICS

Ethics has been defined in a variety of ways. In general, it is identified as “the branch of philosophy that deals with issues of right and wrong in human affairs”. The University of Sta. Clara’s academic journal, Issues in Ethics, says that ethics “refers to well-founded standards of right and wrong that prescribe what humans ought to do, usually in terms of rights, obligations, benefits to society, fairness, or specific virtue”.

In the context of Philippine government, the highest standards of ethics are embodied in Republic Act No. 6713 or the Code of Conduct and Ethical Standards for Public Officials and Employees. RA 6713 also bears the eight (8) norms of conduct – commitment to public interest, professionalism, justness and sincerity, political neutrality, responsiveness to the public, nationalism and patriotism, commitment to democracy, and simple living. These norms of conduct govern the principle of ethics for the lingkod bayani who works in an environment where corruption thrives. The same norms promote the idea that even in the smallest of matters, a lingkod bayani should be able to withstand temptation, reject mediocrity, and protect his or her integrity.

Administrative and disciplinary cases stem from failure to uphold ethical standards. A public servant who does not spend all paid hours in official work is already stealing from the Filipino people. Someone who does not report an anomalous transaction may have just allowed something worse to happen. Sexual harassment in the workplace is also unethical and wrong. Today, we seem to be more and more lax on what we consider as unethical.

INTEGRITY

Integrity, also known as moral uprightness and strong adherence to honesty and fairness, is closely linked to ethics. Integrity also refers to wholeness and completeness. This is an important definition and well worth thinking over. We hear expressions such as “the integrity of the exam” or the “the integrity of the document”, which means something remains untainted, and was not tampered with or altered. When a person commits something unethical, in a sense he or she also loses his or her wholeness. There is damage already done to a person’s character.

As much as possible, we would want to maintain our integrity. We cannot afford to do something that would damage it. Some people may think that they maintain their integrity by keeping their wrongdoings a secret. Exposed or not, however, they have already damaged their integrity. After all, integrity involves doing the right thing even if nobody sees you

ACCOUNTABILITY

We always hear the phrase “public office is a public trust”. Ang ibig sabihin nito, may pananagutan tayo sa taumbayan. Lahat ng ginagawa natin, ginagastos natin, isinasa-katuparan natin ay pananagutan natin sa taumbayan. Sabi nga sa Panunumpa ng Lingkod Bayan: “Ang bawat sandali ay ituturing kong gintong butil na gagawin kong kapaki-pakinabang. Lagi kong isasaalang-alang ang interes ng nakararami bago ang sarili kong kapakanan.”

Working in government is different because we are not only looking out for ourselves or for our organization. Our focus is delivering services for the benefit of our main clientele—the Filipino people. We are primarily here to serve, and not to be served.

Reference : http://www.csc.gov.ph/speech/418-ethics,-integrity,-and-accountability-for-good-governance.html