Article 152p. 152

ADMINISTRATIVE CODE AND LAW OF PUBLIC OFFICERS TEXT AND RULES

employed and used efficiently, effectively, honestly and

economically, particularly to avoid wastage in public

funds and revenues.

(b) Professionalism. - Public officials and employees

shall perform and discharge their duties with the highest

degree of excellence, professionalism, intelligence and

skill. They shall enter public service with utmost devotion

and dedication to duty. They shall endeavor to discourage

wrong perceptions of their roles as dispensers or peddlers

of undue patronage.

(c)

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.

(d) Political neutrality. - Public officials and employees

shall

provide

service

to

everyone

without

unfair

discrimination

and

regardless

of

party

affiliation

or

preference.

(e) Responsiveness to the public. - Public officials and

employees shall extend prompt, courteous, and adequate

service to the public. Unless otherwise provided by law or

when required by the public interest, public officials and

employees shall provide information of their policies and

procedures in clear and understandable language, ensure

openness

of

information,

public

consultations

and

hearings whenever appropriate, encourage suggestions,

simplify and systematize policy, rules and procedures,

avoid

red

tape

and

develop an understanding and

appreciation of the socio-economic conditions prevailing

in the country, especially in the depressed rural and

urban areas.

(f) Nationalism and patriotism. - Public officials and

employees shall at all times be loyal to the Republic and

to

the

Filipino

people,

promote

the

use

of

locally

produced

goods,

resources

and

technology

and

encourage appreciation and pride of country and people.

They shall endeavor to maintain and defend Philippine

sovereignty against foreign intrusion.

(g) Commitment to democracy. - Public officials and

employees shall commit themselves to the democratic

way of life and values, maintain the principle of public

accountability, and manifest by deeds the supremacy of

civilian authority over the military. They shall at all times

uphold the Constitution and put loyalty to country above

loyalty to persons or party.

(h) Simple living. - Public officials and employees and

their families shall lead modest lives appropriate to their

positions

and

income.

They

shall

not

indulge

in

extravagant or ostentatious display of wealth in any form.

(B) The Civil Service Commission shall adopt positive

measures to promote (1) observance of these standards

including the dissemination of information programs and

workshops authorizing merit increases beyond regular

progression steps, to a limited number of employees

recognized by their office colleagues to be outstanding in

their observance of ethical standards; and (2) continuing

research

and

experimentation

on

measures

which

provide

positive

motivation

to

public

officials

and

employees in raising the general level of observance of

these standards.

Section 5. Duties of Public Officials and Employees. -

In the performance of their duties, all public officials and

employees are under obligation to:

(a) Act promptly on letters and requests. - All public

officials and employees shall, within fifteen (15) working

days from receipt thereof, respond to letters, telegrams or

other means of communications sent by the public. The

reply must contain the action taken on the request.

(b) Submit annual performance reports. - All heads or

other responsible officers of offices and agencies of the

government and of government-owned or controlled

corporations shall, within forty-five (45) working days

from the end of the year, render a performance report of

the agency or office or corporation concerned. Such

report shall be open and available to the public within

regular office hours.

(c) Process documents and papers expeditiously. - All

official papers and documents must be processed and

completed within a reasonable time from the preparation

thereof and must contain, as far as practicable, not more

than three (3) signatories therein. In the absence of duly

authorized signatories, the official next-in-rank or officer

in charge shall sign for and in their behalf.

(d)

Act

immediately

on

the

public's

personal

transactions. - All public officials and employees must

attend to anyone who wants to avail himself of the

services of their offices and must, at all times, act

promptly and expeditiously.

(e) Make documents accessible to the public. - All

public documents must be made accessible to, and

readily available for inspection by, the public within

reasonable working hours.

Section 6. System of Incentives and Rewards. - A

system

of

annual

incentives

and

rewards is hereby

established

in

order

to

motivate and inspire public

servants to uphold the highest standards of ethics. For

this purpose, a Committee on Awards to Outstanding

Public

Officials

and

Employees

is

hereby

created

composed

of

the

following:

the

Ombudsman

and

Chairman

of

the

Civil

Service

Commission

as

Co-Chairmen, and the Chairman of the Commission on

Audit, and two government employees to be appointed

by the President, as members.

It shall be the task of this Committee to conduct a

periodic, continuing review of the performance of public

officials and employees, in all the branches and agencies

of

Government

and

establish

a

system

of

annual

incentives and rewards to the end that due recognition is

given to public officials and employees of outstanding

merit on the basis of the standards set forth in this Act.

The conferment of awards shall take into account,

among other things, the following: the years of service

and the quality and consistency of performance, the

obscurity of the position, the level of salary, the unique

and exemplary quality of a certain achievement, and the

risks or temptations inherent in the work. Incentives and

rewards to government officials and employees of the

year to be announced in public ceremonies honoring

them

may

take

the

form

of

bonuses,

citations,

directorships

in

government-owned

or

controlled

corporations, local and foreign scholarship grants, paid

vacations

and

the

like.

They

shall

likewise

be

automatically promoted to the next higher position with

the commensurate salary suitable to their qualifications.

In case there is no next higher position or it is not vacant,

said position shall be included in the budget of the office

in the next General Appropriations Act. The Committee

on Awards shall adopt its own rules to govern the

conduct of its activities.

Section 7. Prohibited Acts and Transactions. - In

addition to acts and omissions of public officials and

employees

now

prescribed

in

the

Constitution

and

existing laws, the following shall constitute prohibited

acts and transactions of any public official and employee

and are hereby declared to be unlawful:

(a) Financial and material interest. - Public officials

and employees shall not, directly or indirectly, have any

© Compiled by RGL

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