INTRODUCTION
Thank you, Mr. Chairman Samilo Barlongay of the Philippine Civil Service Commission, Justice Vasquez, Commissioner Ermita, Chairman Morato, the distinguished officials that are here this morning including the chairman of the Commission on Audit, Chairman Domingo, Congressman Plaza, my co-workers in the executive branch, the awardees of both categories including the civil service awardees and the courtesy awardees, magandang umaga sa inyong lahat mga kasama at mga kababayan.

You know I like this little program that Chairman Barlongay put up. I don’t think it reflects his size but it does emphasize the fact that he is trying to save paper in the Philippine Civil Service and also lightens the road of those that have to collect garbage. Although in my case I always file this in the proper folder with all of the other papers that go with it.

So today we honor the exemplars of the Philippine bureaucracy.

Our honorees share a common bond: their satisfaction from quietly doing their jobs and serving country and people honestly and well. Such privileges as high salaries and allowances or travels abroad — they do not normally enjoy.

Among our honorees is an auditor who pursued his investigations of financial anomalies in a southern province. He pursued his job in the face of threats of bodily harm alternating with tempting offers to partake of the spoils. And in the end, he paid the highest price for his dedication to his office: he was unfortunately murdered for his dedication and integrity. By the way, that case is not yet close and I have promised his dear widow that this case will be pursued by the presidential anti-crime commission. And I asked that the director general of the Philippine National Police immediately pick up this case and see to its logical conclusion.

There is also this lady social worker from Central Luzon who facilitated the safe evacuation of 15,000 evacuees during the 1991 eruption of Mount Pinatubo — unmindful of the risks involved, and despite her being five months on the family way. I hope the baby is safe and that she is not in the similar condition in 1991.

Who said that bureaucrats are incapable of strong emotion, or even of heroism?

Less dramatic perhaps but no less heroic and significant are the achievements of an agriculture department rural broadcaster who penetrated deep into the rebel-infested areas of Bohol to gather first hand information needed to make his “school on the air program for farmers” relevant and effective. Thousands of rural families have benefited from this program.

Our honorees today are not just exemplars and role models for the 1.5 million strong bureaucracy.

Our honorees today also embody hope for the civil service and for the nation as a whole that we can do things better.

Our honorees personify what we are capable of as public servants and as a people, and what we can become as a nation.
Today, there is so much dissatisfaction and disaffection over the Philippine Civil Service.

There is widespread agreement that there are simply too many of us.

And we are all uniformly seen as either incompetent, lazy or corrupt — or of various combinations thereof.

Certainly, some public officials are overpaid; while some others have the itch to see foreign lands at the people’s expense. But such abuses in my mind are only confined to a very small minority who really should know better. We will take care of them. The greater mass of the Philippine bureaucracy can actually be like the exemplars that we honor today– given the proper leadership and motivation. And recently, I came out with a policy directive to put an end to all of its inadequacies.

I want to take this chance to clear up one point. We shall definitely carry out the streamlining of the government structure. We will among other things pare down the layers of bureaucratic fat which clog the arteries of the civil service. Impeding decision-making and the delivery of government services.

Apart from devolving central government authority and resources, we will simplify the organizational set-up and the complex reporting systems that characterize many government offices. To me, government’s organization must be action and results oriented. What cannot measure up to this standard must be adjusted or discarded.

We will also put some sense and reason into the convoluted processes and procedures the ordinary citizen has to put up with whenever he has to deal with government.

What we shall not do is to indiscriminately fire government employees — particularly those from the lower ranks, who are the usual sacrificial offerings whenever government is moved into this kind of periodic house-cleaning.

What we shall do rather is to develop the full potential of each and every government employee in the mold of our honorees today.

I understand the civil service commission is accelerating its human resource development efforts at all levels of the bureaucracy. This program deserves the highest priority and support. And i hereby direct the department of budget and management to work closely with the csc in this undertaking — particularly in giving this effort the budgetary support that it needs.

But an organization can only be as good as the people in it, specifically their skills and their attitudes. We have to develop and nurture our most precious human resource which is the skilled and dedicated public servant. It is high time we act purposively on the shortcomings of government and the people in it. To me, there is hope in the Philippine bureaucracy. As our honorees today have demonstrated, the government employees can rise above the stereotype of mediocrity and excel and find satisfaction in the service of our country and people.

One last point; I feel the disparity between the “dangal ng bayan” awards for ethical behavior and the “lingkod bayan” awards for job performance should now be removed. I understand that, at present, awardees for ethical behavior are entitled to a set of generous benefits. While awardees for outstanding job performance are entitled only to cash awards in addition to the usual plaques and medals.

This has to be corrected. It does not seem proper to me that less premium is given to doing one’s job well. And i therefore order starting with this year’s batch, iyong batch ninyo, the awardees for outstanding job performance be entitled to any of the following just like those in the ethical behavior category:

Bonuses, mayroon na kayo.

Citations, mayroon na rin.

Directorship in GOCCs, kung may vacancy.

Local and foreign scholarship grants; and

Paid vacation but not abroad.

Last but not least, outstanding job performers should also enjoy automatic promotion to the next higher position suitable to their qualifications and subject to certain conditions — a privilege already enjoyed by “dangal ng bayan” awardees for ethical behavior.

On the other hand, siguro dapat iyong mga “dangal ng bayan” awardees ay bigyan din ng magandang medalya. At kung maaari sana para sa lahat ay bawasan na natin iyong paggamit ng hard wood, kahoy, sa mga plaques at saka sa mga trophies na ibinibigay natin. Eto ay iniutos ko na noong araw ngunit siguro hindi pa kayo nakakapag-react, ano. Saan nanggagaling iyan? Eh doon sa gubat.papano, eh siguro illegal logging. Kaya umpisahan na natin iyong sinabi ko noong isang linggo na magbigayan kayo ng tree seedlings, hindi lamang isa,kung kaya ninyo ang dalawa di dalawa. At iyan ay maaaring mas matatag at mas mahaba ang remembrance ng kahoy na iyan, kung nakalipas na ang tatlumpong taon makikita pa ninyo kung ano iyan. Pero iyong plaques na iyan mawawala rin iyan, maniwala kayo. Ako’y nagdadagdag na ng kuwarto sa bahay sa dami ng plaque and trophy. Pero hindi ko naman nakikita iyong mga iyon. What is really enduring with me what others beyond our generation will also enjoy, sophistic note, pero siyempre sasamahan ninyo ng maliit na dokumento.

Mga kasama, under my administration, job performance and ethical behavior are qualities that are to be given equal importance and recognition. The bottomline afterall is efficient, effective and dedicated public service.

And so to the entire civil service, let us continually improve and grow in quality even if not in numbers. And to the honorees, again, my very warm congratulations.

Maraming salamat po.