Thank you very much, Atty. Sandy Dumlao, the national co-chairman of the Bishops Businessmen’s Conference; Bishop Teodoro Bacani, the BBC national chairman; Dr. Velasco; Dean Ching; Mrs. Africa; Mrs. Nieva; the awardees of the 1993 Salamin ng Bayan; the students and faculty representatives of the different colleges and universities and schools that participated in this most outstanding public service; fellow workers in government; mga kapatid at mga kababayan, magandang hapon sa inyong lahat.

This Salamin ng Bayan or National Transparency Awards could not have come at a more opportune time. I am reminded of a story which is quite recent, involving Malacañang and mga salamin. Malacañang was subjected to another kind of survey by those who are experts in feng shui. And the results of the survey were reported to me, and Mrs. Ramos. And the gist of it was that, there are evil spirits in Malacañang and there are overwhelmingly good spirits also. That is because right in front of the door here where you came through, as you can see those big banyan trees, reside not only evil spirits but also the heavy growth of trees which prevents the good spirits from coming in. So there is only a preponderance of evil spirits that come through. A suggestion was made by the same feng sui experts that the president and the first lady cut down those trees in front of Malacañang to allow the good spirits from above to come in and overwhelm the evil spirits inside.

Ang sabi naman ni Mrs. Ramos, “Aba, eh, bawal iyan kasi mayroon tayong environmental conservation and protection, we are now cleaning and greening manila. Besides, it is against the law. So, how can we allow those trees to be cut?”

Well, there was an impasse for a few days, until I called up my daughter in Hong Kong. She has been residing there for five or six years and i told her the problem. And she was the one that I consulted because she is also a feng shui expert. Ang sabi niya sa akin: “Eh, papa, madali iyan. You don’t need to cut down any trees. Lagyan mo lang ng salamin iyong harap ng Malacañang, all of the evil spirits will bounce back to where they came from. And that will also facilitate the entry of the good spirits to reinforce the few good spirits remaining in Malacañang.” and so i say this by way of highlighting the need for all government offices regardless of status to be subjected to your salamin surveys. At sana sa susunod na survey eh isama na rin ninyo iyong office of the president dito sa Malacañang.

My dear brothers and sisters, in the recent past there had been a tremendous play up in media of stories that somehow have lent credence to the general perception of inefficiency and corruption in the bureaucracy from so-called ghost policemen to phantom postmasters, from lahar scams, to NAPOCOR anomalies, to ARMM public works anomalies. Such expose’s whether true or not have somehow eroded the public’s confidence in government and may lead the people to wonder whether there are still any good people left in the public service.

The Salamin ng Bayan awardees we honor today; the DSWD, the Muntinlupa municipal government and the Philippine General Hospital are proofs to me and I guess to the public at large that there are still indeed good men and women and excellent, exemplary offices in public service. Palakpakan po natin uli.

These exemplars affirm our belief that there is more to public service than the general perception of inefficiency and corruption. And the truth also is that good deeds, seldom find space in newspapers as the more controversial ones grab the headlines. We do in fact have many and well-dispersed efficient employees and offices. I have seen with my own eyes many who in their quiet efficiency perform duties beyond what is expected of them without thought of reward be it monetary, material or just for the honors.

I have heard of many stories of special acts of kindness by government employees who find satisfaction and self-fulfillment in having served well at the end of the day.

It is high time that we recognize the efforts of these faceless civil servants who keep the government machinery turning on even as we hold as exemplary the more outstanding of their kind. But really those that are deserving of awards, even higher than the ones that were distributed just now, are those of you who are performing the service not of spying on government offices but of protecting public interest so that government offices may perform better. So the likes of Mark Dasigan and the so many of you who have performed the service voluntarily, risking even censure and possible physical risks should in my view likewise be commended.

I would like to assure you, however, that I am not about to recommend mark to be employed by the Presidential Anti-Crime Commission under Vice-President “Erap”. He has done his job.

I therefore would like to add my own commendations to all of the commendations now being passed around to the Bishops Businessmen’s Conference particularly its committee on business, education and the national coalition for transparency. The students and the faculty of the member schools of the Philippine Association of Collegiate Schools of Business and the members of this year’s board of judges for this positive reinforcement of government.

This recognition as already well known to all of you is based on Republic Act No. 6713, otherwise, known as the Code of Conduct and Ethical Standards for Public Officials and Employees which was approved by Congress and enacted into law by the President on February 20th 1989. This law states that public officials and employees shall at all times be accountable to the people that they shall perform their duties with utmost responsibility, integrity and competence as well as loyalty, for them to act with patriotism and justice and uphold public interest over personal or vested interest.

I was informed that barely a year after the law was signed the Bishops Businessmen’s Conference for Human Development spearheaded the Salamin ng Bayan project to monitor compliance by government agencies with the provisions of this new law.

The BBC’s initiative, therefore, is praiseworthy in itself, because it casts in an affirmative form the citizenry’s traditional role as watchdog of the public interest. Instead of cursing corruption in office, BBC has chosen to light a candle in honor of those civil servants who distinguished themselves and their offices by their conduct and by their rendition of service to the people.

As President, I welcome these awards coming as they do from a most influential civic group, the BBC, which does not hesitate to criticize government when and where it feels criticism is due. These awards affirmed that there is more in public service than inefficiency and corruption.

I am especially pleased that the sponsors of Salamin have involved students for the survey which serve as a basis for the awards. Their fresh viewpoints should make the results always truly credible. At the same time, the exposure of our students in the selection process should give them a better perspective of government and hopefully of what ideal public service should be. Should this student participants eventually decide to join government service someday, then their learning experience in the survey will guide them to become model public servants themselves.

I understand that during the past three years a total of 29 government agencies were recognized and honored in ceremonies held in this very same place, our Heroes Hall. There are other awards-giving bodies that recognized the best of our public servants but the salamin ng bayan awards stand out as the private sectors’ independent perception of effective public service. As the years past, I expect that this award would be more and more profited and appreciated as some sort of a local Nobel Prize for dedication to public service.

I am also told that the selection of this year’s awardees was especially tough considering that only three made it instead of the average ten or so for the last three years. Twelve agencies were, in fact, adjudged outstanding by the first board of judges. Then only six made it to the semi-finals from which three winners were chosen.

So this year’s awardees, the Department of Social Welfare and Development, the Muntinlupa municipal government — by the way, I am under their jurisdiction, kaya kasama na rin siguro ako doon sa awards, ano? — and the Philippine General Hospital, performed varied tasks but do share a common trait, dedication to work and love for service. We also share the highest standards of the criteria made in their selection, namely: compliance with ra-6713 orderliness of environment, courtesy of officials and employees, speed of delivery and absence of irregularity and innovativeness.

I once more commend the awardees for having passed this tough criteria which manifest their exemplary performance in the discharge of their responsibilities. And may your example be emulated by our other agencies. So our country can be blessed with more public servants in their mold. Then and only then can we truly work and strive together to rebuild our nation on the firmed foundation of integrity, professionalism and commitment to public service.

I therefore enjoin all of our government officials and employees to achieve next year and the years beyond something higher than the 77 per cent of compliance rates and improvement rates, surely, we would like to reach the 100 per cent before my term ends as president in 1998. That is a critical year because that happens to be the centennial of Philippine independence. And if we can reach that 100 percent mark then we can all report to Gat Jose Rizal that we have reached up to his standards. Because a hundred years ago, he did inquire as to whether we can do it as a people.

Beyond doubt, there could be many more government units that meet the standards of service exacted by the Code of Conduct and Ethical Standards. Maybe they only need more nudging, repeated reminders, regular doses of encouragement, incentives or other signs of appreciation for a job well done. Perhaps, a surprise visit from me would also keep them on their toes.

Within the next few days and weeks, I shall announce fresh initiatives to further improve the delivery of government services to our people. To the winners, once more, my congratulations and good wishes that you will continue with your fine performance. May you inspire all public officials from the highest to the lowest agencies in government, all throughout our country, and likewise our deep appreciation to the BBC and to all the participating schools and volunteer organizations for having participated in this great job of ensuring honesty, efficiency and transparency in the government service. I close with a reminder. Please do not forget the office of the president or any of the other offices in Malacañang when you do the surveys. And hopefully, we might win. That is a hope that might be a little far fetch, but who knows in 1998 we might still win the gold medal.

So maraming salamat po sa inyong lahat, mabuhay ang ating salamin sa bayan. Salamat po.