ETHICS, ACCOUNTABILITY

AND PUBLIC SERVICE

REPORTED BY: MONTANO A. ABARICO JR.
 ETHICS
• In general, it is identified as “the branch of Philosophy that deals with issues of right and
wrong in human affairs”.
• Is a moral principles that govern a person’s behavior or the conducting of an activity.
• It seeks to resolve questions of human morality by defining concepts such as good and
evil, right and wrong, virtue and vice, justice and crime.
• It asks us to take responsibility for our beliefs and our actions, and live a life that’s our
own. We refer these as VALUES, PRINCIPLES AND PURPOSES
 CATEGORIES OF ETHICS
• Descriptive Ethics- Describing how people behave/moral standards they claim to
follow ( What do people think is right?)
• MetaEthics – Investigate where Ethical principle come from ? (What does “right” even
mean?)
• Normative Ethics - is concerned with classifying actions as right and wrong without
bias (How should people act?)
• Applied Ethics – Involves examining specifics controversial issues. Most practical (How
do we take moral knowledge and put it into practice)
• 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 which 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
• Simple living
 ACCOUNTABILITY
• The obligation of an individual or organization to account for its activities, accept
responsibility for them and to disclose the results in a transparent manner
• It is an important element of good government. It is about the relationship of
the State and its citizens, and the extend to which the state is answerable for its
actions. The principles and concepts important to public sector accountability
includes transparency, fairness, integrity, and trust.
• Can be linked to the system of checks and balances
 FOUR STANDARD QUESTIONS THAT
ARE CENTRAL TO ACCOUNTABILITY

• Who is considered accountable?

• To whom he is considered accountable?
• To what standard or values is he accountable?
• By what means is he made accountable?
 Accountability of Public Officers
The 1987 Constitution of The Republic of the Philippines

• Article XI Section 1-
Public Office is a public trust. 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.
 PUBLIC SERVICE
• Is a service purporting to serve all members of a community. It is usually
provided by government to people living within its jurisdiction, either
directly (through the public sector) or by financing provision of services.
• It includes public goods and governmental services such as the military,
law enforcement, infrastructure (public roads, bridges, tunnels, water
supply, sewers, electrical grids, telecommunications, etc.) public transit,
public educations, along with health care and those working for the
government itself.
THE END