Thursday, August 19, 2004 Editorials: Morality in public service
Two things came up the past few days that, in essence, strike at the heart of the current national condition. The twin issues put to question the morality and integrity of our nation’s leadership as it strives to deliver effective public service.
The first issue concerns the morality of some of our key officials whose positions in the bureaucracy have made them role models for our citizenry down to the villages. But instead of being models of decorum, they behaved otherwise.
There is, for instance, the revelation that some members of Congress, and even the judiciary, have had dalliance with escort service ladies, to the chagrin of the Senate, the House, the Supreme Court, and the Palace.
This happens amidst our people’s deep sense of trepidation over the alarming rise in incidence of crimes against chastity.
Then there is the second issue that is more morally pernicious than the first. It is one that does not only place at issue certain basic morality of those in public service, but also their integrity.
Our people do have reason to pray that the reported scam exposed in the Senate recently would turn out untrue. For it involves the regime of two presidents where P3 billion is supposed to have been spent in a place called Smokey Mountain.
The expose threatened to draw away senatorial focus on the need for new taxes. But as it turned out, the “bomb” was a dud.
The twin issues opened the national leadership to closer scrutiny by the people. In a democracy like ours, the ideal should have been that those at the top possess not only steel-strong morality but also unsullied integrity.
The question our people are silently asking is: How qualified are our leaders?
Dismissed tax collection cases
The report that the court dismissed the tax collection cases worth P1 billion filed by the Bureau of Customs (BOC) and the Bureau of Internal Revenue (BIR) is gravely distressing. The decision pointed to the “lack of interest to prosecute” on the part of the said government agencies.
This issue has reportedly prompted members of Congress to balk at passing new tax laws since the collection agencies are not sincere in the performance of their duties. It gives rise to the suspicion of collusion between government collectors and dishonest taxpayers.
The cases thus put at issue the need to require persons in public office to always maintain a higher level of morality and integrity in fulfilling their functions. They must always assume an unimpeachable stature to retain public trust and confidence.
This reality is even more compelling to those who work in collection agencies like the BOC and the BIR on whose shoulders lay the burden of providing the financial sustenance that insures our government’s continuous operation.
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