A study on the common misconduct committed by employees of a certain municipality in the Province of Iloilo: Implications to public trust and accountability under RA 6713

Abstract

RA 6713 otherwise known as Code of Conduct and Ethical Standards for Public Officials and Employees governs all government employees in order to promote a high standard of ethics in public service. Public officials and employees shall at all times be accountable to the people and shall discharge their duties with utmost responsibility, integrity, competence, and loyalty, act with patriotism and justice, lead modest lives, and uphold public interest over personal interest. The study was undertaken to find out what are the common misconduct committed by employees of a certain municipal hall in Iloilo Province. The respondents were the clients who visited the different offices of the said Municipal Hall. The researcher utilized a post-test “One Shot Survey” wherein the respondents were made to answer a researcher-made questionnaire. The researcher explained to the respondents the nature of the study through formal letter before they were asked to answer the questionnaires. The researcher also furnished a letter to the Municipal Mayor for his approval in the researcher’s conduct of survey in the vicinity of the Municipal hall. In this study, it was found out that most of the clients experienced the cessation of working hours during lunch break, which they found to be inappropriate since the government issued a “no noon-break” policy in all government offices and agencies. A number of respondents also experienced that absence of special lane for persons with disabilities (PWDs) is apparent in most of the offices in the municipal hall. Furthermore, a significant number of respondents also claimed that they find some employees discourteous or disrespectful towards the clients of the said office, which they are quite aware, that in violation of the law governing the ethics of government employees. Under section 4, paragraph (b) of RA 6713, it was provided that “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.” Be as it may, in the course of the study, every single respondent admitted that they did not report any misconduct that they experienced by diverse reasons like lack of time, arduous process of the complaint, to name a few.