The Office of the Ombudsman Regional Office 6 held a seminar on Integrity, Transparency, and Accountability in Public Service (ITAPS) for newly hired officers, faculty, and general administrative support services personnel, July 11, 2024, at the Function Hall of Carlos Hilado Memorial State University Talisay Campus.
Organized by the Human Resource and Development Office, some 50 newly hired faculty and personnel underwent the whole day interactive.
Maria Lhuvilla Gaurana, Associate Graft Officer II facilitated the discussion on corruption, its causes and effects, and its magnitude.
Among the causes of corruption listed by the participants during the workshop were the desire for power, poverty, and greediness. The participants also added that corruption may lead to injustices, financial loss, and poor quality of life.
The second module, “Answering to the People: Accountability of Public Officers,” was delivered by Donald Badoy, Associate Graft Officer I. The session revolved around Section 1 of Article XI of the Philippine Constitution.
The participants were divided into groups to work on caselettes and reported their opinions on which norms of conduct should be strengthened.
The participants learned about pertinent laws on anti-graft and corruption through a series of interactive activities with Graft Investigative Officer Evangeline Nuñal.
In this module, Nuñal also introduced the Office of the Ombudsman’s functions and expounded on offenses involving gifts, public funds/properties, and gender. The participants were also divided into groups and assigned caselettes.
The final module on integrity was discussed by Abigail Tan Yau, Associate Graft Officer II.
She stressed the importance of honesty to oneself and others, doing the right thing, “wholeness” of character, truthfulness, treating people with respect, and having integrity in one’s word.
The Pledge of Service of the newly hired was led by Razel Mae Detablan, Director for Human Resource Management and Development. The program was
Josel Osal, Executive Assistant III, hosted the whole-day workshop.
