Adoption and Implementation of Government Reorientation on Accountability and Commitment for Effective Service

December 23, 1985

LETTER OF INSTRUCTIONS NO. 1503

WHEREAS, the National Economic Recovery Program of the government requires the active support and involvement of all sectors of society including the active participation of all government officials and employees for the effective delivery of government services to the people; acd

WHEREAS, the Civil Service Commission has launched a Crusade for the Attainment of a Revitalized, Enlightened, Educated Response to the Service (CAREERS) the objectives of which are (a) to develop deeper commitment among civil servants to moral, spiritual and work values, (b) to upgrade skills and capabilities, (c) to stabilize personnel systems and structures, (d) to strengthen the merit protection system, and (e) to create a dynamic environment of creativity and innovation;

WHEREAS, the attainment of deeper commitment to the goals and objectives of the New Republic and to moral, spiritual and work values can be achieved through a continuing service-wide government reorientation on accountability and commitment for effective service as proposed by the Career Executive Service Development Program Alumni Association;

WHEREAS, the Career Executive Service Development Program Alumni Association is composed of graduates of the CESDP who are deeply committed to the programs and projects of the New Republic; cd i

NOW, THEREFORE, I, FERDINAND E. MARCOS, President of the Philippines, by virtue of the powers vested in me by law, do hereby order the adoption and implementation, under the supervision of the Civil Service Commission, of a service-wide program of Government Reorientation on Accountability and Commitment for Effective Service, hereinafter referred to as "GRACES," in all government agencies involving all officials and employees, as a component of the CAREERS of the Civil Service Commission.

1. The objectives of the GRACES program are as follows:

a. Strengthen and develop a deeper sense of accountability, commitment and dedication to service among all government employees;

b. Upgrade and update government employees' awareness of the goals, programs and projects of the New Republic in general and of their respective offices in particular;

c. Intensify the dissemination of the Filipino Ideology and internalize its components into actual practice among all government officials and employees;

d. Develop a system of monitoring; recording and evaluating the commitment and support of officials and employees to various government programs and projects;

e. Provide a mechanism for appreciating, documenting and recording employees' perception of their roles, experiences, observation and their aspirations; and

f. Recommend the grant of appropriate awards to government officials and employees for exemplary performance under this program.

2. There is hereby organized a GRACES National Advisory Board which shall provide consultative and advisory services to the Program, with the Prime Minister as Chairman, the Chairman of the Civil Service Commission as Vice-Chairman, and the Ministers of all line and staff ministries as Members.

3. There is hereby established a National Executive Committee (NEC) to direct, manage and supervise the Program, with the President of the CESDP Alumni Association as Chairman and the senior Member of the Civil Service Commission as Co-Chairman. The Members shall be selected and designated by the Chairman and the Co-Chairman of the Committee taking into consideration, their technical qualifications, expertise, availability, and representation of major sectoral services. Heads of training institutions and professional employee organizations may be invited to serve in the Committee.

To manage and supervise the implementation of the program, Executive Committees shall also be organized by the different ministries and agencies. At the ministry level, the Committee shall be chaired by a Career Deputy Minister with a representative of the Civil Service with a representative of the Civil Service Commission as Co-Chairman and the heads of bureaus, offices and services as members; at the regional level, the President of the CESDP Alumni Chapter shall serve as Chairman with the CSC Regional Director as Co-Chairman with the CSC Regional Director as Co-Chairman and the Regional Directors in the area as members. The Regional Director of the Ministry of Local Government shall organize appropriate provincial/city committees to implement the program. In the case of corporations and state colleges and universities, they shall organize their respective executive committees in coordination with the ministries to which they are attached.

4. The National Executive Committee shall organize a National Secretariat to provide technical and staff support to the program. The detail of qualified personnel to the Secretariat shall be approved by the Civil Service Commission upon recommendation of the Ministry or Agency concerned. The Commission shall also provide, or make arrangements for adequate office space and such other services needed by the Secretariat.

The different ministries and agencies shall likewise organize their secretaries to be manned by personnel from their respective offices, provided that at the regional level, the regional office of the Civil Service Commission shall authorize the assignment thereto of personnel from different regional offices of the government.

5. The Civil Service Commission shall, in cooperation with other training centers of the government, conduct training programs to prepare implementors of GRACES. Furthermore, the Commission shall organize teams to periodically assess and evaluate the implementation of GRACES at the different government offices. The Commission shall, on the basis of performance standards prescribed by the National Executive Committee, screen and evaluate recommendations for the grant of awards to deserving government officials and employees. aisa dc

6. The Office of Media Affairs shall extend full support to the program, including the conduct of public information campaigns and the publication and distribution of the GRACES handbook and other printed materials as may be required from time to time.

7. The members and staff of the Executive Commission and the Secretariat of the GRACES Program shall, subject to the availability of funds, be entitled to reasonable allowances as may be determined by the Civil Service Commission, payable from the funds of the Program or from the funds of their respective mother agencies.

8. To initially carry out the activities of GRACES, the Minister of the Budget is hereby directed to release and/or facilitate the release of the amount of P900,000.00 to the Civil Service Commission for the operation of GRACES. Each ministry, office, corporation, state university or college, or local government unit shall allocate from its annual appropriation such sum as may be necessary for the implementation of GRACES.

In the allocation of funds of any ministry or agency, the GRACES program shall be accorded priority over training programs or any other related activity.

9. The Civil Service Commission and the Career Executive Service Development Program Alumni Association shall actively involve the officers and members of the following employee Associations: Bureau Director's Association, Career Executive Service Guild, the Personnel Officers Association of the Philippines; Junior Executive Service Officers Guild; the Development Managers Association of the Philippines; Executive Leadership and Management Alumni Association; Future Leaders Program Alumni Association; and the Government Training Officers Association of the Philippines. casia

10. All heads of ministries and offices are directed to extend maximum support and to actively involve all officials and employees of their agencies in the GRACES program.

11. The National Executive Committee shall submit periodic reports on the implementation of the GRACES program to the Office of the President, copy furnished the Cabinet and the Office of the Prime Minister.

I hereby reiterate my standing instruction to include in all training programs a module on reorientation, including the dissemination of the Filipino Ideology among government officials and employees.

DONE in the City of Manila, this 23rd day of December, in the year of Our Lord, Nineteen Hundred and Eighty-Five.