Directing the Heads of the Executive Department to Lead Moral Renewal in their Agencies

January 30, 2009

ADMINISTRATIVE ORDER NO. 255

DIRECTING THE HEADS OF THE EXECUTIVE DEPARTMENT TO LEAD MORAL RENEWAL IN THEIR AGENCIES

WHEREAS, Section 1 of Article XI of the 1987 Philippine Constitution provides that public office is a public trust and that 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;

WHEREAS, Section 27 of Article II of the 1987 Philippine Constitution mandates that the State shall maintain honesty and integrity in the public service;

WHEREAS, Section 23 of Article II of the 1987 Philippine Constitution directs the State to encourage the participation of non-governmental, community-based, or sectoral organizations in promoting the welfare of the nation; cITAaD

WHEREAS, Section 2 of Republic Act No. 6713, otherwise known as the "Code of Conduct and Ethical Standards for Public Officials and Employees" provides that it is the policy of the State to promote a high standard of ethics in public service;

WHEREAS, pursuant to Section 39, Chapter 8, Book IV of Executive Order No. 292, otherwise known as the "Administrative Code of 1987", the Secretary of a department shall have supervision and control over the bureaus, offices, and agencies under him;

WHEREAS, in line with the Medium-Term Philippine Development Plan (MTPDP) for 2004-2010 of the Macapagal-Arroyo administration, there is an urgent need for societal reform through moral renewal and values formation in the Executive Department.

NOW THEREFORE, I, GLORIA MACAPAGAL-ARROYO, President of the Republic of the Philippines, by virtue of the powers vested in me by law, do hereby order and direct:

SECTION 1. Leadership in Moral Renewal. — All cabinet secretaries/heads of agencies shall adopt and implement a Moral Renewal Program in their agencies.

Moral renewal refers to values formation and ethical behavior for government officers and employees, as well as the strengthening of people's values to achieve zero tolerance for corruption. It shall include, among others, the following:

a. Promotion of the Filipino values embodied in the Preamble of the 1987 Constitution, in particular: (i) the value of being maka-Diyos, which encompasses faith in the Almighty; (ii) the value of being maka-tao, which includes truth, justice, freedom, love, equality, and peace; (iii) the value of being maka-bayan, which includes respect for the law, the government of the Republic of the Philippines and its instrumentalities, patriotism, promotion of the common good and building a just and humane society; and (iv) the value of being maka-kalikasan, which involves the conservation and development of our patrimony;

b. Ensuring that all bureaus, regional offices, and attached agencies of Departments nationwide adopt and implement the Integrity Development Action Plan (IDAP), which is the National Anti-Corruption Framework for the Executive Branch;

c. The expansion and strengthening of the membership of the Integrity Committee in every department, agency, bureau, and office;

d. The formulation, promulgation and adoption of an agency-specific Code of Conduct, or the updating of existing Codes of Conduct to reflect the IDAP; ScTIAH

e. Values formation activities of the Presidential Council on Values Formation; and

f. The strict observance by all public officers of the principle of moral leadership by example, especially by Cabinet Secretaries.

SECTION 2. Participation of Religious, Civil Society and Civic Groups. — Agencies shall enlist the participation of religious, civil society and civic groups through consultations, program development, promotion and implementation of their Moral Renewal Program.

SECTION 3. Implementation. — Agencies shall submit their respective Action Plans for their Moral Renewal Program to the Presidential Anti-Graft Commission (PAGC), copy furnished the President, within ninety (90) days from effectivity hereof.

SECTION 4. Monitoring and Evaluation. — It shall be the duty of PAGC to monitor and evaluate the implementation and evaluate the effectiveness of the Moral Renewal Program of the agencies, which shall include surveys of, and feedback from agency officers and employees of all levels on the manner by which their respective heads have been complying with this Administrative Order and adopting the principles embodied herein.

PAGC shall submit regular reports to the President on the progress and status of the implementation of the Moral Renewal Program, copy furnished all the religious, civil society and civic groups enlisted in accordance with Section 2 of this Administrative Order.

SECTION 5. Allocation of Funds. — Agencies are hereby directed to allocate a portion of their maintenance, operations and overhead expenditures (MOOE) budget as funding for their Moral Renewal Program.

SECTION 6. Effectivity. — This Administrative Order shall take effect immediately after it has been published in at least two (2) newspapers of general circulation in the Philippines.

DONE this 30th day of January, 2009 in the City of Manila.

Published in The Manila Times on February 13, 2009.