Unethical YOU : Anti Epal Bill

Projects are defined as work involving a single or group of people to finish it that usually involves research, design or implementation. Projects can be further defined as temporary rather than permanent that are constituted by teams within or across organizations to accomplish particular tasks under time constraints.

From the dictionary, An official is someone who holds an office (function or mandate, regardless whether it carries an actual working space with it) in an organization or government and participates in the exercise of authority (either his own or that of his superior and/or employer, public or legally private).

A government official or functionary is an official who is involved in public administration or government, through either election, appointment, selection, or employment. A bureaucrat is a member of the bureaucracy. An elected official is a person who is an official by virtue of an election. Officials may also be appointed ex officio (by virtue of another office, often in a specified capacity, such as presiding, advisory, secretary). Some official positions may be inherited.

A person who currently holds an office is referred to as an incumbent. –wikipedia

Today, we could see different tarpaulins, posters or even names of an incumbent or previous government official written on the Infraastructure, public works or activities that are project of the government, local or national. Senator Miriam Santiago made it a point for the Filipino people to become aware that the money spent for this projects are from the taxpayers money not from the government officials with their pictures smiling attached to the project on going or done.

Anti Epal Bill or formerly titled “An Act Prohibiting Public Officers from Claiming Credit through Signage Announcing a Public Works Project” or Senate Bill number 1967 is directed to politicians who claim credit for government projects. “Epal” is slang to “mapapel” or best defined as people who are attention grabbers, crave a role that are not theirs or scene-stealers that are not appropriate.

In terms of those government officials specially the incumbents with lots of tarpaulins as big as 10 ft x 10 ft square meters with their pictures and claiming it is their projects on going, the Senator find this unethical that could lead to corruption and evil because the project is funded by the taxpayers money.

Here are some points from the bill.

S. No. 1967
Introduced by Senator Miriam Defensor Santiago

AN ACT PROHIBITING PUBLIC OFFICERS FROM CLAIMING CREDIT THROUGH SIGNAGE
ANNOUNCING A PUBLIC WORKS PROJECT
Be it enacted by the Senate and the House of Representatives of the Philippines in
Congress assembled:

SECTION 1. Short Title. - This Act shall be known as the "Anti-Signage of Public Works Act."

SECTION 2. Declaration of Policy. - It is the State's policy for public officers to serve with utmost responsibility, integrity, loyalty, and efficiency, and to maintain honesty and integrity in public service.

SECTION 3. Definition of Terms. -For the purpose of this Act, the term:

A) "Government" means the national government, the local governments, the
government-owned and government-controlled corporations, and all other instrumentalities or agencies of the Republic of the Philippines and their branches;

(B) "Public officer" means elective and appointive officials and employees, permanent or temporary, whether in the classified or unclassified or exempt service receiving compensation,even nominal, from the government as defined in the preceding paragraph;

C) "Public works" includes, but is not limited to the following: streets, bridges,sidewalks, walkways, public buildings, public parks, sewage facilities, basketball courts, waiting sheds, and lampposts, which are funded, wholly or partly, though public funds released by the Government\ and (I?) "Signage" any form of writterl announcement, installed, posted, hanged, painted or otherwise displayed in a public place.