(Keynote Speech Of President Edgardo J. Angaraat the United Methodis, Church Launching of the Renewal Forum on 25 February 1984 at the Aberdeen Court, Quezon Boutevard Extension.)
There are three issues which you want me to discuss in your renewal forum today. I wish, however, to limit myself to onlyone-e-the issue of public service and discuss it in a broad historical context.
The issue of public service is basically a question 01public accountability which in turn implies that public office has an inherent fiduciary character. This whole idea of public account- abifi'y has a noble and ancient lineage.
lfwe go back to the history of classical political thought, we discover that such great minds as Plato, Aristotle, St.
Augustine, St. Thomas Aquinas, Thomas Hobbes, and John locke, among others, share common philosophical insights.
They all agree that political authority is accountable to some- thing or someone higher. Callit God, the Divine Reason,natural law, or a group of persons upon whose consent political society becomes possible. Whatever, political power is not something absolute but a public trust that mustbe accounted for.
This principle of accountability was there too in the writings of the propaganda movement in Spain. Rlzal, Del Pilar, and Lopez Jaena who were all committed to promote the cause of the motherland among the declslon-rnakers in Madrid found in the Egalitarian outlook of the age of enliqtitenment a valuable ally. They eloquently argued that the colonial master is morally answerable to the people of the colony.
When Spain failed to heed the clamor01the colony for reforms, the Filipinos had to stage a revolution. The first Philippine Hepubllc was born with its own constitution outlining the structure of a representative government. In the Malolos Constitution we could already' see the idea of accountability embodied in the political framework. Members of the tegislature were indirectly elected I:' the people and were, therefore, ultimately accountable to them. Unfortunately, the first Philippine Republic, the first ever in Asia was too snort-llved, The process of setting up political institutions by our native political genius was aborted by American conquest. We can only wonder what would have become of the political plan of government under the Malolos Constitution had we remained free.
The new colonial master transplanted on Philippine soil the seeds of its own political experience. The republican tradition of the United States sought '0 replicate itself in the Philippines.
Through the Philippine Bill 011902 and the Jones Law of 1916, the American colonial government tried to recast the structure of government and the direction of politics, putting great emphasis on the institutionalization of the mechanisms of public accountability. Thus, an independent Judiciary was estabtlsned. Periodic elections were instituted. Civil service was instaUed. Free media were encouraged. And an independent watchdog was set up to insure fidelity in the handling of public funds.
These institutional mechanisms were all designed to give substance to the proposition that public office is a public trust.
Throughout the American colonial period, public accountability was fully operational, practice matching theory. A whole body of political and legal literature evolved highlighting the fiduciary nature of public office. Students and practitioners of politics were quite familiar with the words of the late Justice Malcolm in Cornejo vs. Gabriel (41 Phil. 188)-that the basic idea of government in the Philippines "is that of a representative
government, the officers being mere agents and not rulers of the peopie, one where no one man or set of men has a proprietory or contractual right to an office, but where every officer accepts office pursuant to the provisions 01 law and holds the office as a trust for the people whom he represents."
Itcould be said that the institutions of public accountability were functioning well during the American regime. We hardly know of any massive electoral fraud perpetrated during the period. The jurists were highly respected and admired. There yvas pride in the Civil Service. There was vigilance in the monitoring of public expenditures.Itwas an era with a known code of high public conduct and work ethic.
With the recovery of our independence and the withdrawal of American sovereignty in 1946, the political atmosphere was drastically changed. The absence of the colonial master opened the gates to relentless struggle for power among political parties. Independence did not lead to the emergence of a unified people. On the contrary, postwar politics unveiled the leslering division.
When we recall such remarks as "What are we in power for?"
'''What is wrong with a man providing for his future?"-uttered by postwar political figures, one begins to wonder whatever happened to the ideals and traditions of public service that were carefully nurtured over the years.
What happened to the ideals of public service so well enshrined in literature and in practice only a few years ago?
One possible explanation for the decline in values and a shift in perspectives was the trauma caused by the Japanese occu- pation. There could be other reasons.
But what was starkly revealing about the early postwar period was the rapid erosion in public morals. Memories of scandals in the Immigration quotes and the war surplus and the electoral frauds of 1949 still haunt the survivors of that generation. And to think that all these betrayals of public trust happened ie too short a period from 1946to 1949.
The postwar political era saw the beginning of the rise and fall of administration on the main issue of graft and corruption.
Itwas asIf no other issue mattered to the electorate then. From the early 50s up to the early 70s, the nation experienced a swift and sustained deterioration of its political system to a point that the very survival of the republic was at stake. Martial Law was imposed precisely to stop the dismemberment of the republic, Martial Law was avowedly used as an instrument of renewal that would promote the governing of the nation, public service and discipline.
In perspective, perhaps it is timely to ask if Martial Law has proved to be an instrument of renewal. Has it really served its original purpose? To its credit, Martial Law prevented the complete breakdown of peace and order. The dismantling of private armies and the confiscation of loose firearms were welcomed measures. The speed with which decisions were made paved the way for an acce'erated economic development. And in the diplomatic trent. the country's international reach was extended to new frontiers.
Some observers, however, would like to weigh the gains of Martial Law against its shortcornlnqs.Btven the various trade- otts, do the country and people really benefit? Has the judiciary been strengthened in the process? Has the press been free?
Has the quality of legislation improved? Has there been ~
marked improvement in the overall public service delivery system? In other words, has the sense, substance and structures of public accountability improved?
In our attempt to review the evolution of the concept of public service and its supporting institutions of public account- ability, we must now focus our attention on the present state of affairs. It is rather difficult to be totally objective in our assess- ment of the present primarily because we are in it either as actors or observers. Even the observer is affected by what he sees around him.
But there is one common need. One common demand.
That is a change in the status quo. People may differ-
{. hon"stiy disagree-over the approach and manner by
Whld~
" such change shall be effected. But the common perception ,""pears strongly in lavorof a change in the statusQUO.
Given the popular clamor for change. what are the various alternatives being proposed? One school of thought advocates that the first important step to Institute change within an ailing political system is to participate In the forthcoming parliamen- tary elections.
What can be of special significance in the May Batasan elections is the opportunity it will provide, assuming that the ground rules are fair to all, to help cleanse the system. If the electoral process is institutionalized with all the necessary safeguards then there really is a mechanism whereby the people can have theirwillregistered and counted. Public scrutiny of government policies and actions and voters' appraisal of public sector performance will help prevent abuses of power.
But there are those who question Whether it is at all possible
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to Initiate reforms within the system. Hence, they would boycott the May etecttons, believing that the rules of the game are rigged In favor of the ruling party. Moreover, they hold that participation in the electoral process will just legitim'ize 'the very political machinery that they have been questioning.
The third view is a complete rejection of the established political order. They are diametrically opposed to the whole system of institutions and values. Theirs is the advocacy of an armed struggle through which they hope to install their own ideology and bureaucracy.
Indeed our situation calls for a new beginnings, an honest re-evatuatton of our laws, our values,' our institutions at the most basic level. Man's one enduring quality is his capacity for renewal. The process of the human raceis made possible by man's own ability to come up with n.ew ideas. new structures, new processes.Itis man's own creativity that ensures his own survivala~dprogress. We can do no less.
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BOARD OF REGENTS" The Honorable Onofre D.Corpuz". Chairman, Minister of Education and Culture· The Honorable Edgardo J. Angara, Presldent,Unlver·
alty of the Philippines. The Honorable Emil Q.Javler,Chancellor, Universityof the Philippines at Los Banos. The Honorable Gerardo V. de Leon, Jr., Acting Chancellor, Health Sciences penter • The Honorable Dionioia A. Rola, Chancellor, U.P. In the Vlsayas. The Honorable Eatellto P.Mendoza, President, UPAlumni Aa80clation • The Honorable Ruben B. Anchela • The Honorable Roberto S.
Benedicta. The Honorable Adrtan Crtolobal • The Honorable Clemente Gat·
maltan, Jr•• The Honorable Ronalda B. lamora • Prof. Martin V. Gregorto.
Sacretary
·'n FabflJ8/Y'984,the BOR had a naw chairman In MInister JalmaC.Laya, who succflBdBd Dr. Corpuz a8 Mlnlstar 01 Educal/on. Cu/lura and Sports. At the same lime, the Board had two new mambars In Dr.Ern.aloG.Tabu/ata and Dr. ConradoL'LorfUJZO, Jr., 'henew chancellors 'orUPOJllmen andUP Mantia, respectively.
OFFICER OFTHEADMINISTRATION. Atty. Edgardo J. Angara, President. Dr. Oacar M...10010. Executiva Vlce·Presldent • Dr. lren. R.
Colt",
Vlc.Preeldent lor Academic Allaira • Dr.ImllP.
de
GlIIlIUln, Vlc.Prealdent 10(Plannlngand Finance·Prol. M.rtln V.GregorIo,Secretary ••
. EDITORIAL BOARD. Prof.Martin V. Gregorlo, Secretery 01 the . University, Chairmen. Prof. Benjamin V. Lozare, Acting Director of the University Preas, Secretary. Dr. Ematerla L... Secretery 01 the University councn«Dr.Glorla D. Feliciano, Dean of the Instituteof Mess Communlcetllon •
Dr.
Em_ciana Y.Areallan..President, U.P. Faculty Orgenlzation • Atty. Hayde. Arandla, President 01 the U.P. Supervisors' Assocletlon. Mr. Ralael LotlUa, Editor01 the Philippine Colleglen
EDITORIAL STAFF. Prol. Leonardo D.deCotro. Editor. Larry M. Azura, Managing Editor· Emeato Cayabyab, Photographer. ElmerP.Fnonclaco, ClrculetlonManeger
Th. Unlv.nolly01 the PIllllppln.a GueU.ls publiShed quert.rly by the Ollice 01 the Secretary of the University, University 01 the Philippines, Dlllm.n, Quezon City, Philippines.
Th. typel.c. usedIn this Journal Is Unlv.ra medium, aet In two'pOlntleads.
Th. prlntlng In ollaet lithographyIs by the Unlverelly01 the Phlllppinee Pre...