Good guys in gov't form honor group

MANILA, Philippines - The so-called “bad eggs” in government usually hit the news, but there are many others who have rendered exemplary service and who have been honored for their work. They have now decided to band together to form a group of outstanding public servants.

Past winners of three different awards conferred annually by the Civil Service Commission (CSC) under the Honor Awards Program have organized themselves to create a pool of good men and women who can be tapped to help the government.

Pangasinan 2nd District Rep. Leopoldo Bataoil, a former police official and recipient of an honor award in 2007, led the formation of the Lingkod Bayani Network (LBNet) in Camp Crame last week.

He said newly-formed organization provides a pool of outstanding government workers that can be tapped to promote excellence, professionalism, dedication, and meritocracy in the public sector.

Some of the past awardees who attended the event include Interior and Local Government Secretary Jesse Robredo (1997), Laguna Governor Jeorge Ejercito Estregan (2011), Trade Undersecretary Zenaida Maglaya (2007), former Trade Undersecretary Thomas Aquino (2010), and Taguig City University president and former Eastern Samar Gov. Lutgardo Barbo (1997).

CSC chairman Francisco Duque III expressed his support for the group, which gives recognition anew to those who have been cited for their dedication and excellence in serving the Filipino people.

“I would like to congratulate all of you for heeding the President’s call toward the matuwid na daan. Now that you have established this pool of outstanding civil servants called LBNet, this is a great opportunity for you to mobilize and actively advocate the tenets of good governance,” he said.

Duque also urged them to be “agents of change in the Philippine bureaucracy,” noting that though the general perception of the public on government employees is rather negative, reality shows that “we are not lacking in exemplars of good governance. All of you here can attest to that. So we have to bring the good news out.”

The Honor Awards Program is an annual undertaking of the CSC that recognizes and rewards outstanding state workers, with the aim to motivate and inspire them to improve the quality of their performance and instill deeper involvement in public service.