For the second time in three years, the Civil Service Commission and government workers in Catanduanes have reason to mark the culmination of the 124th Philippine Civil Service Month Provincial Celebration in style.
All of the island’s three nominees to the 2024 Search for Outstanding Government Workers won at the regional level, with Administrative Aide I Rick O. Habana among the ten winners of the Dangal ng Bayan Award.
The janitor from Cabcab Central Elementary School was recognized for his extraordinary acts of public service and consistent demonstration of exemplary ethical behavior, a year after earning the Ondra Catandungan Award for Outstanding Non-Teaching Personnel in 2022 for his dedication and service to the school and the Schools Division of Catanduanes.
It may be recalled that in 2021, Supervising Tourism Officer Carmel Garcia-Bonifacio brought honor not only to the provincial government but the entire corps of civil servants in Catanduanes by winning the Pagasa Award for her outstanding contributions to the local tourism industry even in the face of challenges brought by the COVID-19 pandemic.
While Habana’s initiatives, dedication even beyond his stated duties and responsibilities, and commitment to service may pale in comparison, what he did over the past three years for Cabcab CES and its pupils certainly made a palpable difference in their lives and their effort to become responsible members of the community.
As his nominator, former DepEd Catanduanes Schools Division Superintendent Socorro V. dela Rosa succinctly noted, his contributions are a reminder that everyone has the potential to make a difference, no matter what the title and position in life.
On the other hand, Virac Water District Division Manager Elaine R. Ang and San Andres Vocational School Head Teacher Efren T. Gurrobat may not have made it past the regional level but this does not mean that the impact of their hard work and considerable inputs to their respective agencies deserve less applause.
All three of them have returned to their posts with the personal satisfaction that what they have done changed the lives of the people they serve and made their agencies perform better.
Aside from the upbeat celebration of its culminating program and awarding rites on Sept. 30, the CSC will certainly hope that the example set by Habana and company would encourage their fellow civil servants to do the same.
For years now, the Commission on Audit has been reiterating the same findings in its audit reports: that local government units in Catanduanes have been engaging in the unnecessary and excessive hiring of JO workers assigned in various offices, barangays, health centers and schools, contrary to Section 76 and 77 of RA No. 7160.
It is not only the executive departments that are abusing the hiring of contractuals and job order employees but also members of the Sanggunian who are assigning their hired personnel to work that is not in aid of legislation.
Worse, household help and farm workers have been included in the list of JOs by some chief executives and Sanggunian members, with the public shouldering their wages.
One or two could even earn the scrutiny of auditors or graft investigators for hiring ghost consultants and employees, with the wages presumably going to the official’s pocket.
While it is understandable that these elected politicians do so in aid of reelection, it should not be too much to ask them to at least assign such “unnecessary” casuals to perform real work, instead of just trying to look busy with their cellphones while waiting for their quincena.
As President Ferdinand R. Marcos Jr. stressed in his message during the Malacañang awarding ceremony, government work is about making the Filipino people, the country, and the world “better than when we found it.”
With local officials set to commence their bids for reelection in 2025, constituents should seriously ponder if their leaders certainly made their communities better in the past two years.