Cops warned on soliciting gifts; rice farmers to get help — Dar
PBy
OLICEMEN
and local government employees should refrain from asking for gifts from the public, the Department of the Interior and Local Government (DILG) has warned.
No more solicitation or “kotong,”please!
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Erring cops and personnel will be held criminally or administratively liable if they are caught soliciting or receiving gifts from the public despite the salary increase granted by President Duterte, the DILG said.
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‘‘As a matter of policy, employees under the DILG, including police officers, will be held criminally and administratively liable if they receive or solicit gifts of monetary value from people they serve or transact with in relation to their official functions,’’ DILG Secretary Eduardo Año warned.
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“Such policy is clearly enunciated in National Police Commission Memorandum Circular 2016-002 which penalizes the act of soliciting or accepting directly or indirectly any gift of monetary value or the act of receiving for personal use of a fee, gift or other valuable thing in the course of official duties in expectation of receiving a favor or better treatment,’’ he added. ***
Año said the law was not unmindful of the Filipino culture of showing their appreciation towards those who ‘’help us, including public servants.’
The DILG chief said that Sec. 14 of RA 3019, the Anti-Graft and Corrupt Practices Act, states that unsolicited gifts or presents of small or insignificant value offered or given as a mere ordinary token of gratitude or friendship are an exception to graft and corrupt practices.
‘’It is in this context that the President’s statement must be appreciated as explained by the Chief Presidential Legal Counsel,’’ Año said.
*** “Although an exception is provided for in the law, may we remind our fellow workers in government, especially those in the Philippine National Police (PNP), that your services are already fully paid by the people through their taxes.”
“Therefore, gifts received in exchange for favors or as a form of bribe are in direct violation of your oath of service and is a violation of law,” the DILG head stressed.
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“In fact, it has been my practice in my own office that I do not accept gifts from local government officials or other functionaries and any such gift sent to my office are immediately returned to the sender,’’ Año added.
A good practice that should be maintained and emulated.
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“Rest assured that the DILG will be relentless in its pursuit of a police organization that is corruption-free and will not renege on our internal cleansing efforts in order to build a PNP that is worthy of the trust and confidence of the Filipino people,’’ he said.
Yes to a corruption-free PNP, DILG and entire government bureaucracy!
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Meanwhile, newly appointed Agriculture Secretary William Dar suggested the giving of cash assistance to rice farmers as one of the emergency intervention measures of the Department of Agriculture (DA).
Let’s ease the impact of the Rice Tariffication Law, Republic Act (RA) 11203 on local rice farmers hurt by low palay prices, he said. ***
“In that law, there is a section that says DA should formulate assistance to be given to farmers. One of them is to do something like 4Ps (Pantawid Pamilyang Pilipino Program) cash assistance,” Dar pointed out.
The DA could also ask for additional funds to help rice farmers in crop diversification, he added.
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The Philippine Statistics Administration (PSA) noted that as an aftermath of the open rice importation policy, July farmgate price of palay further dropped by 17.6 percent from R21.59 per kilogram (/kg) last year to R17.80/kg.
Lower rice prices but lower palay prices, too, for local farmers, it said.
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Dar said there is a need to fasttrack the release and utilization of Rice Competitiveness Enhancement Fund (RCEF) or the tariff collected from open rice importation..
“The farmers are waiting. The Rice Tariffication law has to be properly implemented,” he urged.
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He added that to ensure RCEF will go to the right beneficiaries, the Registry System for Basic Sectors in Agriculture (RSBA) for rice farmers should be updated.