Integrity in public service, corporate governance

MANILA, Philippines - To speak before the alumni of “Integrity in Public Service” is a tall order, but one that every graduate must consider as a call of duty. The last time I addressed the Cadet Corp was in my final days as AFP Chief of Staff, when the integrity of PMA as an institution of moral leadership was being questioned in the wake of some alumni charged with corruption.

The high standard of integrity instilled in every PMA graduate has become both a blessing and a burden. A blessing, for it is the expected high standard that opens opportunities to positions of great authority and responsibility. But it is also a burden, because by this same high standard, we are subjected to closer scrutiny—if not ridicule—for any unethical conduct.

Cadets’ training and the real world. On several occasions, I have been asked if the PMA’s ideal environment should be blamed for deceptively conditioning the minds of the cadets that everything exists in purely black and white. With minds nurtured in a world detached from reality, I was asked if PMA, in a way, distorts the cadets’ worldview of what lies ahead.

The training one receives here, despite being in isolation from real world challenges, is meant to build a strong, solid foundation of character. It is our hope that deeply instilled values and work ethic will carry them through, when the going gets tough, when the circumstances are not so perfect, and when others exhibit a character of a different mold.

PMA: A refuge after struggles in battlegrounds. To cavaliers who fought in perilous battlegrounds, struggled in concrete jungles, and who traversed the turbulent worlds of public and private enterprises, Borromeo Field is a place of refuge. It is a sanctuary from where he or she draws renewed strength to continue his or her battles outside PMA’s idyllic setting.

Integrity: Weapon vs. graft. I have always had a practical definition of Integrity, and it is: “Doing the right thing even though no one is watching.” To those of us who have had the benefit of serving beyond the horizon of uniformed service, it is my view that the integrity required of the military or police professional remains consistently essential to those who serve society through the bureaucracy.

In the military service, graft and corruption take its toll on the lives of soldiers and on the accomplishment of the mission.

As Chief of Staff, proper use and management of limited resources was a major concern. I impressed upon our officers to work within the budget, giving priority to mission-essential programs and activities..

Principled stand at BCDA. It is therefore by design that, from a plebe’s Reception to the time the Cadet Gray is shed, the PMA experience is the proverbial kiln that molds the cadets’ character to be imbued with the virtues of Courage, Integrity and Loyalty.

Public servants will always encounter people who have some vested interests. These people exert pressure in many forms–from lobbying with higher authorities, to spreading ugly rumors. I was only in my second year at BCDA when I was the subject of a very well-funded demolition job.

For almost a year, my family woke up to full-page ads and numerous columns that maligned my person. My vindication for our principled stand came much later when the Regional Trial Court affirmed the BCDA’s position on the Poro Point controversy. But of course, you did not read that anymore in the newspapers.

It takes moral courage to give truthful information and forthright advice to our superiors even if these are unpopular. And it takes moral courage to stand up against powerful and influential persons to defend the public interest.

Integrity in public service also requires the proper sense of loyalty; first and foremost to God, country and institutions before personal loyalties to friends, relatives, classmates, fraternities or whatever relationships one has established.

Higher loyalty beyond fraternal bonds. It is important, however, to be wary of the pitfalls of brotherhood, as this may cloud our objectivity and better judgment. Worse is when these bonds cause us to look the other way when impropriety or malfeasances occur.

I do not think that this is the kind of loyalty that our Alma Mater seeks to instill in its graduates. Public service demands higher loyalty to the larger community of stakeholders to whom we are officially accountable. Values, principles and our commitment to the standards of fairness and decency must not be compromised, even if others will call you an oddball.

The AFP’s management of its resources, for example, has always been clouded with suspicion. Knowing this, among my first efforts as Chief of Staff was to seek the help of institutional partners in promoting transparency in the AFP.

It is on record in Congressional hearings that I expressed openness to having career Civil Service executives in plantilla positions in the AFP. I believed that this would establish a better system of check and balance, promote continuity, and preserve institutional memory, so that it is easier to pinpoint responsibilities and accountabilities.

SCTEX: a result of good corporate governance. At the BCDA, good corporate governance practices are institutionalized and consciously reiterated. In 2008, BCDA was adjudged by the Institute of Corporate Directors headed by its Chairman, former Finance Secretary Jesus P. Estanislao, as one of the top ten government agencies in good corporate governance.

We strive to keep our biddings, worth billions of pesos, above board not only through strict adherence to the requirements of the law, but also by enhancing the capability of the technical working groups. This is meant to ensure that the requisite due diligence is observed, precluding possible loopholes that dissatisfied parties can exploit to derail the process.

Ethical compass. Good corporate governance made it possible for BCDA’s flagship project, the Subic-Clark-Tarlac Expressway (SCTEX) to be finished on schedule, within the NEDA-approved budget, even realizing substantial savings, and compliant with international design and engineering standards. 

Let us remember to apply a principle we all learned in ground navigation – to make frequent azimuth checks on our ethical compass. When it comes to a point where the route becomes uncertain, take a back azimuth to our Alma Mater and to the ideals it represents. This will surely bring us back on the right path and keep us in good stead.

(Excerpts from the speech delivered by Gen. Narciso L. Abaya (Ret), president and CEO of the Bases Conversion and Development Authority (BCDA) at the Alumni Homecoming 2010 of the Philippine Military Academy on Feb. 20, 2010. Gen. Abaya was Chief of Staff of the Armed Forces of the Philippines from April 8, 2003 to Oct. 29, 2004.)