Code of Ethics for Government Officials and Employees
AN ACT establishing a Code of Conduct and Ethical Standards for public officials and employees, to uphold the time-honored principle of public office being a public trust, granting incentives and rewards for exemplary service, enumerating prohibited acts and transactions and providing penalties for violations thereof and for other purposes
Sec. 1. Title.
This Act shall be known as the “Code of Conduct and Ethical Standards for Public Officials and Employees.”
Sec. 2. Declaration of Policies.
It is the policy of the State to promote a high standard of ethics in public service. Public officials and employees shall at all times be accountable to the people and shall discharge their duties with utmost responsibility, integrity, competence, and loyalty, act with patriotism and justice, lead modest lives, and uphold public interest over personal interest.
Sec. 3. Definition of Terms.
As used in this Act, the term:
• (a) 'Government' includes the National Government, the local governments, and all other instrumentalities, agencies or branches of the Republic of the Philippines including government-owned or controlled corporations, and their subsidiaries.
• (b) 'Public Officials' includes elective and appointive officials and employees, permanent or temporary, whether in the career or non-career service, including military and police personnel, whether or not they receive compensation, regardless of amount.
• (c) 'Gift' refers to a thing or a right to dispose of gratuitously, or any act or liberality, in favor of another who accepts it, and shall include a simulated sale or an ostensibly onerous disposition thereof. It shall not include an unsolicited gift of nominal or insignificant value not given in anticipation of, or in exchange for, a favor from a public official or employee.
• (d) 'Receiving any gift' includes the act of accepting directly or indirectly, a gift from a person other