MIRD
Partner Launches Public Service Excellence, Ethics and Accountability
Program in Sulu
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FOR UPDATE ON THE CONDUCT OF
PSEEAP TRAINING IN SULU
The Western Mindanao
Local Governance Resource Center-University Center for Local Governance,
Western Mindanao State University is currently engaged in the conduct of a
training program for the personnel of the Provincial Government of Sulu.
Sort of a top-level intervention program for good governance, the program
dubbed "Public Service Excellence, Ethics and Accountability Program or
PSEEAP" is to be conducted for a duration of five months (February 15-July
31, 2005). The program formally commenced last March 18 as the
memorandum of agreement was signed by and between the Western Mindanao State
University, represented by the University President Dr. Eldigario D.
Gonzales and the Provincial Government of Sulu, represented by Hon. Benjamin
T. Loong, Sulu Provincial Governor.
Public
Service Excellence, Ethics and Accountability Program (PSEEAP) is basically
a comprehensive training package specially designed for public servants
generally aimed at improving the quality of public service delivery to
ensure total satisfaction of the “public service customers.” An innovation
along modern techniques towards the desire for good governance, PSEEAP as a
tool was conceptualized and developed by The Asia Foundation (TAF). Today,
the Program has been implemented and piloted in some major cities in
Mindanao by TAF in partnership with non-government organizations with the
prime objective of capacitating the local government units for the
integration and internalization of the Program into their actual conduct of
governance.
The
Program is a series of orientations and workshops on basic customer service
skills, improvement of services, value formation and ethics, standard
behavior in decision making and accountability in public service. The
Program also covers corruption tendencies, perceptions of corruption and the
role of culture and values and how corruption can be minimized in the
workplace. The sessions lead to action planning where each of the several
participating departments craft an action plan to improve the service
culture within the organization, facilitating the shift from a traditional
bureaucratic culture to a culture of public service ethics and
accountability, thus promoting good governance.
The
United States Agency for International Development (USAID) through its
external audit has found out that the Program has made some impressive
results on the operations of LGUs who were beneficiaries of the Program.
With the findings, USAID has then commissioned the Asia Foundation for the
expansion of the program to other interested locals government units (LGUs)
as it tries to look at the possibility of sustaining this governance
initiative.
It is
under this expansion phase of the Program that The Asia Foundation has
commissioned the Western Mindanao Local Governance Resource Center, Western
Mindanao State University Center for Local Governance to provide this
training package to the Provincial Government of Sulu in response to the
latter’s request for the conduct of this governance program in the province.
Series of visits to the
island province have been scheduled by the University Center for Local
Governance team as orientations and sessions which are mostly in a form of
workshops are underway. The team is composed of Dr. Eldigario D.
Gonzales, University President and Project Consultant, Dr. Ofelio R.
Mendoza, UCLG Project Director; Rebecca B. Felonia, project coordinator; Romeo C. Bacharo, Jr., Resource Person and
MIRD Project Manager, Joel Alasco, also another Resource Person for the
training. Support Staff are Lucy Santos, admin-finance officer;
Eulyn Tangalin, documentor; and Ma. Deanna Book, administrative support
staff.
