Is it universally ethical to accept any form of gifts from
politicians specially this season of Christmas and election? On the other
hand, is it also ethical to give any form of gifts, money or otherwise, if you
are a candidate at this very moment of the year? Could you tell me exactly when a gift
becomes a bribe?
Gift-giving, especially cash-giving, is a fad among
politicians in this very hour. They are all over Facebook. Photos of politicians
distributing cold cash were posted. But when a gift is not a gift? Giving, in
whatever form, establishes a relationship. One ethical issue to consider when
assessing whether offering or accepting a gift is appropriate is whether the
relation will be ALTERED or if there is an expectation that it will be INFLUENCED
in some way. For example in such a gesture, when the giver is expecting favors
(read: votes) in return, this is clearly a bribe and NOT a gift. The giver’s as
well as the receiver’s motives are important in pinpointing this but there are
still no instrument invented by man to detect or measure one’s motive.
What is “Ethics”? It can be summed up with these words:
"Ethics is concerned with how people ought to act and how they ought to be
in relationship with others. Ethics does not just describe how things are, but
rather is concerned with establishing norms or standards for how human life and
conduct should be." Ethics are a set of principles of right conduct. But
how can one distinguish clearly what is right from what is wrong? And it
becomes more complicated when these two areas (what is right and what is wrong)
overlap so that a gray area develops. It is clear to me as once student of
Ethics, gifts and bribes as distinctively separate. Gifts are ethical while
bribes are not.
But in Occidental Mindoro culture in particular and the Philippine culture in general, the concepts of gifts and bribes are not distinctly separate. That is why both the giver and the receiver of both bribes and gifts considered their gestures as normal. There are overlapping areas between offering gifts and offering bribes. Gift-giving behavior can be extended into the area of giving bribes, so that the concepts overlap. When this occurs, the behavior is at the same time ethical and unethical. But this is not limited only to politicians and their constituents but also to other “relationships” like between a politician and the other individuals under them.
But in Occidental Mindoro culture in particular and the Philippine culture in general, the concepts of gifts and bribes are not distinctly separate. That is why both the giver and the receiver of both bribes and gifts considered their gestures as normal. There are overlapping areas between offering gifts and offering bribes. Gift-giving behavior can be extended into the area of giving bribes, so that the concepts overlap. When this occurs, the behavior is at the same time ethical and unethical. But this is not limited only to politicians and their constituents but also to other “relationships” like between a politician and the other individuals under them.
Applying a code of ethics to behavior becomes very
complicated because a gray area exists between ethical actions and unethical
actions. As discussed before, offering a gift is an ethical (right) behavior
and offering a bribe is an unethical (wrong) behavior. But in the gray area where
offering a gift extends into the area of offering a bribe, it is very hard to
interpret whether the behavior is right or wrong.
We are not expecting government regulations and laws alone
can solve the prevailing problem of corruption and bribery here in Occidental
Mindoro or elsewhere in the Philippines. There is a dire need for a group of
citizens to differentiate between the overlapping area of offering gifts and
offering bribes so that we, Filipinos, are able to distinguish between gifts and
bribes. This is not an easy task because gifts and bribes have traditionally
overlapped in our culture so that the distinction between ethical and unethical
behaviors is not clearly defined and practiced.
On December 3, 2018, the Civil Service Commission (CSC)
reiterates the provisions of Republic Act No. 6713, or the Code of Conduct and
Ethical Standards for Public Officials and Employees which prohibits civil
servants from soliciting or accepting gifts, favors, loans or anything of
monetary value in the course of their official duties.
Under CSC’s lenses, the propriety or impropriety of the gift
is determined by value, kinship, or relationship between the giver and
receiver, and the motivation. Thus, gifts exempted from the prohibition are
those from family members given without expectation of pecuniary benefit; those
coming from persons with no regular, pending or expected transactions with the
government office where the receiver belongs; those from private organizations
given with humanitarian and altruistic intent; and those donated by one
government entity to another. Something of monetary value is one which is
evidently or manifestly excessive by its very nature. The CSC reminder is
timely. RA No. 6713 is a welcome development and very relevant though it is
very specific. Specific laws such as this are imperative in giving clear-cut,
crystal-clear legal measures on this ethical issue.
Corruption in the form of bribery and accepting bribes
serves as a contributory factor in the commission of human rights violations. Human rights offenses no doubt, are good breeding grounds for impoverishment or poverty. Nonetheless, bribery should be put under human rights lens. Moreover, there is a very thin line that separates
gift from bribe, the ethical from the unethical. But we have forgotten that there is also such an animal called delicadeza.
Gray reigns in this universe…
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(Photo: Cebu News)
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