Gov’t workers may accept gifts of nominal value

Presidential Spokesperson Salvador Panelo made this comment as he defended President Rodrigo Duterte anew from criticism over his statement that police personnel could accept gifts out of gratitude for their service noting that it is allowed under the Constitution. (File Photo: Office of the Presidential Spokesperson/Facebook)

MANILA — There is nothing wrong with government workers and officials accepting gifts as long as it is of nominal value, Malacañang said on Monday.

Presidential Spokesperson Salvador Panelo made this comment as he defended President Rodrigo Duterte anew from criticism over his statement that police personnel could accept gifts out of gratitude for their service noting that it is allowed under the Constitution.

“Unang-una ang nakalagay talaga sa batas, puwede ‘yun. Exception to the rule ‘yun e, exception to the law (For starters, it’s started in the law that it’s allowed. It’s an exception to the rule, exception to the law),” Panelo told reporters in a media interview.

Panelo, however, said government workers and officials should use their discretion and only accept gifts that are of nominal value.

“Siguro (Perhaps) you have to use your discretion there. Eh kung yung nagbigay sa iyo ng regalo bilyonaro e baka naman kahit na para sayo malaki, hindi malaki sa kanya (If the person giving you a gift is a billionaire, if it’s a large amount for you, it might not be for him or her),” Panelo said.

According to Panelo, the law does not specify what “nominal value” meant.

“Basta nominal, bahala na sila doon. Malalaman mo naman kung masyado namang excessive di ba (As long as it is nominal, it’s up to them. You’ll know when something is too excessive, right)?” he added.

He also emphasized that the giving of gifts should not be done “in anticipation of a favor or in exchange of a favor.”

“What is important hindi yun binigay (the gift was not given) in anticipation of a favor coming from the recipient or in exchange of a favor from that recipient who is a police officer,” Panelo said.

“The fact alone na hindi humingi yung recipient from the very beginning, alam nating matino ‘yun (the recipient did not ask anything from the very beginning, we know that he’s a decent person),” he added.

‘Utang na loob’

Panelo admitted that as a general rule, government workers and officials should not accept any gifts but pointed out that as long as they did not ask for it, it cannot be considered as bribery.

“Dati nang may tumatanggap. Ang ayaw ni Presidente at ang ayaw ng batas e ginagawa mong consideration ‘yun, hindi ka magtatrabaho (Accepting gifts has been a long practice. What the President does not want and what the law does not want is you’re making it a consideration or you won’t work),” Panelo said.

He said gifts could be given to government workers and officials during birthday parties or weddings.

“Ang puwede kung hindi ka humingi at nagtrabaho ka ng trabaho mo faithfully then out of generosity ng natulungan mo binigyan ka ng konti. Token ‘yun e (What is allowed is if you don’t ask, you work faithfully then out of the generosity of the person who helped you, you were given something. That’s a token),” he added

Panelo explained how Filipinos have the cultural trait or custom “utang na loob” (debt of gratitude) which is why they would give gifts in exchange for service rendered.

Meanwhile, Panelo said it is the job of Congress to identify the threshold of government workers and officials accepting gifts.

“That is addressed to the wisdom of the lawmakers how they will go about it,” Panelo said.

He said if cases would be filed, the court could also decide on whether a gift received is of nominal value or not.

Panelo, also Chief Presidential Legal Counsel, reiterated that government will not tolerate corruption.

“Basta hindi puwede ang korupsyon, hindi puwede ang padulas, hindi pupuwdeng kaya ka gumagawa ng trabaho mo dahil may inaasahan ka’ng darating sayo. O kaya ka gumagalaw dahil binigyan ka (Corruption is not allowed, bribery is not allowed, you’re not allowed to work only because you’re accepting something in return or work only because you were given something),” Panelo said.