PA 204

Public officers and employees must at all times be accountable to the people, serve
them with utmost responsibility, integrity, loyalty and efficiency act with patriotism and
justice and lead modest lives. With this constitutional provision of public accountability,
I will agree that public accountability is influenced by Filipino values of
Pakikipagkapwa, Pakikiramdam and Bahala na.

Pakikipagkapwa, this value about shared identity or pakikipagkapwa has been rooted to
our culture. Pakikipagkapwa, or to treat someone or somebody as fellow human being
somehow influenced public accountability since any public official or employee must
show equal treatment, render equal services to the Filipino people regardless of his/her
status. In public service, there is this force that obliges us to treat other as fellow human
being.
Pakikiramdam (Sensitivity or shared inner perception), Filipinos are good in sensing
(makiramdam). Pakikiramdam I think it is also as a deep sensing or empathy towards
another which starts in spontaneous actions that comes in sharing of the self. According
to the Filipino Psychology, because of kapwa this Filipino feeling or pakikiramdam is a
participatory process where emotions are experienced mutually. We cannot deny the
fact that in public service sometimes it involves an emotion, empathy or deep feeling
towards our clientele. Public office is a public trust, because of this pakikiramdam, since
it is usually a mutual feeling could slowly build trust between the public officials or
employees to any individual or groups it serves. The accountability of public officials to
the Filipino people is really influenced by this Filipino value in the sense also that we
can have this feeling even if not explicitly showed if the people are satisfied or not in
performing our duties and responsibilities in serving the public.
Bahala na or Tacit Trust. There are times in public service; either you are an employee
or official meet cross roads in terms of decision making or immediate action to
undertake where you are not sure of the outcome. There will be times like you are in a
dilemma but because you have this faith, you have the courage or the feeling that all the
means were already exhausted and leave the matter to God, that is the very essence of
this Filipino value, Bahala na. In public accountability we are not at all times sure if we
receive a positive feedback, the people may not appreciate your efforts in serving them
or the public may doubt you capability to perform your duties and responsibilities but
since we have this Filipino value that as long as you are doing what is right you will
overcome and say, Bahala na.