Case No.

PICK ME UP

In this case, Ronnie de Guzman is in a situation where a “gift” enclosed in an

Envelope was left by his client leaving him quickly and giving no chance for Ronnie to
respond after serving the person. Now Ronnie is confused on what to do with it knowing
the certain provisions entailed prohibiting the receipt of such or an amount constituted
as “gifts”.

R.A 6713 Section 3 defined “Gift” as: “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.”

Remember that this module tackled what “nominal and insignificant” values are; this
book said that it is the 10% of the salary. However in this case it cannot be determined
since the case is silent about Ronnie’s salary hence it is hard to identify whether it shall
be included in the exception “…shall not include an unsolicited gift of nominal or
insignificant value…” In this case, let us just assume that the envelope contains
significant value of money.

Section 7 par. D of R.A 6713 also indicated the rule on Solicitation or acceptance
of gifts of government employees. “Public officials and employees shall not solicit or
accept, directly or indirectly, any gift, gratuity, favor, entertainment, loan or anything of
monetary value from any person in the course of their official duties or in connection
with any operation being regulated by, or any transaction which may be affected by the
functions of their office.”

It should also be noted that Ronnie did not “solicit” or asked for any gift and it is not
given in anticipation of, or in exchange for, a favor from him. Ronnie just processed the
application of his client promptly and expeditiously as usual in the course of his duties.
Hence, we cannot say that their transaction was affected by the “gift” given by the client.

If I were in Ronnie’s shoes, I would report what happened and tell my supervisor
or boss immediately within 24 hours and have the proper documentation for it.
Moreover, my superior’s recommendation would also be appropriate to be considered.
Certain Government Owned and Controlled Corporations such as PhilHealth has
already implemented some provisions to address this issue, one of their
recommendation was to donate all gifts received to the appropriate charitable or social
welfare institutions to be identified by their office. 1 Suggesting do to the same would also
be ideal in order to have a proper disposal of the “gift” given.

1 PhilHealth Office Order No. 0019, s-2014. Subject: Reiteration of PhilHealth “No Gift” Policy under V. General Policies par. 7.

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