THE 20TH City Council approved on Tuesday the ordinance institutionalizing the Moral Recovery Program of the city government to achieve quality service to Davaoeños.
Moral Recovery Program (MRP) recognizes the need for moral renewal to address social issues such as graft and corruption, patronage politics, apathy, and lack of patriotism, among others.
“To make Moral Recovery as part of the political agenda because government officials are expected to embody in the lifestyle and the management of government, the qualities of voluntary simplicity, honesty, dedication, discipline, professionalism, active non-violence, a deep sense of justice and an abiding faith in God,” Section 3 of the ordinance reads.
Apart from the moral renewal of government officials, it also aims to instill among the youth, the shared values of Discipline, upholding “Dabawenyo D.C.Plinado.”
The ordinance provides for the creation of the Moral Recovery Council (MRC) which will be responsible for preparing a Moral Recovery Plan.
The city mayor will issue an Executive Order to create the MRC which will also be chaired by its office, and co-chaired by the Sangguniang Panlungsod chairman of the Committee on Education, Science and Technology, Arts and Culture.
The council will be composed of a representative from Davao City Chamber of Commerce and Industry, Human Resource Management Officer (HRMO), Division of City Schools Superintendent, City Planning and Development Officer, Catholic Bishops Conference of the Philippines, National Council of Churches in the Philippines, Philippine Council of Evangelical Churches, Islam, Indigenous People, and two representatives from other denomination.
Councilor Pilar Braga, the proponent, said that while there is a separation of Church and State under the Philippine Constitution, where the state cannot endorse any religion, the State recognizes the role of religious organizations in society.
She stressed that the MRP will be inter-faith and non-sectarian but is aimed to strengthen the moral and spiritual aspects of Davaoeños.
The council, in coordination with HRMO, is mandated to create Integrity Circles in all local government departments aimed at operationalizing the objectives of the MRP.
These circles, as the basic operational structure of the MRP, will infuse the Filipino core values- leadership, good governance, service excellence, resiliency, unity, integrity, and discipline- into the organizational culture and system of the departments.
The fund for the operationalization of the circles will be sourced from the 1% of the training expenses appropriation of every department.
The ordinance also provided that Filipino Values Month will be observed every November of every year in line with Proclamation No. 479 dated October 4, 1994.
