END PRACTICE OF POLITICAL RECOMMENDATIONS - MIRIAM
Senator Miriam Defensor Santiago, an award-winning graft buster, filed a bill to put a stop to the practice of political recommendations by public officials in appointing persons to government posts.“This practice perpetuates the “padrino system”, which allows the appointment of unqualified individuals to government positions over those who are already qualified on their merits,” Santiago said.
Santiago says Senate Bill No. 2616, or the Anti-Political Recommendation Act, aims to strengthen the country’s bureaucracy by granting the appointing agencies their rightful discretion over their employee management and making sure that such decisions are made without political influence.
Under that bill any public officer or employee is prohibited from making recommendations for the appointment, promotion, assignment, transfer or designation of any person to a government position, and also punishes those who requests or solicits political recommendations. Exempted from the proposed law are requests for performance evaluations and requirements for government employment
Those proven guilty of the offense will be fined and imprisoned for not less than a year. They will also be subject of removal or dismissal from public office even without criminal prosecution.