DAP ORGANIZES A COURSE ON PROFESSIONALISM, ETHICS, AND INTEGRITY FOR THE CBILLS EMERGING LEADERS

The 2024 CBILLS Emerging  Leaders from the Philippine Congress, together with one of the Resource Persons, Atty. Ma. Victoria Castillo, at the DAP Conference Center in Tagaytay City

The Development Academy of the Philippines (DAP), through its Center for Governance—Policy Research Office (CFG-PRO), held this year’s first Legislative Training Course on “Professionalism, Ethics, and Integrity in the Public Sector” for the Emerging Leaders Track of the Capability Building on Innovative Leadership for Legislative Staff (CBILLS) Program from 15 to 18 April 2024 at the DAP Conference Center in Tagaytay City. This course aimed to strengthen the scholars’ integration of professionalism, ethics, and integrity in their daily lives as public servants while making critical decisions and policies for the country.

Gilbert Lumantao DAP’s CFG-PRO Director , Civil Service Commission’s Office of Legal Affairs Division Chief Atty. Ruth Eunice Mina-Diamante, and Senate Human Resources Management Division Director Maria Vida Caparas talked about integrity management, ethical standards in the public sector, and their application in the Philippine Congress, respectively. 

Office of the Ombudsman’s Graft Investigation Officer Atty. Sylvia Severo-Paraiso, Commission on Audit (COA)’s Information Technology Office Director Josephine Manalo, Women and Gender Institute (WAGI)’s Faculty Associate Lorna Israel, and House of Representatives’ Committee Affairs Department Atty.  Ma. Victoria A. Castillon discussed relevant laws, policies, rules, and guidelines that need to be adhered to by civil servants. 

To conclude the course, the DAP Office of the Senior Vice President for Programs’ Project Officer Joebert Sayson facilitated an integration workshop to recall the discussions from previous sessions and apply their learnings to possible applications in their workplace.

For the final output, the scholars are expected to draft their reflection papers articulating their understanding of key topics such as professionalism, ethics, and integrity. These papers will also contain their plans for applying their newfound knowledge in their workplace and reflections on how the course might have influenced their outlook on personal and professional growth. 

The Emerging Leaders Track under the CBILLS program offers a customized set of learning interventions designed for the secretariat and technical staff of the Congress showing leadership potential. Scholars under this track are scheduled to participate in two Legislative Training Courses on Excel for Data Management and Policy Analysis, including a lecture in the next two months and a conference in October. (Christopher Brian Caiga)