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Gifted

Last week, a birthday bash for President Ferdinand Marcos Jr., where he was treated to a private concert with British pop rock band Duran Duran, was leaked to the public, and his office had to scramble to come up with an excuse for something that only someone directly related to Imelda Marcos would think was ok.

The excuse said that our dear president had come from a busy day and he ended it with a gathering with ‘old friends’ where Duran Duran was the surprise entertainment. It tried to downplay and sugarcoat the incident by stressing that the Filipino people did not spend on the private concert party.

However, the thing is, a Duran Duran appearance is estimated to cost $750,000 to $900,000 (up to P56 million) on talent fee alone, incidentals like plane fare and accommodations not yet included. The band are not old friends who came over for free to jam with their buddy from Oxford, but were bought by Marcos Jr.’s ‘old friends’ who apparently have millions to blow on a blowout. Whether or not they expect a return on investment, or if that is a reward/incentive for a bagged contract, we will never know, but what is important according to the Presidential Communications Office is that public funds weren’t spent on the Duran Duran party.

This kind of doubt that comes with a public official accepting lavish gifts from ‘friends’ is the reason why there is a “No Gift Policy” enshrined in our Constitution, which our president apparently should’ve read cover to cover before he swore to defend it when he took his oath.

According to Section 7 (d) of the Code of Conduct and Ethical Standards for Public Officials and 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 in connection with any operation being regulated by, or by any transaction which may be affected by the functions of their office.”

Aside from the Constitution, there is also Republic Act 6713, or the Code of Conduct and Ethical Standards for Public Officials and Employees, which also expressly prohibits public officials from accepting gifts.

Bongbong Marcos may be the president of the country, but he is also just a human who apparently appreciates music. Was he supposed to forego that opportunity to be up close with Duran Duran, just because he is a public official? Well, unfortunately for all of our so-called public servants, the answer is a resounding yes. Whether it was a private concert on his birthday, or concert tickets to the Philippine Arena, a gift is a gift and as a public official, they should not accept it.

If they want to accept gifts, they can always resign their position. However, the tricky part here is that private citizens are very rarely given such lavish gifts by their ‘old friends’ because there is no ROI in that, which makes resignation quite unattractive as an option.

This birthday incident comes as a reminder to all public officials, from the President to barangay officials, that they shouldn’t accept gifts because it is illegal. That reminder either takes a lot of fun from their position, or now makes it a little bit more difficult to accept such gifts. Knowing them, they will just take it as a warning to be more careful next time, not to get caught.

The President doesn’t look worried that the awesome Duran Duran birthday concert might get him charged or impeached. After all, he still has the power of “unity” behind him, even if he and his VP have parted ways. As long as he has the numbers at the House of Representatives, he is already technically forgiven, and for politicians, that is the most important thing. What the Constitution says about something as trivial as accepting gifts is only secondary.

Despite what the Constitution and RA 6713 says, Filipino politicians and public servants have been receiving gifts and justifying getting free stuff as harmless for ages. Their constituents apparently don’t care and nobody bothers to enforce that part of the law, probably because everyone loves getting gifts and most of those responsible thinks it would be a killjoy move to prosecute fellow public officials for such ‘harmless’ acts.

Pinoys have become so used to gift giving that many of us might think, what is the point of being a public official if you cannot receive awesome gifts from the great friends you have made along the way? Well, the point is that the law is the law and it is the public officials who swore to uphold it that must be the first to obey and provide a good example for all. We have been ignoring it for far too long, and hopefully this little booboo by the sitting president who has been on a quest to redeem his family’s sullied name, will start a new regime where public officials now know the difference between right and wrong.*

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