The Department of the Interior and Local Government has reiterated the strict prohibition on the use of government vehicles during weekends and holidays, through Memorandum Circular No. 2026-011, which covers all elected and appointed provincial, city, municipal, and barangay officials.
The ban on the use of red-plate motor vehicles also applies to personnel of the DILG, as well as officials and employees of the Philippine National Police, Bureau of Fire Protection, and Bureau of Jail Management and Penology.
It underscored the need to strengthen compliance with existing rules, particularly during non-working days, to prevent the unauthorized use of government vehicles that leads to unnecessary public expenditure and undermines public trust.
“Government vehicles are provided exclusively to ensure the efficient and effective delivery of public services,” the DILG said.
“Any unauthorized use, especially for personal purposes during weekends and holidays, runs contrary to the principles of accountability, integrity, and modest living expected of public servants,” it added.
The use of government vehicles for personal use is such a common problem in this country that it has become normalized. When Filipinos notice those red-plate vehicles in times and places where they seem to be out of place, it doesn’t even elicit outrage anymore, just a sense of disappointment that “they are at it again.”
The DILG reminder of the supposedly strict prohibition on the use of government vehicles for unofficial purposes hopefully gives Filipinos another fresh start on how we regard the use of such resources. If government officials and employees are going to heed that warning, the public should also participate in monitoring such practices, and reporting wayward government vehicles. It would’ve been more effective if the DILG had provided a convenient way to report such suspicious use of government resources, either through a hotline or a messaging service where timestamped photographic evidence can be provided.
Aside from a memo from the DILG, there also should’ve been a transparent system for assigning accountability when it comes to the use of government vehicles, making it easy for the public to trace who should be held responsible when wayward vehicles are spotted, so penalties can be quickly assessed once it is established that it was improperly used.
Corruption starts small, and if we are going to address that chronic issue plaguing our government, we will also have to start small, and the abuse and misuse of government vehicles is one area that can do with a lot of improvement. If the DILG, with the help of the public, can end this practice, we could eliminate a few more seeds of corruption that are lying around, just waiting to sprout.*
