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Senator Manny Pacquiao wants Congress to pass a measure against “self-promoting or credit-grabbing” public officials, commonly associated to as “epal.”
On Tuesday, Pacquiao filed a Senate Bill No. 1535 that seeks to prohibit incumbent public officials from naming government projects after them.
“Over the years, elected or appointed public officials have been either appending their names on signage of public works and various government activities or label such projects after their names,” he said in the bill.
"Although these government projects are facilitated by their office, the fact remains that these are funded by the tax levied from Filipino people. In colloquial term, these public officials are referred to as ‘epal’ or credit-grabbers and attention seekers,” the senator said.
Pacquiao said this “unethical practice” has led the public to believe that the projects named after incumbent government officials were indeed sponsored by them “thus tolerating said officials to prematurely campaign for reelection and cultivate a culture of political patronage.”
“This bill seeks to uphold the honesty, integrity, and transparency to foster good governance in public service,” he said as he pressed for its swift passage in the Senate.
Pacquiao’s bill proposes a fine of up to P1 million and one year imprisonment for any person who would violate the provisions of the measure.
Other lawmakers, including the late Senator Miriam Defensor-Santiago, also filed the same bill in the past Congresses.
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Source: Inquirer
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