Conduct becoming of a troll

WHEN you find a dead cockroach served with your pancit canton, do you not have the right to complain and the right to be heard by the restaurant manager?

When you buy a Rolex for a hefty sum and it turns out to be fake, do you not have the right to return the watch and be reimbursed?

Each day, we enter into contracts without our consciousness telling us that we must consult the Civil Code. Whether buying a pair of shoes or having your car repaired, as purchaser of goods or services you possess a bundle of contractual rights under our laws – laws borne by logic, public policy, and public interest.

A similar principle applies in public office. Citizens pay direct and indirect taxes to fund government. The citizenry need not do more than exist for government to see to their welfare.

In exchange for their contribution by way of taxes, people expect good governance and dedicated service from civil servants. Absent which, the people have due recourse to mechanisms for redress of grievance. That is guaranteed as a right by the Constitution.

The Supreme Court has always emphasized that taxes are the lifeblood of the nation. It is through taxes that government agencies continue to operate and with which the State effects its functions for the welfare of its constituents. The prompt and certain availability of taxes is an imperious need. 

Those who join public service do so with their eyes open. In fact, those who are now in elective positions had courted our votes through campaign platforms and promises. Politicians spend thousands if not millions of pesos to get elected to positions of power.

To address possible abuses, the people have set up institutions that exact accountability, such as the Commission on Audit, Office of the Ombudsman, the Sandiganbayan, etc.

“Trollish” behavior in social media seeks to thumb down criticism of government action in the face of the nCovid pandemic. Last week, Twitter suspended hundreds of accounts tweeting under hashtags intended to defend the Philippine government response to the coronavirus pandemic.

The accounts allegedly violated Twitter’s policies against platform manipulation and spamming. It was observed that an internet post that blasts government’s alleged failings is routinely barraged with questions about motives. Trolls then demand an accounting of a netizen’s actual contribution to the efforts against the pandemic.

The right to speak freely and without fear of retribution is an essential component of the rule of law. It is not dependent on any political leaning.

Public officers are constantly under the glare of public scrutiny. Criticisms of their conducts comes with the territory. They must not be too onion-skinned as to bristle with contempt at every scathing public indictment. A president or a town mayor has the duly to faithfully execute his mandate for the benefit of everyone, not just of his or her political supporters.

Students of the law on public officers are taught that public office is a public trust. Public officers and employees must be accountable to the people at all times, serve them with utmost responsibility, integrity, loyalty and efficiency, act with patriotism and justice and lead modest lives. 

Such is the high standard of conduct required by the Constitution. As often repeated by the Supreme Court, it is not intended to be mere rhetoric and taken lightly. Those in the public service must fully comply with this standard or run the risk of facing sanctions prescribed by law./PN