By J. Jose C. Reyes, Jr.
All institutions aim for integrity, be it private or government. It is through this virtue
that people give their trust and confidence. So, it is the duty of every member of these institutions to
build and maintain their integrity. And what better way to build integrity than to start with one's self.
Integrity is crucial to the proper discharge of the judicial office and to the personal demeanor of
people in the Judiciary.
The recent incident that rocked the Court of Appeals must have been a test of our
morality. Have we invested enough time and effort to build and maintain our integrity? Our battle
cry, “We shall overcome . . . “ indicates our determination to make more changes, not just institutional
but more importantly, within ourselves.
What can we do individually and together with others, to build and maintain integrity?
The Court of Appeals has not been remiss nor complacent in building and maintaining the integrity of
the institution. Under the Moral Recovery Program of the government pursuant to Executive Order
No. 319, an annual Christian Life Program has been conducted by the Couples for Christ since 2004 for
Justices, officials and employees of the Court of Appeals. These CLPs together with the regular
celebration of the Holy Eucharist, the holding of novenas and recollections are but a few of the
activities that the Court has been doing to protect our office. We must pray unceasingly for one another
so that we will be able to overcome the challenges that come our way.
As a community, we should work together to fight bribery, bring to light any form of
corruption, help bring to office deserving public servants, and institute reforms that will promote
greater productivity and public trust.
Reforms need not be gigantic. Even improving courtesy, orderliness and
thoroughness in doing our daily tasks are all valuable in bringing us closer to our goals of integrity and
good performance. We should cultivate professional ethics among our staff and administer sanctions
unflinchingly to those who are uncooperative.
Let us support all forms of activities that promote high standards of ethics, morality
and integrity in public service. Let us start to improve ourselves and then, improve our relationship
with God, family, workplace and community in the context of Christian faith. With God's help, we shall
overcome!