BONTOC, Mountain Province – Governor Bonifacio C. Lacwasan, Jr., together with heads of national line agencies, underlined timeless Filipino values in the achievement of the province’s quest for enhanced public service delivery as embodied by this year’s 123rd Philippine Civil Service Anniversary theme, “Transforming Public Service in the Next Decade: Honing Agile and Future Ready Servant-Heroes.”
In his message to all civil servants who converged at the Multipurpose Building Hall for the September 4, 2023 Flag Ceremony cum Monday Program, Lacwasan thanked Director Anita Verina T. Paredes of the Civil Service Commission (CSC) – Mountain Province Office for spearheading the CSC Month celebration.
“In simpler words, the theme talks of change and the readiness to serve. It talks about dynamism and resiliency among government workers.
Dynamism entails that public servants should be able to adapt to innovations and to the unending improvements in the civil service. One of the innovations being introduced in the civil service is digital transformation. Digitalization will not only streamline government processes but it will also provide our clients with faster means to access government services and programs,” he added.
“On the other hand, civil servants need to be resilient for them to be able to serve their clients even during the most trying times. Resilience is the capacity to respond to stress. It is how fast a person will adapt to difficult experiences through emotional and behavioral flexibility. In almost all cases, resilient people emerge stronger after such difficulties,” the Governor further said.
The Governor also lauded the Mountain Province State Polytechnic College headed by its College President, Dr. Edgar G. Cue, and the 14th CAR Regional Community Defense Group–Army Reserve Command (ARESCOM) for co-hosting the Monday program with the CSC. The Governor informed that he is the battalion commander of the province’s ARESCOM.
In addition, Paredes explained the benefits of exercises to the general well-being of a public servant for a more productive workforce.
“Why are we promoting zumba or something that is an exercise for all our government employees.” It is a way to start a healthy morning routine in the workplace. Did you know that doing your walks at the workplace in the morning can further amplify the many benefits of exercise? Benefits like brain health, boosted immune system, sleep health, bone health, mood health, and ang dami-daming kinds of health. The list is endless. So, health research points to overall health in people who practice morning exercises. Get active, and energized with a regular routine of exercise and everything else will fall into place. You will be more motivated to make good choices throughout the week if you have a good mood and so on,” she said.
It could be recalled that the CSC, in partnership with the Provincial Government through the Provincial Human Resources Management Office, conducted an online Zumba last September 1, 2022 to jump-start the celebrations of the CSC Month.
Subsequently, Paredes presented the lined-up activities for the CSC Month which include a film showing sponsored by the Film Development Council of the Philippines that could be accessed through a link; Thanksgiving Mass (September 8); Adopt-a-Forest Tree Planting Activity (Sept. 14); an outreach program dubbed, “Give a Mile to the Last Mile (School)” on Sept. 22; and the “Employee Wellness Day” on Sept. 29 among others.
Meanwhile, Dr. Cue gave updates/ developments and MPSPC’s milestones which paved the way to a more competitive tertiary education institution not just in the Cordillera but in the whole country.
“We continue to make known and bring MPSPC to the global landscape as we have envisioned to be – ‘an internationally recognized higher education institution’ (HEI). With pride, MPSPC joins nine other HEIs in the Cordillera which placed among the top 201-300 in the Global Innovation (World University Rankings for Innovation)). Recently, MPSPC was also ranked 348 among all evaluated HEIs in the Philippines in the Webometrics Ranking in the World. These, among others, mark an important leap in our steadfast commitment to quality and internationalized education. This proves our dedication to pushing boundaries and adopting innovation towards academic excellence,” Cue informed.
Furthermore, Cue mentioned other developments/ milestones and attributed these to the concerted efforts of all stakeholders.
“These developments are the result of our collective efforts in fortifying our gains and pursuing our dream to be a state university. With your ardent support, this will not be a dream; but it will happen. We thank the different stakeholders of the College, the faculty and staff, students, community members, alumni, and our government leaders and partners for helping chart the direction of the College,” he said.
In his closing message for the Monday program, Provincial Administrator Franklin C. Odsey lauded all the host offices and other attendees for their cooperation which led to the success of the event. He also solicited the various offices’ continued cooperation for all future activities of the province.
On public service, Odsey said that should employees all heed or follow the mandates of the CSC, there will be more public servant-awardees in Mountain Province. It could be recalled that Provincial Health Officer Annie Claire B. Pekas was hailed to the prestigious roster of Lingkod Bayani awardees in 2022 for her exemplary commitment and contribution to public service.
Dr. Pekas gave today’s inspirational message and likened public servants to gardeners, as alluded to in the “parable of the flower” – people who must be resilient and dynamic to be able to be productive and effective in their fields.
“Like the gardener, let us make ways for the future public service to be resilient and adaptive to the changing times. There are exponential advances in technology alongside the mental, emotional, and psychological evolution of the human race; hence, the things we may have been used to may not be applicable anymore. Welcome to the world of digitization where they say, ‘the world is at our fingertips’.” By MP PIO
