REPUBLIC ACT NO. 6713

Sec. 5. Duties of Public Officials and Employees.
In the performance of their duties, all public officials and employees are under obligation to:

• (a) Act promptly on letters and requests. - All public officials and employees shall, within fifteen (15) working days from receipt thereof, respond to letters, telegrams or other means of communications sent by the public. The reply must contain the action taken on the request.
• (b) Submit annual performance reports. - All heads or other responsible officers of offices and agencies of the government and of government-owned or controlled corporations shall, within forty-five (45) working days from the end of the year, render a performance report of the agency or office or corporation concerned. Such report shall be open and available to the public within regular office hours.
• (c) Process documents and papers expeditiously. - All official papers and documents must be processed and completed within a reasonable time from the preparation thereof and must contain, as far as practicable, not more than three (3) signatories therein. In the absence of duly authorized signatories, the official next-in-rank or officer in charge shall sign for and in their behalf.
• (d) Act immediately on the public's personal transactions. - All public officials and employees must attend to anyone who wants to avail himself of the services of their offices and must, at all times, act promptly and expeditiously.
• (e) Make documents accessible to the public. - All public documents must be made accessible to, and readily available for inspection by, the public within reasonable working hours.

Sec. 6. System of Incentives and Rewards.
A system of annual incentives and rewards is hereby established in order to motivate and inspire public servants to uphold the highest standards of ethics.

For this purpose, a Committee on Awards to Outstanding Public Officials and Employees is hereby created composed of the following: the Ombudsman and Chairman of the Civil Service Commission as Co-Chairmen, and the Chairman of the Commission on Audit, and two government employees to be appointed by the President, as members.

It shall be the task of this Committee to conduct a periodic, continuing review of the performance of public officials and employees, in all the branches and agencies of Government and establish a system of annual incentives and rewards to the end that due recognition is given to public officials and employees of outstanding merit on the basis of the standards set forth in this Act.

The conferment of awards shall take into account, among other things, the following: the years of service and the quality and consistency of performance, the obscurity of the position, the level of salary, the unique and exemplary quality of a certain achievement, and the risks or temptations inherent in the work. Incentives and rewards to government officials and employees of the year to be announced in public ceremonies honoring them may take the form of bonuses, citations, directorships in government-owned or controlled corporations, local and foreign scholarship grants, paid vacations and the like.

They shall likewise be automatically promoted to the next higher position with the commensurate salary suitable to their qualifications. In case there is no next higher position or it is not vacant, said position shall be included in the budget of the office in the next General Appropriations Act. The Committee on Awards shall adopt its own rules to govern the conduct of its activities.

READ ON

• Official biodata
• Newspapers, magazines, and newsletters
• Biographies, family histories, genealogies, and Who's Who Directories and yearbooks
• Listings of trade and professional organizations
• Statements of assets
• Land records
• Corporate records
• Vehicle registration records
• Licenses and permits (for firearms, business, etc.)
• School records
• Civil registry records (birth, marriage, etc.)
• Voter registration records
• Record of campaign expenditures
• Speeches and papers
• Immigration (arrival and departure) records