Aquino OKs guidelines for state workers

MANILA, Philippines – The government is fine-tuning its code of conduct for state workers, including setting guidelines for social networking. Malacañang’s announcement came after the disparaging tweets by Assistant Secretary Mai Mislang about the wine served for President Aquino’s toast with Vietnamese President Nguyen Ming Triet. Mislang had also posted her unflattering opinion of Vietnamese men as well as the dangerous streets in the country’s capital. Mr. Aquino was in Vietnam for a state visit and for the ASEAN summit last month.

“It (set of guidelines) has been approved, but we just want to have a breakdown in finer details. It’s a simple list of do’s and don’t’s. We just have to consult other agencies on how to properly go about it,” deputy presidential spokesperson Abigail Valte told newsmen.

“But yes, there is already an approved guidelines on the social networking policy that is to be implemented,” Valte said.

She said Secretary Ricky Carandang of the Presidential Communications Office for Strategic Planning and Development prepared the guidelines.

She said the guidelines “will be applicable to all departments, all agencies, all bureaus of the government in the executive department,” and not just to the Communications Group where the embarrassing tweet originated.

The new guidelines have yet to be released as consultation with other line agencies and departments is still ongoing.

“Hopefully, the sooner that the agencies are consulted the better, so it can be released immediately,” she said.

“I’m not quite sure if I’m at liberty to disclose which agencies are being consulted. Related agencies are being consulted for the list,” she said. “Infractions will be dealt with according to the administrative rules of the agency,” she added.

The new guidelines will cover Facebook and all the other social networking sites.

“Bear in mind that as state employees, you also represent the government. The code is not just limited to Cabinet men and other ranking officials. It also applies to every employee of the government,” she said in Filipino.

President Aquino has excluded Mislang from his entourage for his Nov. 12-15 trip to Yokohama, Japan for the Asia-Pacific Economic Cooperation Summit.

She had accompanied the President on his US and Vietnam trips, during which she had been tweeting through her government-issued Blackberry, along with her boss Carandang.

The Chief Executive earlier said Mislang – who now has two hate pages on the Internet, and whose name automatically appears in Google once you type the phrase “wine sucks” – had already apologized to him over the incident. Carandang, with whom she had been tweeting, has downplayed the incident and disclosed to Palace reporters that tweeting among them has been suspended while they are firming up guidelines for social networking sites.   –Delon Porcalla (The Philippine Star)