QUEZON CITY -- The Civil Service Commission (CSC) launched the new Panunumpa ng Lingkod Bayan, an oath that is regularly recited by civil servants during flag raising ceremonies.

The launch coincided with the Virtual Awards Rites of the 2020 or 2021 Outstanding Government Workers, which aired live on 15 November at 2 p.m. via the Radio Television Malacanang's Facebook page and the Civil Service Commission’s Facebook page and YouTube channel.

The new version of the Panunumpa ng Lingkod Bayan was produced through a nationwide consultation survey among 4,600 government workers and human resource practitioners conducted on June-July 2021, as well as consultations with the Komisyon sa Wikang Filipino and University of the Philippines Diliman. The oath aims to better reflect the situation and aspirations of the government workforce.

The recitation of the oath was first institutionalized in 1995 as the Panunumpa ng Kawani ng Gobyerno via CSC Memorandum Circular No. 2 to “reorient the work attitude of government workers by constantly reminding them of how they must conduct themselves as public servants to bring about a more responsive, efficient, and committed public service.”

In 2000, the CSC issued the Panunumpa ng Lingkod Bayan sa Bagong Milenyo or Reaffirmation of the Oath of Office, in line with Presidential Proclamation No. 313 dated 22 May 2000 declaring 19 September 2000 as the “Centennial Day of the Philippine Civil Service.”

In 2003, the Panunumpa ng Lingkod Bayan was issued as part of the 103rd Philippine Civil Service Anniversary mass oath-taking with the President of the Republic. The oath has not been revised since then.

The initiative to revise the oath was part of the recently concluded 121st Philippine Civil Service Anniversary, through which the CSC introduced a 10-year theme, Transforming Public Service in the Next Decade: Honing Agile and Future-Ready Servant-Heroes. (CSC)