Recto Urges New Fire and Jail Officers to Reject Corruption, Serve with Integrity

Executive Secretary Ralph Recto urged the new members of the Bureau of Fire Protection (BFP) and the Bureau of Jail Management and Penology (BJMP) to reject corruption and to serve the people with “respect, dedication and urgency.” Addressing the 80 graduating cadets of the Philippine Public Safety Academy’s (PPSA) Kadasigayon Class of 2026, Recto reminded the graduates that the authority carried by their uniform comes with an obligation to protect, and not to exploit, the people they have sworn to serve. “There is no greater betrayal of your oath than enriching yourselves by endangering the public whose safety you have sworn to protect,” Recto said. Recto was the guest of honor and speaker of the third commencement exercises of the PPSA at the Philippine Army headquarters in Fort Bonifacio, Taguig City on Monday. He urged them not to remain silent when confronted with misconduct, while stressing that dissent must be exercised responsibly and professionally. “Never allow the pressures of service to tempt you to lock away your principles or silence your conscience. But neither should conviction become a license to burn bridges. When you see wrongdoing, speak out—without fanfare, but firmly and professionally,” he said. Recto warned the graduates: “When you see a moral hazard ahead, you have only one option: Do not enter.” “The strength of our nation will not be measured only by the laws we pass or the buildings we construct. It will also be measured by the integrity of the men and women we entrust to protect it,” he said. The PPSA is a constitutive unit of the Philippine Public Safety College, an public educational institution under the Department of the Interior and Local Government. Graduates of the PPSA are commissioned as members of the BFP or BJMP, carrying the rank of Fire or Jail Inspector. Recto told the graduates that public safety work cannot move at a bureaucratic pace. Whether processing documents or responding to emergencies, officers must act promptly and efficiently to save lives. He also urged graduates to exercise empathy and compassion when dealing with victims, families, and inmates, noting that humanity in service matters as much as competence. Framing public safety as a public trust that must not bend to convenience, rank, or circumstance, Recto invoked the Kadasigayon’s motto — Kumakatawan sa Adhikain ng Diyos; Alay ay Serbisyong may Integridad; Gagabay sa Ikakaunlad ng Bagong Henerasyon (Representing the Aspirations of God, Offering Service with Integrity, and Guiding the Development of the New Generation) — and told the graduates to let those words guide their decisions and conduct. “Wear the uniform with honor, protect the people with urgency and compassion, and preserve the public’s trust by serving with unyielding integrity,” he said.