It's the Ombudsman that sets guidelines on civil servant gifts – CSC

Civil Service Commissioner Aileen Lizada said on Tuesday that Republic Act 6713, or the Code of Conduct and Ethical Standards for Public Officials and Employees, designated the Office of the Ombudsman as the body that would set the limits on the gifts civil servants could accept.

Lizada specifically pointed to Section 7 of the RA 6713, which says that the "Ombudsman shall prescribe such regulations as may be necessary to carry out the purpose of this subsection, including pertinent reporting and disclosure requirements," as the relevant section of the law.

"Nakalagay doon, it is the Office of the Ombudsman who should be setting guidelines," Lizada told GMA News Online.

Lizada emphasized that there were also other laws to be followed when it came to accepting gifts, including the Anti-Graft and Corrupt Practices Act.

Justice Secretary Menardo Guevarra had earlier suggested that the Civil Service Commission would be the office that could clarify what kind of tokens or amount of gifts government workers could accept. 

A debate on whether or not civil servants could accept gifts was sparked after President Rodrigo Duterte said in a recent speech that he did not consider it bribery if a generous benefactor would send some sort of boon to police officers.

“Kung bigyan kayo tanggapin n’yo. It is not bribery," Duterte told police officials. "What I mean is if there is generosity in them. Sabi ng anti-graft you cannot accept gifts. Kalokohan," Duterte had said. — DVM, GMA News