Senate Bill No. 1967, previously filed by Sen. Miriam Defensor-Santiago, is currently under committee deliberations, INQUIRER.net reports. Formally called "An Act Prohibiting Public Officers from Claiming Credit through Signage Announcing a Public Works Project," the bill seeks to disallow public officials from putting their names to projects funded with taxpayers' money.

"It is a prevalent practice among public officers, whether elected or appointed, to append their names on public works projects which were either funded or facilitated through their office. This is unnecessary and highly unethical," Sen. Santiago said in a senate press release. She first filed the bill in 2004 before submitting it again in 2007 and in 2010.

INQUIRER.net dubbed the bill as an "anti-epal measure," epal being a slang term for those trying to meddle and play a significant role in others' affairs. Public officials who attach their names or images to projects, either ongoing or planned, will receive a punishment from six months to a year in jail.

The senator also said that allowing officials to include their names on public projects just encourages people to support officials based on their "popularity" and not their roles as officials. “Secondly, it diminishes the concept of continuity in good governance in the mind of the public," she is quoted as saying on INQUIRER.net.

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(Photo courtesy of the Office of Miriam Defensor-Santiago)