The public service we demand

I don’t expect Noynoy Aquino to be the savior of the Philippines but like many Filipinos I expect him and his presidency to offer new hope.

Although he has been criticized for his unremarkable performance as a legislator in both Houses of Congress, I have heard good things about him on a personal level. By various accounts from people I have known since my time in the Senate, Noynoy is said to be a simple and humble man in the mold of his mother, Cory.

Being simple and humble is a good start in my book. For the past decade we have been used to a bureaucratic class that seems to have done pretty much what they want to our people and our government, as if there’s a cloak of invincibility that magically shields them from any accountability.

They are very much responsible for morally, spiritually, economically and politically bankrupting the people of this nation.

More than once I have called attention to the VIP syndrome afflicting our public servants.

Everywhere you go, you see government people using their sirens and police escorts to bully their way through traffic.

This outgoing administration has had a number of its people throwing public tantrums and victimizing people who actually pay their salaries.

To me, it’s symptomatic of a larger arrogance, one that goes beyond traffic issues or anger management problems. A lot of these government officials, along with their gofers and cronies seem to think they deserve VIP treatment, that they are entitled to all the perks and favors, and are not subject to the same rules that apply to everyone else. (“Me, stuck in traffic! Perish the thought!”)

Public service must go back to its service-based roots and it should start from the top, from the President himself.

People have come to hate the GMA presidency so much because it has come to regard its protected-class status as a birthright. She is seen as untouchable. She cannot be held accountable. And I reckon most of the people who voted for Noynoy want this to change more than anything.

Our political leaders are elected public servants. They are supposed to serve us, not be our lords and masters. We are paying for their offices and incomes after all. For a lot of them, obviously, their magnificent houses, luxurious cars and dozens of servants could never have been financed merely by their government salaries. But just the same, they are supposedly public servants.

If we complain and attempt to seek redress of our grievances, they must answer.

If we elect them it is only reasonable for us to expect that they help improve our lives through the functions of their offices.

It is only reasonable to expect that they won’t lie, steal or cheat.

If they allot a budget from the national coffers, say for the purchase of fertilizers for farmers, then the money should be spend where it should.

If they are guilty of abusive conduct, they must be held accountable.

There is an undercurrent of frustration in this country with what’s happened to governance and public service, and with the election of Noynoy Aquino, people are hoping this time it would be different.

The administration that provided immunity to the corrupt bureaucrats while they bankrupted the public coffers is leaving, and in its place would be a President whom people hope will never fail to do the right thing and do so faithfully in their best interest.

With a Noynoy presidency, we are hoping that public service would be more concerned with people rather than pelf and prestige, and that politicians would come into their offices with the attitude of a servant, not a lord or master.

TUCP will help fight corruption, create jobs

On the same note, we in the Trade Union Congress of the Philippines (TUCP) are offering to help the President-elect in fighting corruption and arresting mounting unemployment through a new and aggressive national jobs plan.

We are extremely hopeful that the President-elect will be able to realize the hopes and dreams of our people for a highly improved standard of living through enlightened and unsoiled governance.

We are optimistic that the promise of upright and fair governance will draw in the fresh private capital required to provide gainful employment to nearly 10 million Filipinos who are either totally jobless, or still actively looking for extra work just to earn enough to support their families.

Unchecked bribery, profiteering and influence-peddling in government have alienated many investors, thus dampening jobs creation in a big way.

Noynoy Aquino ran on a powerful platform that attributed widespread poverty to rampant corruption, and promised clean and honest governance as a way out of the misery, and we will help him achieve this. –ERNESTO F. HERRERA, Manila Times

ernestboyherrera@yahoo.com