By Farah G. Decano

 

I CANNOT help but be moved by the humility of City Councilor, Manang Celia Lim, when she apologized to the Sanggunian Panglungsod members moments after her outburst.  Councilor Irene Lim-Acosta, who stood in front of Manang Celia, appeared worried about her mother’s show of vulnerability.

The scene was a breath of fresh air in an extremely polarized and highly charged Dagupan City Council. I observed Councilor Irene had remained standing as if she was ready to defend against anyone who would initiate a move to harm her mother. At the same time, I also saw the tenderness of a daughter’s profound love for her mother who figuratively laid prostate in a sincere humble act of regret.

If only more public officials were courageous enough to take accountability for their actions then resentment among those in the bureaucracy will be diminished.  If only those in government would take accountability for their actions, then people need not waste time for a wild goose chase.

If only government officials treat our country like our mothers, then perhaps we will be protective of its interests.  We would have questioned, without a doubt, why we allowed the human rights of the country’s indigenous inhabitants – the Filipino people – to be violated by power-wielding monsters.  We would have fought instinctively to defend our sovereignty.  Our people would not have patronized foreign goods to the prejudice of Filipino investors who offer local goods in the market.

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Taking responsibility for mistakes must be the encouraged bureaucratic culture in government.  I was disappointed that during my stint as City Administrator, I dealt with a lot of chickens who played basketball – meaning, cowards who did not wish to be accountable for their actions and instead passed the blame to others.

One senior legal officer attributed to me the impending loss of a city’s case.  How could that happen when I never had a hand in that case, not even in the preparation of the documents?  He reported directly to the Mayor for reasons of confidentiality.  Because he was primarily responsible for the case, he should have been confident enough to be answerable for the outcome of his legal handiwork and humble enough to acknowledge his imminent defeat.    When I heard that he used me as an excuse for bungling his job, I realized that he could have given Severino “Lola Basyang” Reyes a run for his money for narrating fictitious stories.   Hindi ko pinatulan because we are expected to respect our elders.

I recall one Councilor who wished to exculpate himself from a questionable ordinance he authored by stating that I supported his piece of literature.  I had to raise hell because I don’t endorse legislations that are legally flawed.  And the court proved me right!  The local law was struck down for being illegal.  While I understand that the Councilor may have had the best intentions in writing the ordinance, he should have just acknowledged the infirmities of his masterpiece by proposing an amendment thereto which would have saved the city from the confusion it brought to the citizens.   A little humility could have spared him the embarrassment of a strongly worded court decision against his ordinance.  

 Also from the same legislative office, one head trained his guns on me whenever he was asked by the Councilors as to who the source was of the budget cuts. Instead of explaining why their financial plans were sliced, he preferred to point to me as the precursor.   This bespeaks of his ineptitude and lack of humility to acknowledge what he should have known from the start.  I suspect, he was appointed to the level of his incompetence.  When this reached me, I confronted him, of course.  Like a dog with his tail in between his legs, he denied vehemently.  I could not help but shake my head and say, haay, mga walang prinsipyo sa buhay!  

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Great thing that the experienced Mayor Belen T. Fernandez knows such culture in government beforehand. She cannot be duped by any nincompoop.

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