Of business and military men

By Marifi Jara

I once worked with a young lady from a Filipino-Chinese family in a corporate setting. Mondays to Fridays, she earned her own keep, doing her job well and, as far as I can remember, was never late and hardly absent from work. On weekends, she did not spend her time sleeping, resting, and splurging at the malls as she was obligated to contribute her time for their family business in Chinatown in Binondo, Manila.

As a single young woman in her 20s at that time, when most people her age embraced the good party life, she did not loathe her situation. From our chats during office breaks, I sensed in her the kind of joy that one finds in recognizing the value of hard work and love for labour.

We did not become very close friends but I held a very deep respect for her work ethic and discipline. And she remains to be one of my life’s little, silent heroes.

I am reminded of her now because I am seeing a very similar attitude and principle in Dagupan’s new vice mayor, Belen Fernandez. She has been reported to be the first person to arrive at the city hall during the past week, the first in a three-year term ahead.

She has vowed to be a “full-time” vice mayor, relegating her own business to second priority. The success of her retail venture, growing it into a chain of malls in Pangasinan and around northern Luzon, speaks well of her business acumen and management skills. She must have a good system in place to afford to spend more of her time for her responsibilities as a public servant of Dagupan.

I have long been a firm believer that entrepreneurs and leaders from the private sector can contribute much to improve public service in the country. The work discipline that is usually required within the corporate setting – when the bottomline of the financial sheet is at stake – is something that can be translated within the public sector – start thinking of it as the bottomline of public funds being on the line. Each job is not an isolated task, every employee is not merely a name in the plantilla and payroll list. Everything and everyone contributes to a whole system that delivers the goods and services to the customer who, in turn, brings in the revenues.

Not many from the private sector dare to take the plunge. Who can blame them? Philippine politics has never been known to be an attractive proposition. And so the few, like Belen Fernandez, who heed the call of the muddied world of public service deserve a big pat on the back and warrant all the support. Let’s watch her help turn this city into a well-oiled Dagupan, Inc.

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Former President Fidel Ramos tapped many good men from the private sector to help him with his administration. Remember how he asked Delfin Lazaro to lead the country’s energy sector in addressing a major power crisis in the early to mid 1990s? Delfin’s brother, the very reluctant Angel Lazaro, was also convinced by Ramos to handle the privatization of the then very mismanaged Metropolitan Waterworks and Sewerage System.

I did not vote for Ramos in 1992 despite the oft-cited Pangasinan ties valued by many voters (I voted for Salonga) but I was impressed by his work values and discipline borne out of his military background. I remember how my colleagues then covering the Malacanang beat worked their asses off to keep up with Ramos’s schedule. Most of his work days ended late only to begin again very early the next day!

I am seeing similarities now to Ramos in Pangasinan’s new governor, Amado Espino, Jr., also a former military and police man, who appears to be bent on instilling a new public service ethos in the provincial capitol. It’s creating a lot of buzz – both positive and negative. After the initial culture shock this week, I hope what will prevail is an open-minded attitude. We surely could use a little bit more discipline around here. Let’s give it a chance.

(For past columns, click http://sundaypunch.prepys.com/archives/category/opinion/roots/)

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