By Rex Catubig

 

SHE is known as a shrewd businesswoman, a smart entrepreneur, an astute politician, a public servant nonpareil. But behind all this, is a facet rarely seen, thus, unappreciated.

She hardly stays put in City Hall. Because the city is her office. And she’s always on the go.

She builds roads and buildings; promotes advocacies for children, education, medical welfare, environmental concerns, marginalized sector; drums up programs and projects for public good: “Good bye Gutom”, “Good bye Basura”, “5,000 Scholars!” are her resonant rallying cry. To bolster her stance on issues, she has stood on the world stage and lent her voice in international fora.

She does all these like clockwork.

But that is not all there is to her. There is another persona hidden from the public eye, that unravels as you work with her up close and personal.

As a consultant, I focus on the creative aspects of the endeavors and try to steer clear of the cookie cutter. At the same time, I work within realistic contexts, and soft pedal my stray ideas.

To my surprise, she comes up with elaborate schemes that would put worry furrows between the eyebrows of even the consummate event planner. She thinks grandiosely and her mind cannot comprehend the small scale. Even the small scale must be outstanding and never run of the mill. Her vision and perspective are always panoramic and drawn in bold brushstrokes–without missing the details. That comes with her broad expansive outlook.

But her time frame borders on Proustian, and does not conform to standard sequence. She would come up with a tiny germ of an idea that within minutes pops into something humongous, and for which she would set a timetable, doable within a couple of weeks, or days even.

Do it now is her version of planning ahead. And before one can protest, she would reassuringly say, “Kaya tan!”.  She could be a taskmaster.

Add to this her eccentric sleep pattern.  Sleep seems alien to her. She would message or call even at the instance of REM, that short circuits your dream machine. Yet the call of duty jumpstarts your brain to function.

Function is a word beloved to her. Her speed and efficacy in pursuing results is phenomenal. Like a roadrunner, she can easily wear down the staff and if you are “patay-patay”, or limping along, you would be overtaken and passed by. The challenge is always to keep pace and be abreast, and make things happen and function properly, yourself included.

Her test of ISO effectiveness is when something functions best as intended. Functional is the key. Anything less, is mediocre and substandard.

Just when you think there is no end to the long day, there comes some “me” moments when she would ask us to have dinner or snacks. It makes for some welcome down time where she would engage us in informal banter.

And as she wistfully recounts her life experiences and encounters, she transforms into the Belen of her youth: eagerly owning the task of slicing holiday ham in their store, imbibing early on the work ethic of her humble, hardworking parents, and just being herself—simple and unaffected, who did not dream beyond what their grocery store offered.

But she has an uncanny alliance with fate. And without the least wishing for it, the planets aligned in her favor and destiny became her birthright.

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