Mindoro on my Mind 2
The waves were quite high between Calapan and Batangas, and the Supercat ride was a bit rough, but I hardly noticed. I had just come from the forum of the Saint Augustine Seminary “Alumni-in-Public Service,” and my mind was still stimulated by the encounter.
I didn’t realize that of the 14 towns and one city of Oriental Mindoro, four are led by mayors who are alumni of SAS - Bulalacao, the southernmost town, Puerto Galera and San Teodoro, the northernmost towns, and Calapan City. There are also ex-seminarians who are vice mayors, councilors, and staff of national government agencies.
For a while I was apprehensive that the forum wouldn’t push through, since it rained heavily on my way from Naujan to the Diocesan Pastoral Center in Calapan. Fr. Andy Lubi, the rector of SAS was there to welcome me, and after a while the participants trickled in through the rain.
In addition to SAS alumni, the forum also invited other public officials. I met the new vice-governor, Estee Aceron who used to work as a labor lawyer with Bobit Sanchez. Provincial board member Bonz Dolor also came, but I failed to congratulate him on his election as national president of the league of board members. He told me that a couple of ELF leader-graduates work with him.
Even Congressman Umali dropped in for a while, and we had a brief but spirited conversation about mining in Mindoro and the impending reshuffle in Congress when it reconvenes. “Joe de Venecia will probably be ousted as Speaker,” he said, “unless he works out a reconciliation with GMA.”
That was about the only reference to national politics this morning. The rest of the morning focused on local politics and local development.
The forum’s theme was rather daunting - Solidarity for Life and Wellbeing in pursuit of Authentic Development for Mindorenos. It is just the second of a series of planned fora. The first had Nikki Perlas discussing the concept of “servant leadership.” Fr. Andy announced that they have already chosen the the speaker for the third forum - Among Ed, the priest-governor of Pampanga, who has been named by the Philippine Daily Inquirer as its person of the year.
I am afraid I talked longer than I planned, and gave overly long answers during the open forum. The mayor of San Teodoro commented that I covered in an hour all the topics of his one year of masteral studies in public administration! But I was eager and excited to to share whatever lessons I have learned about leadership and public service, and to hear their reactions.
The participants graciously gave positive feedback on my talk, but I think I gained much more from meeting them. They reinforce my hope that there are more immediate possibilities for good governance at the local level. Since most of them are much younger than I am, I think that Mindoro can look forward to having many public officials who want to be “servant-leaders.”
Although these alumni-in-public service generally have good reputation, they have no illusions about the challenges and perils of politics and governance. The video message of Bishop Warlito Cajandig spoke frankly about corruption, especially since Calapan City has been chosen as one of four pilot areas for a project of “localizing counter-corruption.”
In our informal conversation, vice-governor Aceron shared the inner tension she feels between her commitment to honest public service and the temptations of traditional practices. An officer of the Department of Agrarian Reform asked me to comment on his superior who tells him “Gawan mo ng paraan,” which implies circumventing the law. All I could do was tell some stories of my own experiences as TESDA director-general, some of which drew knowing laughter.
I told them that their commitment to public service is as much a “vocation” as the priestly ministry. In many ways it is more difficult, given the reality of the dominant political culture, including the prevailing culture of dependence and patronage among the voters.
The bishop has convened a Provincial CARE Forum where religious organizations, civil society organizations, and other citizens can discuss public issues which they want the public officials to address. Congressman Umali said he was glad that the church took the initiative, since public officials need to be reminded and pressured from time to time. The SAS Alumni resolutions include helping organize Municipal CARE Forums.
The group is scheduled to meet again in late February. Mayor Feraren of San Teodoro is host, and they have invited me to attend. It will also be a chance to visit the pilot site of the “Trees for Life, Tubong Pinoy” on a 500 hectare area assigned by the municipality. We will be following up the discussions on development issues in Mindoro, including the possibilities of managing our water resources and harnessing them for generating power, for irrigation and for flood control.
It was an all-too-brief encounter, but I felt a deep and stimulating connection to the spirits and energies of these young political leaders of my home island-province. They make me feel old as I approach 65, and also young again.
March 7, 2008 at 1:46 am
I was once the President of Sto. Nino Confraternity in The St Augustines Church here in Philadelphia, Pennsylvania, USA where the only exact replica of the Sto. Nino in the Basilica was installed. Having closely associated with both US and Philippines OSA, my reading your article was very refreshing. Refreshing in a way because I am about to buy a small farm in San Teodoro (Tacligan) and learning about the activities and governance of the community is very important to me. Perhaps and if you don’t mind, may I ask your take about the presence of NPA in the area and its threat to the peace and security of persons who would like to live there but not a native and specifically greatly influenced by the western culture.
Your kind attention will be appreciated gretly…. Peace profound,