Because we want to

Egay Uy .

DURING the flag raising ceremony at City Hall one Monday morning, city administrator and concurrently head of City Social Welfare Department, Teddy Sabuga-a, exhorted the employees to serve the public (borrowing Mayor Oscar Moreno’s words) “the best way possible.”

He expounded that one of the main reasons people sought employment at the city government is livelihood.  But that since we are in the employ of government, serving the people should likewise be among the primary reasons for our being in our respective positions.

In sum, he was exhorting employees to “serve the public not because we have to but because we want to.”

In like token, he exhorted employees to attend flag raising ceremonies not because attendance is taken and attendance log sheets are closed by eight o’clock in the morning, but because employees want to.

He said he does not want to “enforce” rules upon employees.  Instead, he prefers that employees voluntarily do what are expected of them without being compelled to do so.  He’d rather see employees do what are expected of them because they want to.

He kidded about taking photos of employees who, instead of attending the flag raising ceremony at the quadrangle, hang around in other areas and buildings.  But no, he said.

He was looking forward to see those employees attend flag raising ceremonies without being told to do so.  But for how long he could keep his punches, only he knows.

The approach employed by Teddy may be regarded as a complete turnaround of how most employees were “coerced” into doing things in previous years.

As city administrator, Teddy is indeed a reflection of the working and management style of Mayor Moreno.  In fact, Teddy boasts of his longooted association with Mayor Oca such that he said he has become familiar with what and how the mayor thinks.

And being so, Teddy is doing justice to his office as the prime alter ego of the office of the mayor. Primus inter pares, if you will.

Isn’t it good?  We are here because we want to not because we have to.

(Egay Uy is co-chair of the City Price Coordinating Council, chair of the Regulatory and Complaints Board, and chair of the Joint Inspection Team of Cagayan de Oro.)