A BRIGHTER YEAR AHEAD. Davao Light Community Relations Manager Fermin Edillon (left, front) and Streetlights and Pole Utilities Department Manager Daniel Cabigon (right, front) hand over some LED bulbs to the resident-beneficiaries of Davao Light’s Solar Electrification project last December 22, 2016 at Sitio Malambuon, Malabog, Paquibato District, Davao City.
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Manny Valdehuesa .

Part 4

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EQUAL opportunity is the hallmark of a democratic order. It should be exemplified by the government and citizenry of every Filipino community or barangay.

The condition of equal opportunity is characterized by a level playing field—one in which anyone can pursue his legitimate ambitions or desires freely and without external restraints.

Anyone and everyone should be able to compete freely and aspire to a better quality of life.

For a start, it should be an important concern of local governance that there be equal access to opportunities created by its obligation to serve the community—e.g. employment and job contracts.

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This concern should be tempered by conscious avoidance of certain attitudes and practices that not only are counterproductive but are ultimately a disservice to the community and society at large.

One such attitude is the thinking that the poor and underprivileged, regardless of ability or qualification, should get preferential treatment in the process of filling positions in the local bureaucracy.

Another is the practice of favoring one’s relatives or cronies in recruiting employees for public positions. It is nepotism, pure and simple, and should be consciously avoided.

Both mindsets account for the terrible quality of services and the mediocre achievements of barangay governments. Thus, one finds that barangay government reports are poorly prepared, their language terrible, their contents less than comprehensive. And the local environment, including offices in the barangay hall, are notably shabby and disorderly.

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Poverty or personal need are not qualifications for public office. Although both should be factored in making decisions, all things being equal, competence should be the number one qualification, followed by character and commitment.

It is only proper that community service gets the best and brightest in its ranks. An unjustified bias towards the poor, regardless of competence, violates the spirit of solidarity—which requires that the community be served by the best talents available.

Rich or poor, everyone in the community is entitled to a decent quality of life, an orderly environment, and efficient services. And only persons that can provide these should be considered.

However, this does not detract from the obligation that a large part of a given community’s programs and projects be focused on improving the lot of the poor or disadvantaged, even as the needs of other sectors are provided for.

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In general, there should be no room for nepotism or favoritism in apportioning opportunity or privilege that arise from the community’s programs. This would be the case if relatives and cronies are given choice positions to the prejudice of others who are qualified.

It cannot be overemphasized that we must all work to establish a merit-based way of living, guided and motivated by the demands of social justice, fairness, and compassion.

Every community or barangay should strive to involve all sectors in the development planning process as well as in implementing its approved plans. And to equalize access to opportunity by initiating measures that offset the disadvantage of some sectors.

Such measures empower the poor and the needy, enabling them to attain a modicum of parity with the rest.

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Offsetting opportunities are needed by those living far from the center or in the harshest areas of the jurisdiction, by those living below the poverty line, and by those that are physically or mentally handicapped.

There are policy implications to this equal opportunity framework, including the need to prioritize infrastructure and services.

For example, walkways or pavements are needed for the convenience of residents in remote areas, as is water and power. Subsidy for indigents and other needy families may be prioritized such as feeding programs and health maintenance and treatment services, and welfare. The handicapped may need public utility facilities and services.

For the economically disadvantaged, ways should be found, and schemes developed, to offset their shortcomings. Micro-finance or credit programs perhaps? Or cooperatives, continuing education, livelihood training, and the like.

Initiatives like these are empowering and morale-boosting. They equalize what disadvantages may obtain in the community, producing a level playing field.

 

(Manny Valdehuesa Jr. is a former Unesco regional director for Asia-Pacific; secretary-general, Southeast Asia Publishers Association; director, development academy of Philippines; member, Philippine Mission to the UN;  vice chair, Local Government Academy; member, government peace panel during the administration of Corazon Aquino; awardee, PPI-Unicef outstanding columnist. An author of books on governance, he is chairman/convenor of Gising Barangay Movement Inc.. E-mail: valdehuesa@gmail.com)

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