Let’s be serious in choosing brgy officials

Manny Valdehuesa .

ON May 14^th, every Filipino is called upon to elect two sets of leaders for his community: the barangay chairman to preside over the community’s adult constituents and the sangguniang kabataan chairman to preside over youth affairs.

Along with them, adult voters are also to elect seven members for the sangguniang barangay, while the younger voters elect the same number for their Sangguniang Kabataan.

Much is at stake in deciding who shall be chosen. The barangay’s quality of life, for example, is largely determined by the kind of programs, projects, services, and other considerations the officials may decide to introduce or to adopt.

Their background and leadership style also matter. Are they well-educated or experienced? Do they believe in participatory planning? Do they know enough to consult the people before making decisions? The acts and decisions of public officials affect the wellbeing of the people. Do they respect the principle of consent-of-the governed?

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Selecting the leader of one’s community is serious business and should be treated as such. It requires more consideration than choosing the chair or leader of one’s social club, like Rotary or Jaycees, or that of a fraternity or sorority in school.

A barangay leader’s acts and decisions affects all aspects of community life—social, cultural, economic, political, and so on. His leadership can spell the difference between harmony and discord, between peace and order. On him depends whether one’s neighborhood assumes a character or appearance that one can be proud of and revel in.

Competence and respectability are important. Competent, respectable leaders attract the best and brightest in the neighborhoods, motivating them to serve or even volunteer their services. With them in the public service, the community reaps the blessings of good planning and maintenance, of progress and productivity, of good governance and orderliness.

It was a British statesman who said: “If you want people to love your country; your country ought to be lovely.” Let’s make our barangay lovely, starting with our home and immediate neighborhood!

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There is no reason why one’s community can’t be further developed and made lovely—not only for its residents to enjoy but also for the delight of transients, passersby, or tourists. The need to improve and refine the leadership of the barangay should also be a concern for expatriates. Overseas Filipinos do not cease to be a citizen of their barangay just because they happen to be abroad. Their barangay of origin will always be home to them. Their relatives are there.

Look around your barangay today. Note its appearance, its arrangements and its services.

Do they look like they are getting the necessary attention to make them pleasing to the eyes? Is walking around in its neighborhoods a delightful experience? Are its streets and sidewalks clear of obstruction or debris, its canals or drainage system well maintained?

A well-ordered community bespeaks a people with standards of order, sanitation, and cleanliness. No less important, it bespeaks a leadership that respects the standards of the people and is guided in accordingly.

What sort of standards or rules of conduct does the community possess, norms that guide its officials and workers in taking care of the community? Are such standards reflected in the maintenance and administration of the neighborhoods?

The May 14 elections are being held after a series of postponements and cancellations which prevented the people from renewing or revitalizing the leadership caliber and structure of their community. Let us make up for lost time and the loss of opportunities to develop our respective communities better.

(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; awardee, PPI-Unicef outstanding columnist. He is chairman/convenor of the Gising Barangay Movement Inc. E-mail: valdehuesa@gmail.com)