‘Snopake’

Ric Maulion .

IT’S a white opaque correction fluid to mask typographical errors. Those who grew old in the government service can relate much to this. This should have been relegated to dust bins of history when typewriters were dumped at storage room after the Information Technology revolution. But, no! Government agencies still find “Snopake” indispensable to cover errors personal computers can’t handle effectively.

So, the Presidential Communications Operations Office (PCOO) spelled Norwagia for Norway, Rogelio for Roilo Golez, and Winston for Sen. Sherwin Gatchalian. My God, what despicable act this is desecrating a person’s sacred name! In the case of my kabayan Roilo Golez, his first name was a tribute to Romblon and Iloilo where  his parents hailed from, respectively.

How these erroneous names got  printed and read by millions of Filipinos is unthinkable. I could not simply fathom and understand this serious lapses given the huge budget of PCOO.  They might be sleeping on the job!  It’s time now for PCOO people to resign to save face and  avoid further damage because they are wasting the budget  of the government.

But there are government agencies where damage is far greater in proportions and where the rank and file employees are demoralized. This should have been averted, too. Unfortunately, no. Old tradition still exists in the system. It’s sad to learn that officers elected to protect their ranks — those securing the tenure of office — are not functioning and messing around with regional directors who, in turn, succumb easily to the pressures coming from their appointing officers. The end result: accommodation of their protégés and protégée. Never mind supplanting the names of official candidates already deliberated upon earlier by the promotion board.

This how meritocracy is held captive by this biased system. Why can’t supervisors maintain the balance of drawing  the line between political accommodation and returning back the compliments to the powers-that-be and meritocracy affecting the rank and file employees? They could actually resolve the issue without sacrificing the other. But, no. Their sights are blinded more on paying debts of gratitude to politicians  who put them in their juicy posts, protecting their status quo first than securing the tenure of people that are already part of the official roll.

Darea is classic example. My former staff, Nida Orbis of Malitbog, Bukidnon along with others, were victims of this. Her name was unfortunately “Snopaked” despite her passing the deliberation board and ranking second. To add insult to injury, not one among the officers and supervisors from up down to rank and file, offered any justification. Wow, what a waste of money for information division and what you got instead is a shocking communication breakdown!

Do not rock the boat, they say, by securing their own interests and tenures.  Never mind playing deaf and blind right over abuses committed against their ranks they vowed to serve and protect. This, until restlessness blow right before their faces, waking them up from deep and long stupor in the Department.

Whatever happened to public sector unionism? Fight for your rights and assert collective bargaining. The opposite holds true. Conspire with the powers-that-be in the Department. That way, you help fan out restlessness and prevent it from becoming a vicious cycle in perpetuity.

Ironically, the world has been turned into a global village because of information technology. Whatever happened to DAR in Region 10, pretending joining this juggernaut yet it could not even afford to answer queries even via an online messenger! What a display of arrogance and apathy that you could not protect your own ranks and allowing the “Snopake” mentality to run its own course in the Department.

I know. I’ve been there and have seen how ugly this favoritism works. I did wage my own war and was vindicated of what I wanted, lobbying the cause of my staff up for promotion all the way to DAR central office.

To those already in public service, you might be civil service eligible. That is not enough to survive in government. You have to grow and get promoted. But, sometimes, you have to fight it out against your bosses by showing them you deserve better. Yes, having an “MBA” (May Backer Ako) works regardless of your resume. It’s good only in paper. This, until “Snopake” catches up with your name and replaces it with a new name.