What does a Facebook post by Cebuana bar topnotcher and Customs advisor Mandy Anderson on House Speaker Pantaleon Alvarez have to do with President Rodrigo Duterte’s pledge to “rightsize” government bureaucracy?
Plenty, when one thinks about it. Anderson’s Facebook post criticized Speaker Alvarez as an “imbecile” for threatening to dissolve the Court of Appeals for ordering the release of six Ilocos Norte officials who were detained by the Lower House in relation to a case involving Majority Floor Leader Rodolfo Fariñas and former Ilocos Norte governor Imee Marcos.
While she apologized to the lawmakers during a budget hearing for Customs for the remark, Anderson eventually disclosed that she made the Facebook post after being pressured by Alvarez to recommend for promotion a person within the Customs office that she felt wasn’t qualified for the post.
Therein lies one of the root causes for the bloating of the government bureaucracy whether in elective or appointive offices; the so-called “padrino” or patronage system called upon by supporters of a politician who get elected into office.
When President Duterte made the call to rightsize the bureaucracy, he would likely have no idea that one of his allies in Congress would engage in some politicking that runs counter to his pledge to hire only qualified, committed and incorruptible men and women to serve in government.
While debate over Anderson’s comment runs aplenty online, her disclosure about the alleged pressure and threats issued to her by the Speaker in relation to the promotion of his favored people is yet a glaring reminder about the influence and interference done by elected officials in the appointment and hiring of people in the executive department, which is answerable to the President himself/herself and ultimately to the Filipino people.
In Anderson’s case, she had been picked by Customs Commissioner Nicanor Faeldon as consultant to initiate reforms at the corruption-riddled agency, and he did right by standing up for her even if it means butting heads with Fariñas and Alvarez, the President’s key allies in Congress.
When people who are unqualified get employed or worse, promoted over those qualified to serve yet were rejected or had toiled for years and been instrumental in serving the people; or when qualified people in government get grilled over a social media comment questioning or even lambasting an elected public official, you know something’s seriously wrong with government bureaucracy.
When you fill up government bureaucracy with unqualified, glorified sycophants, it is rendered incompetent, unresponsive and worse, feeling entitled to be in government service and being paid for it by taxpayers who rightfully expect and demand more from their elected officials and by extension, their employees.
Disclaimer: The comments uploaded on this site do not necessarily represent or reflect the views of management and owner of Cebudailynews. We reserve the right to exclude comments that we deem to be inconsistent with our editorial standards.
