HUMAN SA PAGAKPAK, LIGDONG NGA BUHAT ANG IPASIATAB

Now that the fanfare surrounding the oathtaking ceremonies of our newly-elected officials is over, the time to grapple with reality has come. As leaders, as public servants and as paragon of the people’s voice, all these salient features of our elected officials being rolled into one are not as easy a task if they are not destined for the job.

The way to unravel the complexity of public service is unique considering its inherent reservoir of success and failure. Certainly, public service is not the cup of tea for faint-hearted ones. It is difficult to draw the line between the boisterous type and the know-it-all type among our elected officials because most of them appear to have developed the same idiosyncracies almost all the time.

The doer is one who works selflessly. He finds pleasure in fulfilling the demands of his office through accountability and transparency. He exercises the full weight of his authority without fear or favor. To him, there are no ifs and buts when public interest is at stake. He performs his functions without any mental reservation or purpose of evasion. He protects the interest of the people and abandons his ties with election financiers having “unscrupulous” motives and orientation. Most importantly, he must be ready to walk an extra mile and carry the burden of accomplishing his campaign promises or risk being perceived as bagging his political victory through deceit and misrepresentation.

Patnubay.org wishes to thank Atty James Lobedica for giving us the permission to publish this short story in our website. Atty James Lobedica is a lawyer based in Cebu City. He advocates perservation of Cebuano language and culture. He finished his Bachelor of Laws at the University of San Carlos – Cebu in 1992.