Fair Hopes

QUOTED often in graduation remarks or speeches are the good prospects of the young ones and the graduates as being fair hope of the country. And for good reason, as these young citizens are expected to be the next leaders, the succeeding administrators, caretakers, managers of enterprises and government offices as they ripen into considerable age, as they mature as responsible individuals and professionals.

Truly, thousands of students will finish their academic pursuits and preparations this year and plans are afoot for the celebrations even as the Department of Education or DepEd ostensibly warned that it does not allow lavish celebrations and encourages simple, austere and practical observances of the milestone.

Truly, more graduates will join the ranks of the unemployed and the underemployed, as predicted by the Department of Labor and Employment which highlights career guidance counseling for the new graduates so that proper matching of skills and the prospective job openings may be achieved. And then there is Tesda, or the Technical Education and Skills Development Authority which encourages the graduates to look the way of technical-vocational courses which are good alternatives to standard and traditional college courses. As it is, vocational courses offer skills more in demand in the international labor market. To be more globally competitive, world-class skills should be obtained by our graduates who would certainly join the labor force. The more privileged ones, of course, will become entrepreneurs and business owners.

It is about time that the young upstarts thought of their future plans, charted their courses of action way ahead of their current schedules and prepare for them extensively. Today, we do not leave things to chance.

Everything should be planned and executed well according to the plans.

There is no room for haphazard executions, otherwise the result will be disastrous. Careful planning, complemented by meticulous execution, is a good mode of implementation.

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On matters of transparency, I came to read about the charges brought about by a mayoralty aspirant in Magalang against the incumbent Mayor Romulo "Romy" F. Pecson and two other municipal officials. The charges reportedly stemmed from the refusal of these officials to "furnish documents on the number of employees, whether casual or contractual, their respective areas of designation and the schedule of their salaries and compensation for fiscal years 2011 and 2012."

Mayor Pecson and his two officials are reportedly the respondents in a complaint filed before the Office of the Ombudsman for gross neglect of duty and conduct unbecoming of public officials in violation of RA 6713. What? I am aware that the Civil Service Commission and the Commission on Audit conduct periodic audits on the operations of LGUs, including the personnel working in them, so the officials of the LGU concerned should have taken notice of the audits.

The allegations of wrongdoing in the hiring of casual and contractual workers besiege other local government units, including the City of Mabalacat where the city hall is teeming with so many individuals who were hired due to patronage and perhaps, favoritism, according to some sources. There are LGUs which are really overstaffed with undeserving hires, especially so with the coming May 2013 elections. Bata bata is the system; others come from the influential religious sect which foists the election voting bloc!

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I had the opportunity to join other media practitioners at the birthday bash of Mayor Edgardo "EdPam" D. Pamintuan last Wednesday at Fortune HongKong seafood restaurant in Balibago. On Thursday, the good lady Governor Lilia "Nanay Baby" Pineda had hers. Congrats to both darlings of the press and the voters!

The Mabalacat City College is observing its foundation day this week and it just proves that with effective management, the academic institution, one of the dreams come true of Mayor Boking Morales, will survive the challenges of time and onslaught of modern technology. Congrats to Dr. Leonardo Canlas, District Supervisor Mel P. Sotto and other officials of the college for their excellent stewardship and guidance.