Thursday, November 01, 2007 Wenceslao: On winners losing jobs By Bong O. Wenceslao Candid Thoughts
ONE can say of our colleagues who won in the elections that theirs is a case of you win some, you lose some. Reports say that the ABS-CBN management has advised Dave Tumulak, who won the post of barangay captain in Basak Pardo, and Ramil Ayuman, the new barangay chief of Apas, to resign from work if they choose to assume their posts.
Tumulak and Ayuman are only two of the four media people who won the top posts in the recent barangay and Sangguniang Kabataan polls. The others are Banilad’s Malou Inocando Tabar, who is with dyHP and is the wife of Sun.
Star Super-balita’s Dennes Tabar, and Busay’s Eliodoro “Yody” Sanchez, who is with dyDD Bantay Radyo.
I don’t know if Malou has also been told by the dyHP management to quit but I am sure Yody will still be doing his “Tikdul-tikdol” spiel on radio. He was not told by the Bantay Radyo management to resign when he first won and I don’t think he will be asked to do so now that he is on his second term. That’s what he also said when interviewed.
I don’t really see much of a problem with those who won for barangay councilors, that is, if the weight of governance were the consideration. Their task is lighter and so they have better chances of being able to balance barangay responsibilities with media work. That is why many media outlets have personnel who are also barangay officials.
Admittedly, the work load of a barangay captain is heavier. As one legislator noted, the barangay captain is more powerful than a president because in him is lumped the executive, judiciary and legislative powers. The burden is even heavier for barangay captains presiding over urban barangays in a major economic hub like Cebu City.
Unfortunately, many barangay officials cannot feed their families using their honorariums alone. That is why they are forced to balance barangay work with their jobs in private firms or their business endeavors. In media, there is the ethical consideration, although that is a concern that I think can be addressed without those elected quitting.
I would consider as fair the act of media outlets of requiring their employees who won in the elections to resign only if the employees were informed of the policy before they filed their certificates of candidacy. Media workers must be told early on the risk that running in an election entails.
