Monday, September 29, 2008 Pangan: Alter ego By Benjie R. Pangan At Close Range
THIS is a take on administrators, and perhaps, in the next issues, something on chiefs of staff and executive assistants.
In local government units, as well as in private corporations, the chief executives have their respective assistants, men friday and confidantes. In this regard and capacity, the administrators, chiefs of staff and executive assistants become the alter ego of the CEOs and top guns of the organizations.
In view of the broad range of discussions on these positions, I shall delimit my scope in this issue on the comparison of Mabalacat municipal administrators on their personality, performance and acceptability to the people and workers they have come in contact and interacted with.
But first, let us look into the Local Government Code and get to know the qualifications and functions of the Administrator, be he in the provincial, city or municipal levels.
Under Article 10, Title Five, Section 480 of the Code, it is stated that: (1) the appointed administrator shall be a citizen of the Philippines, a resident of the local government unit concerned, of good moral character, a first grade civil service eligible or its equivalent (?) and a holder of a college degree preferably in public administration, law or any other related course from a recognized college or university.
As for experience required, the municipal administrator must have acquired three years. His appointment is optional, as differentiated from the provincial and city, which is mandatory and coterminous with his appointing authority.
Theoretically, the functions of the Administrator are to: (1) develop plans and strategies and when approved by the mayor, implement them; (2) coordinate work of all the officials of the LGU; (3) be in the frontline of the delivery of support services, especially during emergencies and calamities; and (4) exercise other powers which may be prescribed by law or ordinance.
In practice, however, some municipal administrators are called "little" mayors as they wield more power than the other appointed officials.
In the case of Mabalacat, since the inception of the term of incumbent mayor Boking Morales in 1995, there had been a succession of administrators.
For this piece, I chose to start with Jose Angeles Dayrit, the local Einstein and writer par excellance. Shedding his Bob Dylan-type hairdo in favor of administrative work, JAD, as he is fondly called by friends and those close to him, started as an unofficial Administrator, and is a prolific writer and voracious reader.
He is known for his staunch loyalty to his mayor, such that, being a bachelor, he even lived at Holiday Lodge, the residence of the mayor in Dau, for quite a while. Jad never married though.
The late Cesar G. Reyes was at the helm for about two years. Bringing in his management skills honed at then Clark Air Force Base, Cesar was more a manager than a pen pusher. Always punctual in reporting for work, he was invariably lenient to some employees and strict to others.
Next at bat was Jun Magbalot, the mayor's purser. Adept at handling money for various purposes, Jun had at his disposal a generous cache of cash for those who pleased him, and woe to those who got his ire. He was not very strict in checking attendance reports of employees but he was innovative in finding out compliance to his directives. After all, he had massive doses of moolah at his command.
Those who followed Jun Magbalot were both former members of the Sangguniang Bayan: Restituto F. Sibal, Jr., and Diosdado Rodrillo Lingad. Inarguably, these two gentlemen were seasoned legislators, members of the majority and both enjoyed commendable popularity among voters and respect from their peers.
Jun Sibal, the UP-schooled municipal administrator was, and still is, a disciplinarian and a regimented work thoroughbred. He blazed the trail of responsive and proactive administrative operations and to achieve these, his prolific mind berthed several issuances which, at first blush, were unpopular although they were anchored on truly good governance.
By analogy, Jun S was a modern-day Claro Mayo Recto, that compleat statesman who'd rather be right than popular.
A gifted speaker in English, Jun Sibal, who talks as fast as his brain does, is personable, disarming with his demeanor, hardworking and performed as the best and the brightest of all the MAs the town of Mabalacat has ever had, in terms of responsibility awareness of workers, participatory leadership of department and unit heads and supervisors and had established as legacy good work ethics in the LGU.
It is to his big credit that the "house" was put to order and its rules laid down for his successors to implement.
Next came Diosdado "Dado" R. Lingad, likewise a no- nonsense workhorse of Mayor Boking. A politico in voice and mien, Dado or Dads, tried to replicate what his immediate predecessor has set.
A vibrant figure on and off the stage, he managed to work for the good image of the town, its officials and employees albeit for a short term before he decided to migrate to the United States for good.
The current MA, Rosanno "Rosan" Sanguyu Pacquia, probably a distant relative of Pacquiao, is the concurrent MPDC head who took over from the retired Mar Aguinaldo.
Rosan, now a law freshman at the AUF College of Law, is doing well in his double workload and is well-liked by fellow officials and subordinates so far.
Working for him is the complete trust and confidence of his boss, the resourceful Mayor Boking. He, however, shares the same predicament as those before him, excepting Jun Magbalot: he did not have substantial cash on hand for indigent callers, solicitors and pseudo media practitioners (Next: chiefs of staff and executive assistants).
