IT IS difficult not to notice the answer of the new DOTC Secretary Art Tugade to the news reporters over the recent Manila airport runway's gaffe. The remarks he uttered cemented the existence of a new leadership. I have never witnessed a single high-ranking government official apologize (the way Tugade did in public) during the previous authority. Secretary Tugade's apology was delivered with candor without blaming the over and done Aquino administration. In the past six years, a legion of appointed and elected officials have applied Pontius Pilate's practice regarding washing of own hands over a blunder. Aquino himself made the leadership of former president Arroyo a template of his speeches as he deliberately criticized the latter whenever he's being placed on hot water.
Instead of pointing fingers for he is new to the department, Tugade faced the people and took it as a man. He did the same when he was newly appointed as the president and CEO of Clark Development Corporation--an alleged crime has reported to have transpired against a foreign national inside Clark and I was able to air the story on national TV and radio. The incident created the opportunity for me and Tugade to meet for the first time. I tell you, there are similarities between him and the President Duterte on the way they talk--and he speaks with no nonsense. At some rare instances, he would ring my phone as the dusk falls after a long day, and we would share light moments at his favorite cafe inside the Freeport zone. I was never surprised to learn that he'd be appointed to a presidential cabinet position.
I once pondered that commanders taking full responsibility over an error are already facing extinction in the government--I was wrong. There is still credence with the new management. Secretary Art has been given a gargantuan responsibility and he takes accountability for it. It takes a lot to suck it up.
It's easier said than done to take one for the team. Those who say "it's not my fault" are the same people who tell "I already did my part"--they will not accept the liability for any consequence. Both responsibility and accountability should weld conjointly. I remember one meeting I had with the head of the parish, stakeholders and the city government during the second term of the current admin; an issue concerning delay or setback has been raised by a stakeholder. When nobody was responding to the query, I took the floor, bucked up and dealt with it. After owning the aberration, I thought I'd be sermoned by Bishop Ambo but instead, he complimented my admission of the lapse, and we moved on.
There is truth to the words of Peter Cetera when he sang "Hard to Say I'm Sorry." But accepting a misstep is not a sign of weakness. Men who cry or who wear pink shirts does not mean they belong to the third gender. Taking the burden would not make one less of a human being but on the contrary will make an individual a better person.