Last week, a quirky and eye-catching job posting shook up the Cebu City Facebook scene, calling “Cebu’s Brightest Young Leaders” to join the herd and help shake things up in local governance. I, for one, was intrigued and couldn’t help but applaud such initiative.
The now-viral post of Mayor-elect Nestor Archival Sr. on Facebook featured the tagline “Join the Team. Rebuild Cebu. Lead the Future,” as published on June 9 and has since racked up over 14,000 reactions, 1,000 comments and 2,500 shares, as of writing.
This recent call to target the city’s “brightest young leaders” is very strategic. It targets graduates with Latin honors or board topnotchers within the last 10 years — a very interesting recruitment drive.
Many were quick to comment on the post that there is discrimination in terms of the qualifications imposed. There were concerns raised by netizens about inclusivity and equity in public service recruitment.
We must understand that there is no specific law that explicitly prohibits such hiring preferences. However, the broader labor framework, anchored on the principles of non-discrimination and merit-based employment, offers a critical lens.
The Labor Code allows employers to set qualifications for positions, but only if they qualify as Bona Fide Occupational Qualifications (BFOQs) and are justifiable under the reasonable business necessity rule. This means that the qualifications must be genuinely necessary for the job and equal opportunity and non-discrimination shall be the cornerstones for just employment.
The concept of BFOQ is rooted in Article 133 (renumbered) of the Labor Code where it refers to a legally permissible exception to the general rule against employment discrimination when a certain characteristic (such as sex, religion, or age) is reasonably necessary to the normal operation of a particular business or job.
Likewise, Republic Act 10911, or the Anti-Age Discrimination in Employment Act, promotes hiring based on “abilities, knowledge, skills and qualifications.” It implicitly acknowledges that educational attainment can be a legitimate hiring criterion, but the overall emphasis is on job-related competencies.
In this new era of local governance in Cebu City, the new administration seeks to address a long-standing problem which is the deep capacity gap in local leadership. It is common that local government units nationwide struggle with outdated systems, politicized bureaucracy and limited technical capacity. The revitalized new administration is making a conscious effort toward performance-driven governance — and it is starting with talent.
In fact, even the job posting acknowledges that the work will be “tough” and the hours “long.” Hence, the candidates targeted must have the technical know-how and the civic commitment to do the work.
But beyond credentials, what the job-seekers must understand is that reform in local governance is not just theory-based, or what was learned through books and discussions. It is a lived experience that would be shaped by the policies and the participation of the people inside the system. Sharing in the same vision, anchored on the principles of transparency, accountability and honesty, genuine reform begins and nation-building sustains.
Public service demands more than brains; it demands empathy, communication skills and the genuine desire to serve. Ultimately, the job posting truly highlights the search for professionals to co-lead the reengineering of its governance machinery — something that democratic values are inherent.
It is now up to the city’s best and brightest — not just to join government, but to redefine what local government can potentially be.
The question now is whether these young leaders will answer the call.