NOT too long ago DJ Alvaro's song "Ang tipo kong lalake" expressed preference for a man who was "maginoo pero medyo bastos". There are many ways of interpreting that line, among them the view that it is possible for seemingly contradicting traits to blend into an appealing unity, such as being gentlemanly (or courteous) but a tad naughty.
A certain calibration is needed to successfully pull off this appealing demeanor, because it is not a case of being courteous one moment, and naughty the next. It is being both at the same time, without being regarded as inconsistent.
I remembered DJ Alvaro's line in relation to the actuations of local government leaders who faced the challenging tasks of ensuring that local economic, political and socio-cultural life continues while dealing with mass dissent--and these in a time of a major electoral contest. The most recent and dramatic cases that come to mind were those that transpired in Davao and Kidapawan.
March 18 this year, indigenous peoples/Lumad rallied in front of the Eastern Mindanao Command headquarters to protest militarization in their communities, effectively blocking for five hours the main road northeast of Davao City and causing a traffic snarl that affected access to and from the international airport and seaport. From March 30 to April 1, farmers and Lumad affected by drought caused by El Nino dramatized their plight in front of the National Food Authority (NFA), and in the process constrained the flow of vehicles, people and goods along a major thoroughfare.
Both incidents happened in key cities and involved protesters that were technically not local--from Davao del Norte, Compostela Valley and Bukidnon in the case of the Davao incident, and in Kidapawan other municipalities within North Cotabato and allegedly also from Bukidnon.
The similarities end there. For while the protesters in Davao peacefully disbanded after dialoging with local government officials, the one in Kidapawan was violently dispersed, causing deaths and injuries, was followed by a church compound being raided, and later triggered a campaign to provide rice and other assistance to the drought-afflicted population in North Cotabato.
The pronouncements of local and national government officials after the April 1 dispersal are instructive. Both sets of statements were quick to enumerate government action, and suggest that the situation was not as bad as depicted and the protesters were ill-informed and had been manipulated into joining. There were allegations that the mobilization and the subsequent campaign for rice were deliberately set up to favor one presidential candidate. Soon after the dispersal, instead of inquiring into why the Public Assembly Act of 1985 had been disregarded, the Philippine National Police and the Department of the Interior and Local Government awarded 19 policemen involved in the dispersal with the PNP Wounded Personnel Medal, which prompted a senator to inquire about the haste when it took a year for the SAF personnel injured in the Mamasapano misencounter to receive theirs.
At one point, it became a contest of casualties, with no less than the Provincial Governor claiming that there were more police hurt than protesters. By the time Senators conducted a public hearing, no one could recall who gave the dispersal order, and the Provincial Governor who had vehemently expressed feeling insulted by assistance from other sources, suddenly became contrite and grateful for any help.
It would have made a world of difference had local and national leaders admitted that while they did respond to the drought which had been flagged as early as late 2014 and which was expected to hit Mindanao the hardest, their actions were proven to be inadequate, and thus now is a time to act together to prevent more harms from visiting affected rural communities. The situation would have been different had there been recognition on the part of public officials that the protest action was an indication of bigger governance problems, rather than being the problem itself. And following this, officials ought to have regarded farmers and Lumad as citizens that have been experiencing problems and are addressing those collectively, instead of treating them as threats, sources of embarrassment, or worse as gullible victims.
I recall a chance conversation with communications and public relations specialist Carlo Munda who remarked that Filipinos require so much from elected officials, applying standards that we do not require even from spiritual leaders such as priests and other religious.
I think though that it is important that we have specific expectations about our leaders. But unlike DJ Alvaro whose ideal was defined by pero/but, mine is at/and. Ang tipo kong pinuno ay matalino at marunong umamin ng kahinaan at pagkakamali, masipag at maagap at hindi takot tumanggap ng tulong, mapagpasya at kayang tumantya ng tamang panahon sa pagpapasya, matatag at kayang magbago ng isip kapag may sapat na dahilan, matapang at kayang makipag-usap sa mga hindi magkasing panig--a leader who is intelligent and is able to own up to weaknesses and mistakes, industrious and has initiative and can accept help from others, resolute and has a nose for the right conditions for making decisions, firm and able to change his/her mind when the situation warrants it, and strong and able to engage those who are on opposing sides.
Public administration theory expects local officials to effectively implement national priorities in their areas of responsibility. Taken to the extreme, this has led to situations where local leaders blindly toe unresponsive and irrelevant policies and programs, to the detriment of their constituents. Thus there is also need for calculated irreverence among local leaders, the ability to challenge those that are normally held sacred, so as to bring about change--in a manner of speaking, medyo bastos. These are leaders who take the side and interests of their constituents, even if it puts them at odds with higher levels of government, and sometimes even raises questions about the leaders' own politics.
So yes, when viewed from the lens of calculated irreverence and without equating pagiging maginoo with men, ang tipo kong pinuno ay maginoo at medyo bastos din.
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