An exasperated Pinoy tells me that the Department of Labor section at the Philippine embassy in Washington, D.C. was practically closed for business since mid-April this year.
The reason? He was told by people at the Embassy that the Labor Attache went on extended vacation without designating an officer-in-charge authorized to conduct business for the Labor Department until his return.
This Pinoy has a relative in the Philippines who was offered a job by a diplomat of another foreign embassy in Washington, D.C. The employment contract was submitted by the prospective employer to the Labor Department section at the Philippine Embassy. This office is charged with verifying the identity of the employer and to determine if the terms of the contract comply with the local labor laws.
The people at the consular section told
this Pinoy that they wanted to help but their hands were tied because the
Department of Labor has not authorized any of the consular officers to fill in
for the absent Labor Attache. In the meantime, the poor Filipino in Manila who
was raring to go to the U. S. of A. to help his family and the Philippine
economy was left twisting in the wind. Considering that weeks have gone by
without an officer-in-charge transacting business for the Department of Labor
at the Philippine embassy, may more job seekers were made to endure an
agonizing suspense.
I thought that government offices are
closed for business only on officially declared national holidays.
Let’s have boxer Manny Paquiao run the
government. He might do better.
The people of the Philippines have just
voted to elect senators, congressmen and local officials. The canvassing of
votes will follow. Winners will be proclaimed. Losers will cry foul. Official
protests will be filed, then life goes on for the survivors of the electoral
process.
As in the past, violence has always been
a natural occurrence in contested elections in the Philippines. A public office
is a public trust. But to some candidates, it is more than that. It is
worth dying and killing for.
What can we expect from the current crop
of politicians? The outspoken Senator Miriam Santiago is thinking out loud
about resigning from the Senate because she does not want to serve with people
who just committed crimes
She alleges that the eventual winners in
the senatorial derby would have spent millions and millions of dollars in media
advertising alone, not to mention funds doled out to local leaders. The media
expense would clearly exceed the cap mandated by law, she laments.
Several of the candidates leading in
recent surveys are ardent critics of the Arroyo administration. I expect that
those who cannot stand whatever is wrong with the Arroyo administration must
have something better to offer.
Why, oh why, if you stand for good and
honest government would you seek the endorsement of a discredited
politician who is in detention for
plunder? Isn’t this validating Erap Estrada’s political transgressions as
acceptable norms of conduct for public officials?
No wonder Arroyo survived the “Hello
Garci” controversy. The people have not seen the real deal on the other side of
the political divide to make it worth rocking the boat.
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