No ‘MBA,’ no ‘MPA’

MY SIGNIFICANT other sent me a text message: “MBA (Masters in Business Administration, May Backer Ako), MPA (Masters in Public Administration, May Padrino Ako).” The abbreviations are not mere jokes; these reflect our infamous patronage politics.

We have heard stories about these “backers” and the “padrino” system, but it seems that things have remained the same. They say entering the Philippine bureaucracy is not about what you know but whom you know.

I am a graduate of one of our top universities, and I am now a rank-and-file employee of a government agency. I am proud that I entered the public sector without knowing anyone in the agency. Believing that a retired undersecretary of the department could have weight on my employment application, my father had asked if I wanted to be recommended. I was irked by his question. It was a blow to my ideal that the public sector should be exemplary in hiring its personnel.

I took the examination and had two interviews: one with a panel and another with the executive director. Two weeks after the final interview, my coapplicant, who graduated with honors from a top university, told me that the job vacancy had been reposted on the website. We felt bad. After another two weeks, we were informed that we got an appointment for administrative assistant 1. I wondered: Why am I being put in a position for which I didn’t apply, and that requires only two years of college completion and subprofessional eligibility?

We didn’t question the authority; at the end of the day, we accepted the job, knowing that we are still young and are still in the formative years of career. Sometimes, we tell ourselves that with our position, we are underachievers.

Still we are hopeful that our current position would provide us with a platform to leverage our classroom experiences. I am willing to learn. Some of my friends and family members comment that I am underpaid, but I think working in the government would be a return service because I was a beneficiary of the University of the Philippines’ Socialized Tuition Fee Program.

I plan to pursue a long-term career in the public sector, especially in the areas of policy and research. I will pursue further studies so that I can contribute more to my chosen field of endeavor.

I believe that promotion comes after hard work and dedication. I hope that our government will encourage meritocracy in the hiring of personnel. I refuse to live by the  padrino  and backer system because it is my future children and their children who will suffer from the incompetence of our bureaucrats and politicians.

Viveka A. Miguel, 19, works at the National Wages and Productivity Commission’s Policy and Research Service.