Manila Times interview about the Hating Kapatid Project

Sharing the transcript from my interview with Manila Times' Red Mendoza about the Hating Kapatid Project--an initiative I started last April 9, 2020, to raise money for low-middle-income wage-earners who are no-work no-pay during the Covid19 Pandemic. As of May 20, 2020, we've raised more than One Million Five Hundred Thousand Pesos (P1,500,000.00) for 400 Hating Kapatids and their families.

Red: Why did you start the Hating Kapatid Project, what is the reason behind this? 

Kris: I started the Hating Kapatid Project because I felt guilty for continuing to receive my salary as a government worker, while friends in the private sector were no-work no-pay. The imposition of ECQ caught everyone off guard, and many were not prepared financially. Unfortunately, these middle-income wage-earners (earning anywhere between 15,000 to 40,000 a month) weren’t qualified for SAP, CAMP or any other social protection program of government because they were not poor. I thought, we in government who are still earning our salaries could help our counterparts in the private sector by sharing a portion of our income—share it hating kapatid.

Red: So far, how many people have been helped by the project? 

Kris: As of today, 5 May 2020, 263 Filipino families have been helped by HKP.

Red: How do you vet those who would be given the assistance? , how do you determine if the person to be given assistance is 'deserving'? 

Kris: I interview applicants on FB messenger. I ask them if they were working prior to ECQ; if yes, what did they do, and how much did they earn. I also ask them if they applied for and/or received from SAP, CAMP or any other social protection program of government. If they haven’t, then they qualify for HKP. That’s it. I ask for their bank details or their Gcash numbers and add them to the list of HKP recipients.

I believe that people who earn an honest living are a very proud people. The mere fact that they swallowed their pride and reached out to the project means that they really need financial aid. Hindi lang naman ang mga mahihirap ang nahihirapan sa ganitong panahon, di ba? 

I vet by asking for their work ID and reviewing the FB profile. That’s how I verify their identity. Other than that, it’s honesty system.

Red: When you started this project, did you realize the magnitude of the people asking for help? 

Kris: I expected a lot of people would apply. There’s just so many professionals and workers that fall between the gaps of the system. 

What I did not expect was them sharing their socio-economic situation and me reading their accounts. It’s heartbreaking. Many lower middle income wage earners are dependent on their monthly salaries, not only to pay their bills, but also to support their children, their siblings, and their parents. Take away their monthly income, and they are immediately paralyzed. You try to advice them about the new Small Business Wage Subsidy (SBWS) program, and they respond to you that they are still not qualified because either their employer failed to pay their SSS contribution, or the company is considered a large taxpayer.   

It’s their stories. I did not realize I would be affected by their stories.

Red: How did your circle (family, friends and co-workers) help you in this project?, If you may sir, mayroon po bang mga nagdonate na high profile or cabinet level? 

Kris: Relatives, my co-workers in PCOO, friends, friends of friends, and even strangers who read my FB posts or saw the page, helped out in this project by donating amounts ranging from P500 to P30,000. 

No cabinet level donors. But many fellow assistant secretaries.

Red: When someone whom you given the aid thanks you and tells you that the money helped them in a big way to sustain in their needs, how did you feel about it?

Kris: You don’t know how many times I’ve cried after reading their messages. I knew 5,000 was a relatively substantial donation, but I didn’t realize its big impact on families in financial distress. 

I would screencap the recipients’ messages and share them with the donors, so that they also know the impact of their acts of kindness and generosity.

Red: Of course sir, hindi po maalis sa isipan na, being from the government, some people would say na 'dapat lang magbigay sya ng tulong' and all that because it came from taxpayers' money, what is your reaction on that sir,. 

Kris: Well, I still do my work as an assistant secretary of PCOO. I head the Freedom of Information program, and we have been very active in promoting the transparency initiatives of government. So you can be assured that taxpayers money is put to good use with my continued service. 

HKP is outside my scope of work in PCOO. HKP is a donation platform I created so that fellow government workers could help others in need. 

Red: Have you changed your outlook in life after doing the project? 

Kris: Yes. I have a better understanding and appreciation of our middle income sector. Many of my biases regarding the middle class have been blown away by the personal accounts and sharing of requestors.

I am eternally grateful to the more than 180 donors who contributed to the project. Some even donating multiple times. And many even coming from the private sector. I’ve also had a couple of recipients who became donors themselves. 

I started the project more than 3 weeks after ECQ was imposed, and so I knew that people were suffering from donor fatigue already. But still, they came out and supported the project. 

Red: Being a part of the government, what do you think is the most important solution para mabigyan po ng ayuda yung middle class. And this comes despite na may DOLE-CAMP and SBWS na pong inannounce (and i also saw po na yung mga nabigyang ng CAMP na humingi earlier po ng ayuda sa inyo is also "giving back", so to speak, what is your reaction po?)

Kris: I understand that due to limited resources, government’s priority should be the most vulnerable sector, which is the poorest of the poor. But we should not ignore the middle class because they are in distress too. Government should find a way to include the middle class in its social amelioration programs. SBWS was a step in the right direction, but more needs to be done.

I’d like to propose that HKP be institutionalized and adopted government-wide. On our next payday, 5% of every government worker’s salary should be donated to a counterpart middle-income wage-earner suffering from no-work no-pay. 

Red: Ano po yung mga challenges in doing this project, especially that some of your donees did not have bank accounts and only rely on remittance services or electronic money transfer, like Gcash. 

Kris: You are right. I did not know that a lot of middle-income Filipinos still don’t have bank accounts. I thought that was presumed. Hindi pala. A lot of recipients wanted to receive the donations through remittance, but donors were hesitant. One, they didn’t want or couldn’t go to a remittance center. Two, they didn’t want to expose their names, address and number, which remittance required. Our compromise was to create Gcash accounts, but even that was a challenge. There were (are) still many recipients who could not or did not know how to.

Red: And lastly sir, what is your message to everyone who helped/donated, and also to those whom you helped, what would you say to them, and is the Hating Kapatid project still open for donors and those who still need help? 

Kris: I am eternally grateful to the more than 180 donors who contributed to the project. Government workers from PCOO, DOH, DOJ, DFA, HOR, Senate, SC, RTC, MTC, COA, Ombusdman, OSG, PAO, IC, GSIS, BSP, SEC, NTC, PLLO, CCC, TIEZA, BOC, UP, CHED, TESDA, NHA, UCPB, LGU-QC and LGU-Pasig. Some donors even donated multiple times.

And there were a lot of donors coming from the private sector. I won’t mention their names because they wanted to remain anonymous.

I started the project more than 3 weeks after ECQ was imposed, and so I knew that people were suffering from donor fatigue already. But still, they came out and supported the project. 

Thank you so much for your donation. God bless your generous hearts.

---end of interview---

Here is the link to Red's article, which came out on May 17, 2020: PCOO Executive helps those beyond SAP reach.

To donate to a Kapatid, please visit: www.facebook.com/hatingkapatidproject

Kris Ablan's 13 Tips for Managing in Government

Well, hello there, blogworld! Long time no see! It's nice to visit this blog after a while. Anyway, I've been a manager in the public sector for more than 10 years now, and I've learned a thing or two (or thirteen) on how to lead a team. Sharing it with you guys!

1. The Buddy-Buddy System

I advocate the buddy-buddy system at the office. This means a task or assignment cannot be owned by just one person. There has to be another person (a buddy) who shadows the focal and knows everything about the task. This way, when the focal is absent (on leave or on assignment), the buddy can take over. The task is not held hostage, and the task can be completed. 

2. Learn an admin skill. Do admin work. 

Apart from their primary tasks, let your employees learn an administrative skill and do administrative work. Not all organizations need policy, legal, monitoring, comms, etc. staff, but they always need admin work. Whether it’s HR related, finance, procurement, or secretariat duties, let them do it. Exposure to admin tasks widens their skillset, allows them to appreciate their work, and makes them more valuable and employable. 

At the FOI office, our policy/legal guys do bids-and-awards-committee (BAC) work; our compliance staff is the secretariat of the personnel selection board (PSB) and adjudication committee; and our IT/comms people do records management and business continuity planning. After their stint in FOI, their admin skills will be their ticket to advance in their careers. 

3. All of your co-workers are your office’s ambassador. Make sure they know what’s happening. 

Everyone at your office is an ambassador of your office when they are out. They are the face, the focal, and the point-of-contact, who will leave an impression of your office to others. So you have to make sure that everyone knows whats happening in the office, and will be able to inform strangers or acquaintances about what all of you do. No exemptions—from most senior rank down to entry-level staff, dapat may alam. 

This applies most especially to small offices with 30 staff or less. Don’t compartmentalize or pigeonhole your staff! Dapat alam ng capacity building kung ano ginagawa ng policy, at alam ng monitoring ano ginagawa ng strategic partnerships. 

This is good for your staff, and it’ll be good for the office. 

4. Be results oriented. Not time bound. 

Unless you run a restaurant, a security agency, or any business that largely depends on physical presence, focus on your employees' output. Focus on being results oriented.

I've heard of managers who counted the lates--down to the minutes of time-in and time-out, of their legal staff, as if their work solely depended on being physically in the office for eight hours. For positions concerning legal, policy, creatives, communications, or other similar work, don't bind them to a strict 8 to 5 schedule, especially when they even have to stay behind after office hours. Score them based on the outputs they produce. Are they able to draft that memo, that policy paper, that legal opinion? Give premium to results. 

To impose the same assessment criteria for all employees is unfair, and will result to counter-productivity.

5. Work life balance. Plan personal leaves.

Life is short. And a huge chunk of our life is taken by work. So every chance society gives us a break, you take it. (In government, it’s 15 days a year) I told my co-workers to maximize their annual vacation leaves. Get some rest or enjoy the outdoors. Go on vacation or visit family. It doesn’t matter, just use your VL. 

My only requirement is that you plan ahead. Inform me in advance, and make sure that when you’re away, the work is not held up—that is, there is a colleague who will take over. That’s all there is to it. 

6. Respect the private/personal life of your staff.

People are social beings. It’s in our nature. And it’s actually nice for managers to become friends with staff because it strengthens the bond of the team. But know your boundaries. Be conscious of your actions and know when to respect the private or personal life of your staff.

7. Limit the number of meetings.

I hate unnecessary meetings. I once worked at a place where we had meetings more than once a week. They were a complete waste of time because our projects and tasks did not move as fast to justify weekly reporting. We’d give the same update meeting after meeting, it was useless. Time spent listening to another division’s report (which I already heard of from the previous week) could’ve been used to work on my actual task. I hated it. 

My strategy is to meet with everyone on a quarterly basis. Set the tone and direction of the office for the next three months. Make time for an open forum so that co-workers can clarify or ask questions. Then meet the deputy heads (or division chiefs) once a month for updates. Schedule smaller group meetings only when necessary. 

Remember, time is precious in the public service. Time spent in a meeting could be used more productively at the work station or out on the field. 

8. Avoid paralysis by analysis. Experiment, implement, learn, adjust, then repeat. 

I subscribe to the quote attributed to US President Franklin D. Roosevelt. He said,

“The country needs and, unless I mistake its temper, the country demands bold persistent experimentation. 

It is common sense to take a method and try it; if it fails, admit it frankly and try another. But above all, try something.”

We practice this in the office. While it’s nice to plan, if that’s all that you do, nothing will happen. You have to implement. It’s okay to commit mistakes. Don’t be afraid to fail. That’s all part of the learning and improvement process. Pag nagkamali, identify what it was and correct it. Ganun lang. 

I also subscribe to the Japanese work ethic of Kaizen or continuous incremental improvement. The principles of Kaizen are: 1. There is always room for improvement. 2. Everyone’s opinion is valued and considered. This way, workers are confident offering suggestions, and there is quality team work. 

9. Don’t bring staff to events or activities where they are not needed. 

In other words, pag hindi mo kelangan ng alalay, wag ka magdala. As I already mentioned, time is precious in the public service. Time spent by your staff accompanying you to an event he/she has no contribution to, could be be used more productively at the office.

10. Put premium in trust

I believe in and have experienced the speed of trust. I learned this from Stephen Covey, and it’s 100% true. When there is trust and confidence between co-workers, tasks are done faster, sometimes even better. When there is trust, there is no need to constantly check or micro manage each other; there are no layers of approval; and paperwork is lessened.

From a personal point of view, I worry less and am able to do other important tasks. From an employee’s point of view, he or she enjoys a level of freedom, and gets to use creativity—as long as the job gets done. 

When working with a new hire, you have to assume there is trust between each other. And in the course of the work relationship, you have to strengthen that trust—that is, make sure you have each other’s back. 

When trust is broken, you’ll observe that work slows down, and co-workers become suspicious of each other. So try to address it immediately, patch things up, and rebuild. Otherwise, if mistrust persists, the relationships and the work are both doomed. 

11. The IPCR is your OKR

I support John Doerr’s advocacy of having Objectives and Key Results (OKRs) in his book Measure What Matters (2018). I think it’s good to have direction in the work that you do, and you’re not going around in circles, or worse, running in place. If you’re the leader or manager, try to set an Objective for your team. What is it that you’re trying to do? Then identify the team’s key results—how will you reach your objective. Once that is set, then you meet with your staff individually and set their respective OKRs. Annual OKRs is good, but semestral would be better. 

In government, OKRs are called Individual Performance Commitment and Review (IPCR) and Division Performance Contract and Review (DPCR)—I know, OKRs sound better. But they perform the same function of setting objectives and identifying key results. 

It takes time to develop and finalize OKRs, but I believe it’s worth it. 

12. Talk to your staff and always do expectations setting.

Don’t limit your interaction with staff to meetings, team buildings, and IPCR settings. Adopt the mindset of continuous performance management (CPM). 

Regularly talk to your staff. Ask them how they are doing with their work—and mean it when you ask. They will know if you’re just paying lip service. Give them feedback, set expectations, and do it vice versa. Listen to what they have to say. Lastly, don’t forget to give credit when it is due. Recognize and give expressions of appreciation for good work.  

13. Conduct Debriefing after activity. 

Every activity is a learning opportunity. And a good way to ensure learning is to hold a quick sharing and debriefing immediately after an activity, so that insights and observations are shared while they are still fresh in the memory.

Hope you learned a thing or two from me! Do you have your own management principles you follow? Share it and comment down below. Thank you and God bless!