FOI Philippines' Team Guide

I wrote this team guide for my office staff back in September 24, 2018, out of frustration when what I thought I had taught by example didn't exactly trickle down to team members. Since writing it, I've had less to deal with, and that makes me happy. I'd like to believe these learnings and teachings are what makes our team one of the best work horses of our department. 

I'd like to share it with you now because it just might work for your team too. My FOI Team is small (we're less than 30 as of the moment). I think the principles shared here work best for small teams (anywhere between 3 to 50) in a government setting.

FOI-PMO Team Guide (24 Sept 2018)

1. Our mission and shared goal is to operationalize FOI throughout government. All our efforts should be consistent and lead to the attainment of 100% compliance to the program.

2. To accomplish #1, our team must be agile, nimble, and able to adapt or respond quickly to the unpredictable political landscape. 

3. To achieve #2, our office structure must strive to be flat. A flat structure encourages people to work together and allows for overlap in effort, which often empowers co-workers to do what needs to be done.

4. Salary grades (SG) mean just that—a person’s salary. In this office, it doesn’t bestow rank. Whether SG 11 or SG 23, there should be no hierarchy. We are all co-workers in FOI advocacy.

5. Given our small team, there is no need for deputies or assistant division chiefs. There is only the division chief. He or she is directly responsible for his co-workers in the division.

6. There should be no walls or barriers between divisions. I cannot stress it enough that here in FOI, divisions are not independent kingdoms. Divisions may have their principal assignments, but there is no exclusivity of work. In fact, divisions are encouraged to help each other and share their strengths. Always complement or supplement each other. Remember, we are stronger as one family. 

7. Division chiefs are the ates and the kuyas of the office. They bring with them years of experience working in government, and are a rich source of knowledge and wisdom. That said, division chiefs should exercise empathy, and mentor their co-workers. Motivate, empower and inspire them. 

8. Co-workers should respect division chiefs. They are the ates and kuyas of the office. They bring with them years of experience working in government, and are a rich source of knowledge and wisdom. Learn from them. 

9. There is no place for hypocrisy in the office. Co-workers should walk their talk. For example, when we preach transparency, we should be transparent ourselves. 

10. In case of doubt, remember the words of James Madison, “A popular government without popular information or the means of acquiring it, is but a prologue to a farce or tragedy, or both. Knowledge will forever govern ignorance. And a people who mean to be their own governors must arm themselves with the power which knowledge gives.” Let his words be our guide.

AKRA

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!

8888 Hotline Segment 27 November 2016

Pinched hit for Sec. Panelo in his 8888 Hotline Segment in PTV News on 27 November 2016.

Malacanang Press Briefing 24 November 2016

Press Briefing as Assistant Secretary of PCOO on 24 November 2016 at the Malacanang Press Briefing Room.

Malacanang Press Briefing 5 September 2016

Here is my press briefing as Assistant Secretary of the PCOO held on 5 September 2016 at the Malacanang Press Briefing Room.

iHub

Wow, I haven't written on my personal blog for quite a while. Been busy with work, family, and my other blog (on bike commuting). But I have time now, and this thing I want to write about is worth blogging. So here it goes.

Back in 2011, when I first heard about Governor Imee Marcos' plan of converting the Ilocano Heroes Hall into an SM Hypermart, I thought it was a bad idea and was strongly against it. One of the reasons for my opposition was the eventual displacement of the building's tenants, especially the government offices. The Ilocano Heroes Hall used to be the one-stop shop for government agencies. The electric cooperative was there, so was the Department of Tourism, Bureau of Treasury and the Commission on Elections. Another to be kicked out was the Provincial Library. The library was a great concern for me because I had always supported it, and in fact, the 2007-2010 provincial government had already planned to build a legislative building that would house a bigger and better library. Now it had no permanent address.

I later learned that the library transferred to a small corner of the Centennial Arena, far away from its student-clientele in the city center. For a long time, the Provincial Library just stood there, gathering dust.

I thought the library would ultimately die a natural death.

I was wrong.

Earlier today I passed by the Centennial Arena and noticed that the library looked much bigger than the last time I saw it, and was now renamed iHub (short for Information Hub). Curious, I paid my favorite librarian, Mrs. Abad, a visit.

When I entered, I was pleasantly surprised and impressed with what I saw. 

And all I could say was, "Wow!"

Governor Imee expanded iHub by converting the entire south basement of the arena into a library. She then installed two hundred computers to complement the existing ones. 

Two Hundred. That's a lot of computers.

Last Friday, Governor Imee inaugurated the Sirib Mile along Ablan Ave., stretching from Marcos Stadium and MMSU to INNHS and INCAT. The "mile" of course includes the Centennial Arena and the library. I learned that Governor Imee's master plan is to transform that area into the educational hub of the north.

And it made perfect sense. 

Sure, the library lost its visitors from Laoag Central Elementary School, Holy Spirit Academy and Data Center, but it gained the multitude of students from Mariano Marcos State University, Ilocos Norte National High School and Ilocos Norte College of Arts and Trade, which is definitely a bigger base.

For a small fee, the students from these schools can continue their research and study after their classes. I heard Governor Imee plans to "close" that section of Ablan Ave. and convert it into a public plaza, making it exclusive for pedestrians, which is good for the library because then it will be even more accessible.

It's a brilliant project and I regret doubting the governor's decision to move the library into that section of the city. I now think it was the best thing that happened to the library.

Having said that, this doesn't mean I agree with all her projects. I still think it was a bad idea to convert the Heroes Hall into an SM. But that's for another time and place.

Today, I tip my hat to Governor Imee for the Sirib Mile and iHub projects. Congrats, ma'am!

PS: Though the library now has a lot of computers, it still lacks books. If you or your organization have books and any reading materials to spare, please donate to iHub Ilocos Norte, c/o Provincial Librarian Matilde M. Nery.

igivebacknow

A lot of corporations' CSR projects nowadays include the building of classrooms for public elementary and secondary schools (think the likes of Mcdonald's, GMA, Coca-Cola, Filipino-Chinese Chamber of Commerce, etc.).

But equally important to having enough classrooms is to have an adequate number of chairs and school desks inside the room, right?

Right?!

I mean, what's the use of a classroom if it's empty. The teacher and her students might as well hold class under a tree.

This is where you come in.

Yes, you!

PBSP recently launched an on-line donation facility called iGiveBackNow where ordinary people, like you and me, can give back to the community by donating as little as P100 to help improve public education. The donor can choose to donate to either the President Cory Aquino School Desk Project or the School Chairs Assistance Project.

Did you know that more than 5 million Filipino students do not have a chair to sit on or a desk to write on?

They squat or sit on the floor! 5 million kids!

Which is pathetic because one school desk costs a mere P880! The shirt you're wearing is probably more expensive.

Now is the time for you to give back to the community. Pull out your credit cards or your ATM cards and donate to iGiveBackNow.pbsp.org.ph today!

Renewing my passport at the DFA

My current passport will be expiring in a few months, so I decided to renew it.  I started my renewal process by logging in at DFA's website.  I filled up the form and included Bea's application as well.  I set an appointment at the DFA's Consular Office in ASEANA Business Park, Baclaran, Pasay City.

Within the same day, I received an e-mail confirming my application and appointment date.  I printed the e-mail which included an already filled-up application form.

Here are the documents you need to bring at DFA for renewal of Green Passport (those issued after May 1, 1995).
1.  Current passport and photocopy of pages 1, 2, 3 and last page.
2.  Pages showing latest Bureau of Immigration departure and arrival stamps.

For Bea, here are the documents needed for new minor applicants:
1.  NSO Birth Certificate
2.  Photocopy of passport of both parents

Our scheduled appointment was last Friday at 8:30am.  The instructions told us to be there by 8am.  We were there by 8:10.


We showed our application forms to the appointment counter just outside the entrance.  The clerk stamped his name and instructed us to go up to the 2nd floor.

There's a special processing area for Government Employees, Senior Citizens, and Families with Children. We got our queue number and waited to be called.  There were only 2 DFA officers working on Families with Children applications so we waited quite a bit.  WAITING TIME: 60 MINUTES.  

Processing Area on the 2nd Floor for government employees, senior citizens and families with children.

When we got to the counter, the DFA officer received our application forms and accompanying documents.  He signed, stamped and attached a paper to our forms.  After processing, we went to the cashier to pay our fees.  The website said the regular passport fee was P950.00.  But for some reason, our applications were considered RUSH.  So we paid P1,200.00 each.

From there, we got another queue number thinking the "courtesy lane" for Families with Children would continue to the encoding section.  Hindi pala.  Hanggang processing lang pala.  Nahalo na kami sa lahat ng applications.  Our number was more than 200 away from the one being serviced.  Grabe naman!  

I found out that the "courtesy lane" for Government Employees continued.  DFA dedicated 5 counters for government employees.  So, since Ria still works in government, I photocopied her ID and presented it at the processing counter and the guy there annotated our application.  We were able to line up at the courtesy lane for government employees.  WAITING TIME: 30 MINUTES.

In encoding, the clerk took our picture, signature and fingerprints.  We had a bit of a problem with Bea's picture because she wouldn't look at the camera.

Then that's it.  Our "RUSH" passports would be ready for pick-up within 10 working days.  Ria and I couldn't get off work that day so we were forced to avail of the home delivery via LBC.  Lined up again and paid P120.00 each.  So, we'll just wait for our passports in the mail.

Whole process took 100 minutes. : )

Herdy Yumul writes about me in Ilocos Times. Thanks, Herdy!

by: HERDY LA. YUMUL


IT’S BEEN five weeks since I did an interviewee with the young man, but I have been dilly-dallying on writing about him.

And it’s not because the congressional-son-cum-Sangguniang-Panlalawigan-member is uninteresting.

In fact, Kris is any journalist’s ideal interviewee. He is brilliant, conversant, open, candid, reflexive, and, above all, sincere. He is also sensitive. You can talk to him for hours (in my case three) without hohum. But then you may say that I am an academician, and, being such, I can stand long conversations even with the nerd of nerds with the thickest spectacles ranting with nosebleed- inducing jargon. Maybe so, but not quite.

I first met Kris when he ran as chair of the UP Diliman Student Council in 2004. “He is the son of Congressman Ablan,” said my friend, pointing at Kris who was then doing the “otso-otso” routine during a campaign activity in a student dormitory inside the campus. Surprisingly, Kris, then a virtually unknown at UP, won over Atom Araullo (now with ABS-CBN), standard-bearer of STAND-UP, the more popular political party.

You would expect, dear karikna, that I voted for Kris. After all, he is our kailian, and Ilocanos are known to be a tight group. Nope, I voted for Atom, and for good reason. He was a brother in the struggle. In the streets, I had locked arms with Atom a couple of times fighting a regime Kris’ father so ardently supports.

Three years after, I would meet Kris again in front of my house at Ablan Avenue, Laoag City. He was then campaigning for a seat in the provincial board. Warm and convivial he was, but, he did not, yet again, earn my vote. Let me explain to you why. Roquito Ablan is known to be a skilful politician, you would think that his son Kris’ venture into local politics is part of the former’s political master plan. Having served the maximum number of consecutive terms, the old Ablan could just be fielding his son as a dummy (like one mayor in the second district is perceived by many).

“Not really,” says Kris, who explains that he, the youngest among nine siblings, is the only one drawn to law and politics. Thus, their family does not constitute a political dynasty, unlike many other known clans in the country. Kris says his father never pressured him to take up law, but that he was happy, no doubt, when he followed his footsteps. He adds that when he was growing up, his dad was already “just an ordinary congressman,” no longer the force he was during the Marcos dictatorship.

That Kris is the first district congressman’s son is a doubleedged sword. On one hand, having an institution for a father means the political infrastructure is laid out on a red carpet for him, which could prove helpful as Kris is now a hundred percent bent on running for the post his father will be vacating next year. On the other hand, a lot of people I know are not inclined to vote for Kris simply because he is his father’s son.

Remember that Teteng Sales, a lightweight, almost beat the reelectionist congressman in 2007. In fact, Ablan’s win is even under protest as Sales challenges the veracity of poll results. Sales almost won not because he had sterling credentials, but simply because the people have grown tired and weary of the old Ablan. Many would say, “Ubingak pay lang ket Ablan idin, awan met mapaspasamak.” (It’s been Ablan since I was a child, but nothing is happening.)

Kris agrees that his father is not much into doing landmark legislation nowadays but it is because he allows the younger ones to carry out that role. He further defends his father by saying, “It is not in the mould of an Ablan (he speaks of the name, fully cognizant of its prestige) to brag about his accomplishments.”
But a colleague in media texted me this when he learned that I was going to write about the bokal, “Kris is in a bind. He’s sincere but he’s still the son of the prince of darkness. If only you know how much damage the father has and is doing to our Ilocos Norte.”

Methinks Roquito Ablan may, by all measures, be a traditional politician, but mainly because it was the game of his time. He served his province by playing politics in ways he saw fit, which include swaying loyalties from one power to the other, and just by simply being the typical congressman who savors receiving his share of the pork barrel fund, a fuel for corruption disguised as support for countryside development. He may not have been a spectacular legislator, yes, but he was not terrible either. At 78, he will soon take a bow from politics, without getting himself and our province embroiled in any major controversy.

But, Kris is his own man. In spite of (or is it because of?) his father, Kris consciously packages himself as politician of a new breed. He first got my approval when, last January, he released calendars that featured beautiful scenery here in Ilocos Norte. Kris thought well not to include his face in the calendar. He only had his name on a small corner. The print was so miniscule, most people would need a magnifying glass to read it.

In his blog, window to his ruminant mind, Kris wrote, “The project was actually conceptualized many, many years ago when my dad came out with calendars with his face as the main picture (like all politicians with calendar giveaways). I thought to myself, ‘What if people didn’t want to look at your face every day?’ ‘What if they just wanted to see scenery?’” From then on, he got my attention.

While opposing parties engaged in a media war at the height of the proposed Laoag mall controversy, Kris worked swiftly, bringing in Ivan Henares of the Heritage Conservation Society to drum up support in the fight to save a rare architectural beauty which the city government and the Diocese of Laoag wanted torn down in the name of profit. He would later sponsor a resolution imposing a moratorium on tearing down or renovating school properties at least fifty years of age, thus saving the majestic Laoag Central Elementary School. It is a breath of fresh air that Kris performs his duties fully cognizant that the power he bears I not a birthright, but a mandate emanating from a people he is duty bound to serve. For instance, even if it’s not required by law, he distributes an annual accomplishment report which details his legislative accomplishments, and his disbursements of public funds for programs and projects.

At one point during the interview, Kris was even teary-eyed (or so it appeared to me). The struggle he faces is real, and I could feel it. He has to win an election, but our rotten and immature political system makes it very hard for decent people to claim victory without sacrificing ideals, without being desensitized. Still he is unafraid to make decisions his jaded colleagues consider as political suicide. Also, Kris refuses to engage in tried-but-tired political propaganda, unlike his potential opponent who has cluttered public spaces with “Happy Graduation,” “Happy Fiesta,” and other happy greetings. Likewise, he refuses to have his name bannered prominently in any project, big or small.

The moment I saw some of my students and colleagues at the state university silently shed tears while the bespectacled young man, in a well-attended forum, detailed his sojourn as a young politician crying for reform, I knew, Kris Ablan is an antidote to politics-as-usual. But, while showing qualities that run counter from those of his father, he may eventually have to take advantage of the perks of being an incumbent’s son. That is why he has been seen lately in inauguration and turnover ceremonies of his father’s projects funded by the pork barrel fund. Kris can be a noble congressman, but first he has to win.

There are many other interesting things Kris told me “off the record,” but I assure you, dear karikna, that they are all good, and they but heightened my respect for the young man.

I dilly-dallied on writing about him but only because I did not want to be so hasty in saying: Let’s support Kris, in spite of, not because of, his father. If you are a decent, mature, forward-looking citizen, there is no way you cannot like him. Unless he gets desensitized too soon, Kris may yet be the Ablan family’s biggest contribution to the nation.

www.riknakem.wordpress.com