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What do
senatorial candidate Antonio F. Trillanes IV, GO
spokesman Adel Tamano, CHED chairman Carlito Puno,
president Eldigario Gonzalez of Western Mindanao State
University (WMSU) and eminent academician Dr. Ledevina
Cariño have in common?
They are
all alumni of the National College of Public
Administration and Governance (NCPAG) of the University
of the Philippines. Not only that. They are among the
distinguished nominees accepted by the search committee
for the NCPAG Alumni Achievement Awards for 2007.
CHED
chairman Puno and WMSU president Gonzalez completed
their doctoral studies in NCPAG. They were my students
in theory and practice of public administration. Dr.
Cariño, who finished her bachelor’s degree in NCPAG and
her masters’ and doctoral degrees abroad, is recognized
as a world-class scholar, researcher and academician.
Until her retirement, she was much loved for her work as
professor and mentor.
The
nomination of Atty. Adel Tamano is considered
remarkable. He is not in government and is better known
as a critic of government. As GO spokesman, he played a
vital role in identifying, clarifying and raising issues
related to political, social and economic governance.
As a
prominent Muslim leader, he placed in context the
debates on cheating in Mindanao. To him, “…cheating is
cheating whether committed by Muslims or Christians and
should be condemned. The law prohibiting election fraud
makes no distinction based on religion.”
Atty.
Tamano is a law practitioner and academic. He is
associate lecturer in constitutional law at the
Institute of Law, Far Eastern University.
In
addition to his master’s degree from NCPAG, Atty. Tamano
has a bachelor’s degree in economics and a juris doctor
(law) from the Ateneo de Manila University. He has a
master of laws degree from Harvard University.
The
nomination of Antonio F. Trillanes IV is viewed as
unconventional. After all, he is still in jail for
rebellion. Yet he has made it to the top 12 on the
senatorial list despite inadequate financing and minimal
access to media.
Apart
from Oakwood, not many know that he has an impressive
educational background. Trillanes completed fourth year
studies for BS ECE at De la Salle University. Then he
proceeded to obtain a BS Naval Systems Engineering
degree from the Philippine Military Academy, cum laude.
Trillanes obtained 23 medals and risked his life many
times in operations against smugglers, illegal loggers,
poachers, human smugglers and illegal fishermen.
As a
student at NCPAG he won two university scholar awards
and a college scholar award for academic achievements.
He was consistently on the dean’s list and was among the
top 10 graduates of his class.
His
policy papers on graft and corruption in the Philippine
Navy not only landed him in media but also in jail.
What is
an NCPAG alumnus?
Graduates of the undergraduate, masteral and doctoral
programs of NCPAG span the entire range of the public
administration. They include Cabinet members like former
budget secretary Benjamin Diokno, hordes of
undersecretaries, assistant secretaries and bureau
directors. They include ambassadors and heads of
commissions.
NCPAG
alumni and students like Rep. Ace Barbers count among
leading personalities in Congress. Children of
congressmen are studying public administration sans
publicity.
Many
outstanding local government officials are NCPAG alumni
as well. Quezon City Vice Mayor Herbert Bautista,
president of the NCPAG Alumni Association, finished his
master’s degree at the college.
The
recently concluded senatorial race included three NCPAG
alumni: Defensor, Trillanes and Osmeña. Sen. Ralph Recto
was another popular student when he specialized in
policy studies in NCPAG.
But
NCPAG alumni do not only include those in government. A
significant number of graduate students include those
from the private business sector and civil society. Yes,
we even have priests, nuns and pastors taking up
doctoral studies in public administration.
Governance is….
Governance is not about government, bureaucrats and
politicians alone. It is all about citizen
participation. Citizens are part of the governance
process. They participate in decision-making and
implementation. Equally important, governance is about
accountability.
This
explains why nominees for achievement awards in NCPAG
includes those who are not in government. In the words
of the nominator for Atty. Tamano: “I fully agree that
NCPAG should recognize and reward alumni who succeed and
render excellent performance as public officials. It
should reward outstanding academic accomplishments. I
also believe that NCPAG should honor nonbureaucrat
alumni who dare to question existing policy, expose
graft and corruption, make public the ills of the
country and offer alternatives at great risk to
themselves. They also are our very own alumni and should
be publicly proclaimed as such.”
Garci’s
last laugh
I
mentioned that Garci lost in Bukidnon and that Malou
Acosta, sister of Nereus, was winning. Garci did lose
but Malou also lost to a third candidate by 47 votes. |
