Symbolisms do not get the job done

Allowing himself to get stuck in traffic simply because he refuses to use sirens and go through red lights is not the appropriate thing to do if all that President Noynoy Aquino wants to convey is that he is no better than the average Filipino.

For one, he could never be like the average Filipino. He is, after all, the son of Ninoy and Cory, remember? This genetic difference was precisely what his campaign harped on. And it was the reason Filipinos elected him president. He is, simply put, not like the rest of us.

But let us leave that behind us. I never liked Noynoy and did not vote for him. But I have seen that Filipinos chose him to be their president and I am not about to start a revolution just because of that. So I promised myself to view him objectively and give him a chance.

Nevertheless, I cannot in all objectivity subscribe to the notion that the president of a country should allow himself to get stuck in traffic simply because he refuses to use his sirens or go through red lights.

If the idea is to show commiseration with the traffic-logged citizens of Metro Manila, let me with all due respect tell him that Metro Manila is not the Philippines. There are others, like the people of Cabadiangan, Compostela, who do not understand what the fuss is all about.

The people of Cabadiangan, Compostela, or for that matter even the neighbors of Eddie Barrita in nearby Cabadiangan, Liloan just across the Cotcot River, do not know what traffic is. Yet they are Noynoy’s constituents as well, just as he is also their president.

And it is to the greater interest of the Cabadianganons, as it is to all other Filipinos living outside the Capital, that their new president not expose himself unnecessarily to security and other risks.

Noynoy must remember that it is to these people that the fulfillment of his promises have the most relevance. It is these people far removed from direct governance who hung on his every word, mesmerized by their expectations of a better life under his administration.

Noynoy must not betray these expectations simply because he wants to engage in symbolisms that are, sad to say, rather petty. Barely a week in office, he has a full six-year term ahead of him. With quite a number of serious promises to keep, he has no time for trivial endeavors.

Nobody will begrudge Noynoy the perks of his office. Filipinos never made it a condition for his election that he abandon the enjoyment of certain practical benefits and privileges accruing to his office. As they say, there are simply things that come with the territory.

For example, nobody takes it against Jon Ramon Aboitiz, one of the wealthiest and most influential Filipinos in the Forbes list, if he enjoys the best things life can offer. After all, people know he earned his rightful place in the sun because of hard work, sacrifice and genius.

Yet Mr. Aboitiz and the current generation of Aboitizes have not lost the common touch, knowing full well that their family started humbly, first trading in abaca fiber procured in Ormoc, and then bundling them into bales to be shipped and sold in Cebu.

Aboitiz does not engage in empty gestures like eating “ginamos” to show solidarity with the poor. Instead, the Aboitiz family’s commitment to its humble beginnings is woven into the corporate structure to institutionalize payback to the community that has been so good to them.

The Aboitiz Group is engaged in numerous programs, projects, and initiatives all designed to help empower communities and give assistance where and when it is needed in all its various forms, such as infrastructure donations, development studies, and rewards for excellence.

In making this comparison, I hope to drive home the point that it is not by symbolism that the real work of nation-building and character-formation is done. For after all the public displays, President Noynoy still has to get his job done, in one piece and on time.

By the way, I would like to ask for the indulgence of Mr. Aboitiz in taking liberties with his person as a point of reference. I have my reasons: I have met him personally, he is a Cebuano, and he has been president and chief executive in a variety of fields and endeavors.