Dr. Utlang as hospital chief? Why not?

Few days ago, His Honor, Cebu City Mayor Michael Rama announced a probable personnel movement. He was reported to be considering Dr. Alice Utlang for the position of the chief of the Cebu City Medical Center. That announcement surprised some concerned citizens who thought it was more an act of desperation than of brinkmanship. The jealous ones even made fun of the fact that Dr. Utlang is a veterinarian.

There was no occasion when Dr. Utlang and I were introduced to each other formally. I do not personally know her and I have reason to believe that she, too, does not know me such that if we happen to bump into each other, we would never acknowledge our presence.

But, when the lady vet expressed surprise that the mayor was looking in her direction to replace the hospital chief, I could only salute at this stranger of a veterinarian. Dr. Utlang showed the kind of good character many of our officials are, quite sadly, wanting of. I could not exactly remember her words when media sought for her comment on the probable transfer, but she did not hide the fact that her training might be a little different from what many people expect of a hospital chief. Other egotistical personalities would have made effort to skip that point. Not Dr. Utlang.

This was the same vet I had the privilege of talking with over the phone. I called the office of the city veterinarian about two weeks ago to relay an urgent message which some of the less privileged people residing near my small garden plot in Barangay Paril expressed to me. It was their hope that I could reach responsible government officials. The farm animals of these neighbors of mine needed some professional attention. Apparently, their antiquated ways of caring for their beasts of burden was not enough.

Dr. Utlang, in our brief exchange of thoughts, was a pro-active civil servant. Hers was a refreshing attitude. There was no obvious resort to bureaucratic gobbledygook other department heads, in my years of dealing with them, had the penchant of doing. I felt that she understood immediately the predicament of my garden neighbors. How else would I consider her proposal to visit Sitio Baugo so soon a date that I had to beg for time?

Anyway, I was at my garden yesterday. While planting Mabolo trees, someone came and told me that personnel from a city office were looking for me. For a while, I could not believe what I heard. I could not imagine of any plausible reason for government workers to try to meet me. I had no business with them. Then, I remembered what Dr. Utlang promised. She would send a team to our area and examine all available farm animals in order to address the concern of owners. True enough, without fanfare, her people came to do a job.

 No matter how I would characterize that experience, I could only come up with praises for Dr. Utlang's sincere desire to serve the public. Our conversation was not long. She encouraged me to go direct to the point. I had very little experience with farm animals and so, naturally, it took me more time to explain the situation. But, from the scattered bits of my information, she knew what to do. And better still, how to do it. Her office was to address that concern of farmers and the best way to accomplish the job was to see the situation on the ground!

From that visit of Dr. Utlang's people to my garden plot, I began to understand why Mayor Rama had her in his mind as a replacement of the sitting chief of hospital. He must have known the lady vet as possessed with the kind of administrative competence to turn around the hospital from the present public perception of the derogatory nature to an ably managed facility. To run the medical center efficiently, the mayor needs a department head with a high degree of administrative capability and an honest to goodness will to serve even the lowest echelons of our society that he must have seen that in Dr. Utlang.

 If Mayor Rama appoints her, it is because she is viewed as an able manager more than just being a veterinarian.