Actor Sean Connery was asked how he would want to be remembered. His response was “I don’t really care”.
I reflected on that statement yesterday as we quietly observed the 17th death anniversary of my dad Louie Beltran.
The world conditions us to make a difference, to change the world, to be significant. But I have observed that it doesn’t take very long for the dead to be forgotten. Heck, we even forget the living so why should we be surprised.
In my dad’s case, I noticed that this year more than most, more “ordinary” people would come up to me and say that they were my father’s fan. They would talk of his editorial style as well as his misadventures with politicians, particularly the libel case filed by President Cory Aquino. Yes the “ordinary” people seem to remember.
In contrast, those who claimed to be really close friends, those who hung around to get a bit of the blessing and the sunshine, and a handful that truly benefitted from him or through him conspicuously ignored his memory, even his name on certain occasions.
If a man is measured by “True Friends” who continue on with the friendship even after your death, then I sadly report that he had few. Popularity or influence is not a blessing for someone who seeks true friends. You will only find yourself surrounded by convenient associations.
The only “good” thing I can say about convenient associations is that they are closely related to parasites. Once the donor dies, they disengage and disappear.
The good thing that comes with age and maturity is that you learn the difference and you pursue true friendships as miners dig for gold or diamonds.
I have been blessed to silently witness the true friendships my father “has” beyond death. To be brutal about it, I might say that I can count them with two hands. But this does not make me bitter. It is as friendships should be, few and true, and beyond the grave, shared and passed on to the next generation.
Asking myself the question, how would I like to be remembered? My reply would be: “Lovingly, sincerely, respectfully remembered”.
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I was recently asked by an informal adviser in Malacanang whom I would suggest, or want as the next Commissioner of the Bureau of Customs?
Going through an informal survey in the middle of a birthday party was such an unusual experience that I instinctively and perhaps intuitively came up with an equally unusual answer.
Reflecting on how everyone in and outside of government has painted the BOC as the most corrupt and impossible to manage in terms of integrity, I told the informal adviser that the BOC could not be managed or ruled by one person alone.
If it takes a village to raise a child, then perhaps it would be wise for us to cut up the Bureau of Customs and the syndicates therein, the same way a scientist would dissect the dreaded tapeworm and makes sure each segment does not come back to life!
Since President Noynoy is a different minded leader who views and addresses problems very differently, why not have two, three or more heads watching over the BOC, similar to what he has done with the DENR by placing Secretary Paje and his would have been - may yet be replacement Secretary Acosta.
Everyone agrees that the world of the BOC changes depending on the region and the politics. The reality of Customs in the northernmost part of Luzon is different from the BOC world of Subic, Cebu, Batangas or Mindanao.
Not only is the Bureau of Customs affected by regional “realities”, it is also influenced by national and local politics. Having one “Newbie” over the BOC is like placing a “student driver” behind the wheel.
Yes you may think it’s crazy and strange, but everyone and everything else we’ve tried has been a complete or relative failure! So why not break it all up through some creative restructuring and organizational re-engineering?
For starters, we can break up the Bureau under the traditional Luzviminda formula where the BOC is divided into three separate divisions for Luzon, Visayas, and Mindanao. If the President feels like it he can even add a special division for the National Capital Region or NCR.
Each Super Region would then have a Presidential Assistant, or a Regional undersecretary for the BOC much like when the Presidential Assistant for Visayas or Mindanao or similar to the position of “Deputy Speakers” for Luzviminda.
I see no reason why Malacanang can’t give the same treatment for the BOC as they are doing for the ARMM. Both are crucial to the nation’s interests and both have bled the nation’s coffers because of systemic corruption.
If President Noynoy manages to subdivide and find a “pang-tapat” or someone who can stand up against the syndicates and politicians, then the battle of making the Bureau of Customs free from corruption and profitable will soon be a reality and not a fantasy!
The beauty in such an approach is that it also creates multiple opportunities where competent supporters of the administration can be placed and can make a difference.
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