Admin
4th July 2005, 08:43
Assignment to an overseas post in a world-class city like New York, London, or Paris, can mark the pinnacle of many a Philippine diplomat's career. And undoubtedly, the glitz and the glamour of a city like the "Big Apple" can easily rub-off on those who live and work there.
And when it comes to flaunting "glitz and glamour" we Pinoys bow to no one; not since Imelda and Ferdinand showed us how a few decades back.
Even so, more than a few eyebrows were raised when Filipino-Americans discovered that their Consul General, Cecilia Rebong has been renting a two-bedroom apartment at the overstatedly posh Trump Tower in Manhattan, for ten thousand dollars a month...at Filipino taxpayer's expense! Converted to Philippine currency, that is over half a million pesos that the Philippine Government shells-out for Ms. Rebong every month!
Not to underestimate or diminish the important work that the Philippine Foreign Service and Diplomatic Corps perform for the country, but we can think of hundreds of young school-age boys and girls selling gum, cigarettes, and sampagitas on the streets of Manila who could put some of that money to better use: to attend school, pay for books, buy school uniforms, and so on.
The Philippine government (and by extension, all Filipinos at home and abroad) need a reality check: Guess what folks! the Philippines is no longer the prosperous star of Southeast Asia that it was forty or fifty years ago when the exchange rate was just two pesos to the dollar. The Philippines is now a third-world country overpopulated, mired in debt and corruption, with its democratic institutions barely hanging by a thread.
And thus, it seems unconscionable for any Philippine public servant to expect his or her government to shoulder any extravagance at the expense of the poor and hungry back home... especially when, as in this case, more reasonably priced apartments can be found elsewhere.
While it may be true, as Consul General Rebong points out, that she violated no laws and in fact received the green light for the Trump Tower lease from her superiors, spending half a million pesos a month just for a place to live is a sign of poor judgment at best, and downright insensitivity and callousness at worst.
The Philippines Government has to start bringing its expenses in line with this present reality: it has an overburdened third-world-sized economy, and the vast majority of its people live in poverty. The country therefore needs public servants that do not see their position or appointment as an entitlement, but rather as an opportunity to serve the Filipino people as best they can, in as fiscally prudent a manner as possible.
So we say to Consul General Rebong: We hope you find more reasonably-priced living arrangements soon. Or you might hear the frequently uttered phrase of your current landlord Donald Trump, from your superior at the DFA: Cecilia...you're FIRED!
And when it comes to flaunting "glitz and glamour" we Pinoys bow to no one; not since Imelda and Ferdinand showed us how a few decades back.
Even so, more than a few eyebrows were raised when Filipino-Americans discovered that their Consul General, Cecilia Rebong has been renting a two-bedroom apartment at the overstatedly posh Trump Tower in Manhattan, for ten thousand dollars a month...at Filipino taxpayer's expense! Converted to Philippine currency, that is over half a million pesos that the Philippine Government shells-out for Ms. Rebong every month!
Not to underestimate or diminish the important work that the Philippine Foreign Service and Diplomatic Corps perform for the country, but we can think of hundreds of young school-age boys and girls selling gum, cigarettes, and sampagitas on the streets of Manila who could put some of that money to better use: to attend school, pay for books, buy school uniforms, and so on.
The Philippine government (and by extension, all Filipinos at home and abroad) need a reality check: Guess what folks! the Philippines is no longer the prosperous star of Southeast Asia that it was forty or fifty years ago when the exchange rate was just two pesos to the dollar. The Philippines is now a third-world country overpopulated, mired in debt and corruption, with its democratic institutions barely hanging by a thread.
And thus, it seems unconscionable for any Philippine public servant to expect his or her government to shoulder any extravagance at the expense of the poor and hungry back home... especially when, as in this case, more reasonably priced apartments can be found elsewhere.
While it may be true, as Consul General Rebong points out, that she violated no laws and in fact received the green light for the Trump Tower lease from her superiors, spending half a million pesos a month just for a place to live is a sign of poor judgment at best, and downright insensitivity and callousness at worst.
The Philippines Government has to start bringing its expenses in line with this present reality: it has an overburdened third-world-sized economy, and the vast majority of its people live in poverty. The country therefore needs public servants that do not see their position or appointment as an entitlement, but rather as an opportunity to serve the Filipino people as best they can, in as fiscally prudent a manner as possible.
So we say to Consul General Rebong: We hope you find more reasonably-priced living arrangements soon. Or you might hear the frequently uttered phrase of your current landlord Donald Trump, from your superior at the DFA: Cecilia...you're FIRED!