Millennials in Government
In 2010, I remember proxy voting for my Lola. It was my first time to hold the ballot. She only told me to vote for the people she wanted and the rest of it, I have the power to choose. It was the first time that our family talked about politics at home- on which senators and president to vote. It was immensely empowering to see your vote on the screen and immensely heavy too as this responsibility now falls on your shading.
Pnoy won and went into office. Coming from his same alma mater, I saw a rise for push for younger people and graduates to enter government. Friends and classmates entering various departments, agencies, and offices. I was told to only enter offices with there are already people inside who are churning up the change. There is strength in numbers.
Until an opportunity came and I entered an office with one of the oldest outdated charters, and with a a very peculiar administrative set-up. It is an attached government agency to the DFA, with a certain level of reporting line to UN. Recruited after representing the office to a conference, I was the first “assistant” in the sectors that we were managing.
I was not particularly fond of PNoy but I never hated him either. I did not even vote for him. PNoy had good and bad choices. But one thing is for sure, he certainly brought a whiff of hope within the government. Suddenly, young, progressive, and liberal millennials were becoming champions of transparency through OpenData, of bottom-up budgeting, and sustainable livelihood programs.
It was the experience that I had the most learning- mostly soft skills. Talking to Congresswomen, Ambassadors, Governors, Bantay Kalikasan, Foresters- you name it. It was also terrible because I had my most scarring moments- being shouted in the middle of the office, hiding under my desk so that auditors will not see me, and other stuff I dare not to speak again.
I also felt that our work in our small little office and nook mattered. Getting elected to an international committee. Introducing the programs that reaps awards now. But also investing in studies that create foundations for future work.
My ever-so-wise boss said that “For politicians, only time and history will render an objective judgement.” And that is true, the repetitive evaluation of various generations with its own set of values will only be the ultimate test of our work today.
Many have created testimonies to your legacy, Pnoy. Nevertheless, its never too late to say that I am proud to have worked under your administration- to an administration that inspires, rekindles, and sows hope. A hope that is almost rare in this time of despair.
