Why Mandy Anderson matters
A news report in the main and social media about Mandy Therese Anderson got my attention because of its relevance and implications to millennials/Generation X members in an always-online society. This is about Cong. Fariñas scolding her and Customs Commissioner Faeldon in the Congressional hearing. She explained that it might not be her Facebook post that said it was imbecilic to propose the abolition of the Court of Appeals, but the act of not acceding to the request of Speaker Alvarez to promote an unqualified Customs employee. Ms. Anderson owned up the Facebook post but explained her and Faeldon's decision not to promote the Alvarez-endorsed employee.
Who is Ms. Anderson and what makes her so gutsy? From the main and social media, she is a thirtyish lawyer who graduated from Ateneo and placed 5th in the 2016 Bar examination with a grade of 86.15 percent. She was a Science High student and graduated B.S. Accountancy from the University of San Carlos in Cebu. She is also a CPA and had worked in SGV & Co. and the Villaraza Law Office before being recruited as the Chief of Staff of Customs Commissioner Faeldon. She is a Cebuana and loves dogs. She is intelligent, competent, articulate, and has the credentials to back it up.
The generational relevance of this small incident with Alvarez and Fariñas is the way this incident came to light. It was through a Facebook post of her opinion and the subsequent news in the main and social media. Ten or twenty years ago, this story would never have come up beyond the small number of people in the Customs Bureau. Now it is all over the news media. Years ago, she would also not merit this much attention, get online support and get famous without spending a bundle on public relations and advertising. This is food for thought for all government officials, that in a digital world their words and actions get immediate and wide attention and cannot be forgotten easily.
Politicians recommending protégés for appointment or promotion is an accepted practice in the Philippine social and political milieu, and goes back to the time governments were put up. In the light of the DU30 government's campaign and current call for "change is coming", and the attendant anti-corruption program, this Anderson incident undermines the credibility of the government. It seems it is politics as usual with the usual politicians and there will be no change at all. The DU30 campaign had latched on the desire of 39 percent of the voters for a change from the usual political system. A return to the business-as-usual politics will disappoint a lot of their supporters. Malacañang and Congress will be hard-pressed to explain away this issue. Hopefully it will just die down after a few more days if no additional controversies are added to this incident.
Then there is the "spunk" of this younger generation who are constantly posting in Facebook, Twitter, or LinkedIn, most of them women. From the pronouncements of the younger generation on the social and political issues, such as on the Marcos burial and on martial law, they are quite aware of the relevance of government actions on their lives. This bodes well for the future of our country which they will eventually inherit. This should give us a sense of comfort that the coming generations will be able to take care of our country for the better. And I predict that it will probably be the young women who will take charge of the coming real change.
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