A philosophy behind terminating BOPK workers

A text message sender sent me, few days ago, an apparently innocent question. It was not for me to answer though because in his/her query he/she wanted to know whether His Honor Cebu City Mayor Michael L. Rama should fire the more than 2,000 city hall workers whom the honorable Vice Mayor Joy Augustus Young claimed to be supporters of the unregistered association called BOPK. So, I felt that I did not have to reply.

The sender however followed his/her query with a supposition that the said workers were efficient in their jobs such that the mayor, in the spirit of good public service, should look beyond their political color. That second text seemed to echo the position of the out-going vice mayor that those employees should be retained by the incoming administration even if they are followers of the opposing camp.

The second text message somehow challenged me into giving the issue a second look.

The right to vote is sacred. Its exercise must be free. When a voter casts his ballot, he is supposed to be doing it in the highest interest of the nation. For instance, he does not vote for a friend simply because he is a friend but because he is convinced that his friend can do and will do what is best for the country and people.

To make sure that this right to suffrage remains untrammeled, and the elector is immune from any form of harassment and persecution, our laws prescribe secret voting. Nobody is even allowed to witness any voter who is preparing his ballot. Corollary, he is not supposed to announce his choice.

Let us talk about city government employees. It was their perfect right to vote for the candidates of their choice in the May 13, polls. If they just went thru the prescribed process, they voted in the last elections secretly. Nobody knew who was their preferred bet for mayor. If they cast their vote for the honorable Congressman Tomas R. Osmeña, the sitting mayor would never know that fact. They remain secure in their job with the mayor not knowing that they voted for his opponent. On the other hand, if they opted for His Honor Cebu City Michael L. Rama, then the south district lawmaker will have no way of finding out. In other words, those city hall workers could not be terminated from work for their electoral preference because, to repeat, nobody would ever know how they voted.

It is an entirely different story for those who, while in the city government service campaigned for the legislator in his quest to reclaim the city hall as mayor. For all we know, they got their jobs for their political connections. But, they of course knew that campaigning for a candidate is not allowed to government personnel. Electioneering is the term given to a government employee who promotes the candidacy of a politician. Electioneering is prohibited. If at all, such a government worker who was so inclined, should have resigned from work. That rule would also be true if it was the mayor whom they preferred.

Anyway, by campaigning for Type O, those city hall workers believed in the leadership of Congressman Osmeña. In their mind, they could continue to work at the city hall under Representative Osmeña, as the mayor. That belief inspired them to campaign for him even without resigning from their government posts.

Unfortunately for them, the city electors decided to give Mayor Rama another term. The will of the majority is against their chosen leader. That electoral mandate being clear, those city hall workers who campaigned for the congressman should not wait to be terminated. They should file their resignation letters in order to give way to Mayor Rama to find people who believe in his brand of leadership. They cannot have their cake and eat it too.

For good administration, Mayor Rama should have city hall employees who believe in him. He can succeed in his plans if the people to implement them have faith in his political vision. Conversely, he is bound to fail in the event they doubt in his capacity to lead. This should be the reason the mayor should sweep out of city government those Type O workers within.

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