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 ssignment 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!
(Correction: We had the wrong Trump
building in our initial photos. Above are the corrected photos of the equally
ostentatious Trump World Tower on First Avenue. Our apologies to "The Donald"
for getting his buildings mixed-up. - philnews.com)
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