Hannibal Lecter’s Whore: Blog Of

BACKGROUND

“Personal Leadership grows out of trustworthiness. To lead other effectively, individuals must first be able to lead themselves effectively. In other words, before you can empower other people, you must first know who you are, your strengths, weaknesses. Once you can build on yourself, you can empower others. With these characters, the pursuit of excellence in relation to work will be easy and productivity will increase as well as its quality.”

-From the Rationale on the seminar “Empowerment: A Challenge to Excellence”

Organized by the Society of the State Personnel of the Philippines, the seminar aims to provide avenue for self-awareness and sharing of insights by the participants regarding empowering themselves and empowering the people.

The seminar is a three-day activity with lecture discussion and structured learning activities. Topics include Self Awareness, Public Service Values, Empowerment, Ten Steps in Empowering People, and Team Building – Interpersonal Behavior and Processes for an Effective Team.

Supposedly, the invited guest speaker for the seminar’s opening program is City Mayor Rodrigo Duterte, who declined due to conflict in schedule. City Administrator Wendel Avisado was selected to represent the Mayor and the city government, but regret to come due to conflict in schedule as well. Mr. Marcelino Escalante, head of the Human Resource Management Office, graced the occasion on behalf of the two government officials.

Speech Analysis

Analyzing Mr. Escalante’s speech would mean going into a thorough discussion of the different variables that are very influential to the entirety of the speech. These aspects include setting variables, speaker variables, audience variables, topic variables, and media variables. Moreover, this analysis will also examine the rhetorical elements prevalent in the speech, as well as the rhetorical proofs and rhetorical moves.

Looking at the setting variables, the physical setting of the actual speech greatly affects the approach the speaker employed, and at the same, influences the attitude of the audience toward the speaker and the subject. The speech was delivered inside an intimate conference room (with a capacity of at most 50 persons) in a well-known hotel, and this created a more intimate ambience and suggests a certain level of formality. The said space also aided in sustaining the attention span of the listeners, thus making the audience very attentive in the entire delivery of the speech. The closed space also influenced the speaker’s voice modulation; had it been delivered in an open space, the speaker would have used a different approach.

With regard to the speaker variables, Mr. Escalante’s effectiveness as a speaker is very reflective of his expertise in dealing with organization and people from different walks of life, as expected from a Human Resource Management Head. In addition to that, the physical appearance of the speaker (the attire, posture, bearing, etc.) implies that he is a person of authority and should be regarded with respect. Thus, this speaks of the speaker’s credibility as the guest speaker of a Mindanao-wide formal gathering of LGU officials.

Considering the audience, we can extract some socio-demographic information that may have influenced in the way the speech was structured by the speaker. The audience (approximately 25 in number) includes both sexes belonging to 30-50 age bracket. All the participants in the seminar are LGU officials. Thus, public administration serves as the common ground of the organizers, speaker and audience.

One important consideration under topic variables is the question “why the topic?”. In the case of Mr. Escalante’s speech, the subject matter is relevant to the theme of the seminar, which revolves around empowering the people in public service. The topic is indeed significant since it intends to give insights in improving job performance in the context of public administration.

During the speech, the speaker was aided by certain media to effectively deliver his speech. He made use of technological gadgets (microphone, complete sound system)) to enhance the clarity and audibility of his speech—a major consideration in assessing an actual speech.

Moving on to the examination of the rhetorical elements present in Mr. Escalante’s speech, it can be noted that the speaker employed test of evidence to support his claims. As shown in the following citation, the speaker made mention of a book as a means of supporting the validity of his statements. Aside from that, it also shows the speaker’s application of logos in tailoring his speech:

I can recall and we are all aware of… The Book man siguro ang title about atong Re-engineering Government by Dave Healer and David Osbourne. In one of the series of insights there, which they find a guiding force to be for empowerment is there is the affirmation of the four-way test of the Rotary Club.

Looking into its form and structure, the speech did not strictly follow the conventions of Monroe’s motivated sequence as a guide in organizing the content of his speech. This is maybe due to the fact that it is an impromptu speech. With regard to language use, the diction is simple and easy to comprehend. Moreover, the speaker employed code-switching using the Visayan, Filipino and English language. This, again, may be due to the fact that the speaker did not come up with a manuscript for his speech. The following passages show how the speaker made use of code-switching:

He had given me earlier the prepared speech for this morning, hand it over and I told him “Sir, murag kuan man ni siya, murag seminar man ni siya sa empowerment and challenge to excellence, probably the context would be on empowerment, empowering the people to strive more and perform more bias to excellence ”, and sabi niya, “sige lang Jun ibigay mo lang dyan ang input mo” because I went over, and when I went over medyo economic empowerment ang kanyang, ang kanyang context.

Pag here’s the decision now, wala na, kasi the incident already passed. Ang uban pud nga mga pilosopo they would say, nga aanhin pa ang damo kung patay na ang kabayo? Sa kambing na lang.

Narrating, defining and the use of flashbacks are the rhetorical moves dominant in the speech. One approach that the speaker employed is narration, which is evident in the entire speech:

We had just finished our meeting with Attorney Avisado, he told me “Jun, the schedule is in conflict. I have to proceed to another equally-important activity” so I had to come over and say something about the seminar on Empowerment and challenge to empowerment.

And you know what? The policemen in that particular district, in that particular station, was very pro-active in responding to cases and complaints because if there are cases filed or complaints filed, normally, they ask, “ Boss, what is your instruction?”

The speaker relates significant stories and experiences in the past that are related to the subject matter, thus, aiding in the structuring of his message. The following excerpts show the speaker’s application of definition as one rhetorical move. Here, the speaker lengthily defines loyalty and empowerment the important keywords in his speech:

What we are here are people like us who are really concerned and doesn’t mind and don’t mind at all the pain. Yan ang sinasabi kong loyalty…you know, loyalty in public service is not counted by the number of years in public service but it is counted when there is an opportunity whether to stay or leave but you decided to stay, that is loyalty. You can be in public service for the last 30-35 years and no opportunity to self-own, you are stuck into it and therefore you are given the most loyal, loyalty award for having served the government for so long a time, to me that is not loyalty. Loyalty is when there is an opportunity for you to leave public service but you decided to stay, that is loyalty.

Making a decision at our own level without necessarily waiting for our bosses to make instructions consonant to the problem of the issue that makes us a more empowered employee or official in public service.

Moreover, the speaker used flashbacks all through out the speech. These flashbacks serve as the speaker’s tool in delivering the speech as shown below:

I can recall when we had a meeting with the chair of the Civil Service Commission, that…

I can recall and we are all aware of…

With regard to the Rhetorical Proofs it can be noted that all three are applied at different degrees. As stated earlier, the speaker applied logos when he cited a book as a reference to his statement. He also used the Rotary Club’s Four Way Test in conveying his opinions in what should an empowered public servant be.

Considering the speaker’s character (ethos), the speaker being a public official and the head of the Human Resource Management Office is enough to build his character and support his credibility. It is also noteworthy that before the speaker started with his speech, he first mentioned his office and his position thus generating a good reputation. This was necessary as he needs to introduce himself as a credible speaker considering that the audience was expecting a different guest speaker, and he was not even introduced during the program. Expecting that Atty. Avisado will be gracing the occasion, the organizers prepared an introductory speech for him. As shown below, the speaker introduced himself at the very beginning of the speech:

I’m Marcelino “Jun” Escalante, the Head of the Human Resource Management Office of the City Government of Davao, and we have just finished out meeting with Atty. Avisado…

Furthermore, prior to the given communicative task, there’s this perceived source credibility by the listeners. Though the audience had not seen the speaker yet, they have this notion that the speaker is of authority and that the speaker is credible having been invited to speak for the occasion (initial ethos).

Looking into the emotional aspect of the speech (pathos), the speaker presented his message in such a way that appeals to the emotion of the audience. Here, the speaker delved into the discussion of the economic aspect of being a public employee. Moreover, he moves the listeners through uplifting the nature of their job, and emphasizing the honor of being a public servant:

I can recall when we had a meeting with the chair of the Civil Service Commission, that the problem really with public governance especially in hiring people in government is the economic aspect of it. How can we economically empower also our employees…of public service and so she told me very clearly that, “Mr. Escalante, if you want to get rich, get out from public service.” I told her, “Ma’am, I don’t want to be rich, but I simply want to have a decent kind of life.”

Evaluation

Overall, the speech was effective considering that it was an impromptu speech. The delivery was very spontaneous, which was helpful in sustaining the audience attention.

By and large, Mr. Escalante’s speech was effective and qualifies as a good speech. Using the principles of the art of good speech, Mr. Escalante’s speech is socially responsible; reveals the speaker’s credibility; serves a specific purpose; deals with worthwhile subject matter that is fitted to the occasion; claims the attention and interest of the audience; uses effective bodily actions, good diction and style.

BACKGROUND

“Personal Leadership grows out of trustworthiness. To lead other effectively, individuals must first be able to lead themselves effectively. In other words, before you can empower other people, you must first know who you are, your strengths, weaknesses. Once you can build on yourself, you can empower others. With these characters, the pursuit of excellence in relation to work will be easy and productivity will increase as well as its quality.”

-From the Rationale on the seminar “Empowerment: A Challenge to Excellence”

Organized by the Society of the State Personnel of the Philippines, the seminar aims to provide avenue for self-awareness and sharing of insights by the participants regarding empowering themselves and empowering the people.

The seminar is a three-day activity with lecture discussion and structured learning activities. Topics include Self Awareness, Public Service Values, Empowerment, Ten Steps in Empowering People, and Team Building – Interpersonal Behavior and Processes for an Effective Team.

Supposedly, the invited guest speaker for the seminar’s opening program is City Mayor Rodrigo Duterte, who declined due to conflict in schedule. City Administrator Wendel Avisado was selected to represent the Mayor and the city government, but regret to come due to conflict in schedule as well. Mr. Marcelino Escalante, head of the Human Resource Management Office, graced the occasion on behalf of the two government officials.

Speech Analysis

Analyzing Mr. Escalante’s speech would mean going into a thorough discussion of the different variables that are very influential to the entirety of the speech. These aspects include setting variables, speaker variables, audience variables, topic variables, and media variables. Moreover, this analysis will also examine the rhetorical elements prevalent in the speech, as well as the rhetorical proofs and rhetorical moves.

Looking at the setting variables, the physical setting of the actual speech greatly affects the approach the speaker employed, and at the same, influences the attitude of the audience toward the speaker and the subject. The speech was delivered inside an intimate conference room (with a capacity of at most 50 persons) in a well-known hotel, and this created a more intimate ambience and suggests a certain level of formality. The said space also aided in sustaining the attention span of the listeners, thus making the audience very attentive in the entire delivery of the speech. The closed space also influenced the speaker’s voice modulation; had it been delivered in an open space, the speaker would have used a different approach.

With regard to the speaker variables, Mr. Escalante’s effectiveness as a speaker is very reflective of his expertise in dealing with organization and people from different walks of life, as expected from a Human Resource Management Head. In addition to that, the physical appearance of the speaker (the attire, posture, bearing, etc.) implies that he is a person of authority and should be regarded with respect. Thus, this speaks of the speaker’s credibility as the guest speaker of a Mindanao-wide formal gathering of LGU officials.

Considering the audience, we can extract some socio-demographic information that may have influenced in the way the speech was structured by the speaker. The audience (approximately 25 in number) includes both sexes belonging to 30-50 age bracket. All the participants in the seminar are LGU officials. Thus, public administration serves as the common ground of the organizers, speaker and audience.

One important consideration under topic variables is the question “why the topic?”. In the case of Mr. Escalante’s speech, the subject matter is relevant to the theme of the seminar, which revolves around empowering the people in public service. The topic is indeed significant since it intends to give insights in improving job performance in the context of public administration.

During the speech, the speaker was aided by certain media to effectively deliver his speech. He made use of technological gadgets (microphone, complete sound system)) to enhance the clarity and audibility of his speech—a major consideration in assessing an actual speech.

Moving on to the examination of the rhetorical elements present in Mr. Escalante’s speech, it can be noted that the speaker employed test of evidence to support his claims. As shown in the following citation, the speaker made mention of a book as a means of supporting the validity of his statements. Aside from that, it also shows the speaker’s application of logos in tailoring his speech:

I can recall and we are all aware of… The Book man siguro ang title about atong Re-engineering Government by Dave Healer and David Osbourne. In one of the series of insights there, which they find a guiding force to be for empowerment is there is the affirmation of the four-way test of the Rotary Club.

Looking into its form and structure, the speech did not strictly follow the conventions of Monroe’s motivated sequence as a guide in organizing the content of his speech. This is maybe due to the fact that it is an impromptu speech. With regard to language use, the diction is simple and easy to comprehend. Moreover, the speaker employed code-switching using the Visayan, Filipino and English language. This, again, may be due to the fact that the speaker did not come up with a manuscript for his speech. The following passages show how the speaker made use of code-switching:

He had given me earlier the prepared speech for this morning, hand it over and I told him “Sir, murag kuan man ni siya, murag seminar man ni siya sa empowerment and challenge to excellence, probably the context would be on empowerment, empowering the people to strive more and perform more bias to excellence ”, and sabi niya, “sige lang Jun ibigay mo lang dyan ang input mo” because I went over, and when I went over medyo economic empowerment ang kanyang, ang kanyang context.

Pag here’s the decision now, wala na, kasi the incident already passed. Ang uban pud nga mga pilosopo they would say, nga aanhin pa ang damo kung patay na ang kabayo? Sa kambing na lang.

Narrating, defining and the use of flashbacks are the rhetorical moves dominant in the speech. One approach that the speaker employed is narration, which is evident in the entire speech:

We had just finished our meeting with Attorney Avisado, he told me “Jun, the schedule is in conflict. I have to proceed to another equally-important activity” so I had to come over and say something about the seminar on Empowerment and challenge to empowerment.

And you know what? The policemen in that particular district, in that particular station, was very pro-active in responding to cases and complaints because if there are cases filed or complaints filed, normally, they ask, “ Boss, what is your instruction?”

The speaker relates significant stories and experiences in the past that are related to the subject matter, thus, aiding in the structuring of his message. The following excerpts show the speaker’s application of definition as one rhetorical move. Here, the speaker lengthily defines loyalty and empowerment the important keywords in his speech:

What we are here are people like us who are really concerned and doesn’t mind and don’t mind at all the pain. Yan ang sinasabi kong loyalty…you know, loyalty in public service is not counted by the number of years in public service but it is counted when there is an opportunity whether to stay or leave but you decided to stay, that is loyalty. You can be in public service for the last 30-35 years and no opportunity to self-own, you are stuck into it and therefore you are given the most loyal, loyalty award for having served the government for so long a time, to me that is not loyalty. Loyalty is when there is an opportunity for you to leave public service but you decided to stay, that is loyalty.

Making a decision at our own level without necessarily waiting for our bosses to make instructions consonant to the problem of the issue that makes us a more empowered employee or official in public service.

Moreover, the speaker used flashbacks all through out the speech. These flashbacks serve as the speaker’s tool in delivering the speech as shown below:

I can recall when we had a meeting with the chair of the Civil Service Commission, that…

I can recall and we are all aware of…

With regard to the Rhetorical Proofs it can be noted that all three are applied at different degrees. As stated earlier, the speaker applied logos when he cited a book as a reference to his statement. He also used the Rotary Club’s Four Way Test in conveying his opinions in what should an empowered public servant be.

Considering the speaker’s character (ethos), the speaker being a public official and the head of the Human Resource Management Office is enough to build his character and support his credibility. It is also noteworthy that before the speaker started with his speech, he first mentioned his office and his position thus generating a good reputation. This was necessary as he needs to introduce himself as a credible speaker considering that the audience was expecting a different guest speaker, and he was not even introduced during the program. Expecting that Atty. Avisado will be gracing the occasion, the organizers prepared an introductory speech for him. As shown below, the speaker introduced himself at the very beginning of the speech:

I’m Marcelino “Jun” Escalante, the Head of the Human Resource Management Office of the City Government of Davao, and we have just finished out meeting with Atty. Avisado…

Furthermore, prior to the given communicative task, there’s this perceived source credibility by the listeners. Though the audience had not seen the speaker yet, they have this notion that the speaker is of authority and that the speaker is credible having been invited to speak for the occasion (initial ethos).

Looking into the emotional aspect of the speech (pathos), the speaker presented his message in such a way that appeals to the emotion of the audience. Here, the speaker delved into the discussion of the economic aspect of being a public employee. Moreover, he moves the listeners through uplifting the nature of their job, and emphasizing the honor of being a public servant:

I can recall when we had a meeting with the chair of the Civil Service Commission, that the problem really with public governance especially in hiring people in government is the economic aspect of it. How can we economically empower also our employees…of public service and so she told me very clearly that, “Mr. Escalante, if you want to get rich, get out from public service.” I told her, “Ma’am, I don’t want to be rich, but I simply want to have a decent kind of life.”

Evaluation

Overall, the speech was effective considering that it was an impromptu speech. The delivery was very spontaneous, which was helpful in sustaining the audience attention.

By and large, Mr. Escalante’s speech was effective and qualifies as a good speech. Using the principles of the art of good speech, Mr. Escalante’s speech is socially responsible; reveals the speaker’s credibility; serves a specific purpose; deals with worthwhile subject matter that is fitted to the occasion; claims the attention and interest of the audience; uses effective bodily actions, good diction and style.

           One of the most important contributions of the development of governments in the world is the concept of the “citizen” as a legitimate entity that influences his society as well as the state. Such concept has evolved into different perspectives that are basis for the ideologies proposed by so many thinkers all throughout the history of the world as we know it. The springboard of which is the confidence that is put to the rationality of the human being.

            Despite this evolution of thought, much of the operation of states has primarily delved on the concept of power: how it is exercised, who shall exercise it, to what extent it is exercised and how people and the society work as a whole in the management of said power. This is where the Enlightenment thinkers such as Thomas Hobbes, Jean Jacques Roseau, and John Locke etc. grounded their philosophies and ideas of the state and the society.

            Although these academic and philosophical endeavors were dominated by the western thought, it cannot also be denied that such ideas were also present in the Asian setting. It is only in the modern are that Asian studies have become an important undertaking in the field of politics, economics and sociology to name a few. And such undertakings have provided essential data on the understanding of Asian civilization as a whole.

            In fact, there is a striking difference between western development and Asian development. This is evident in the lush history of the Chinese, Indian and Japanese civilization. Although these said countries today are being influenced heavily by the western thought and ideals, remnants of the past still holds manifestation until today.

            The Philippines as an Asian country is marked not only of western foreign colonialism but also of the influences embedded in its culture by its Asian counterparts, specifically the Chinese culture. Even before the coming of the Spaniards, the Chinese have been trading with the Philippines for continuously for years. With this relationship the Philippines has also continuously adopted certain characteristics of the Chinese culture which today is still present.

            As a political science student, I was exposed to different perspectives in understanding politics, culture, the state and the society. One of such exposures the practicum training program of the Ateneo de Davao University.

            I went trough the highly technical work of running a law office. And I’ve just finished being exposed to what socio-political scientists as the work of “voluntarism” my work being in an NGO or an IGO which is the Philippine National Red Cross Davao City Chapter.

            Much like the theories I learned in the four walls of the classroom, the outside world, if not totally reflective of the theories and facts that I encountered, bears a huge semblance to the ideas fostered by the philosophers, sociologists, political scientists and historians.    

            Political participation is a major factor considered in the progress of a society or a state for that matter. This concept has been introduced to me by western thought that is largely the foundation of our educational system here in the Philippines but it not solely the west who has the monopoly of this concept. The Chinese have been toying with the concept of civil participation as part of the duty to the state or the dynasty. Having procured large numbers of population in the large provinces of ancient China, the numerous dynasties provided solutions in order for the effective operation of the dynasties themselves. One such solution offered was the establishment of a governmental bureaucracy that involves the participation of the civil society.  Participation of the citizens of the Chinese empire required immense trainings and examinations. The concept of civil service was recognized in China.

            Civil service as part of political participation in the government is very present today. The call of civil service does not only confine itself within the governmental institutions but also in the Non-governmental Organizations (NGO). But there is a difference with the kind of civil service that is being practiced in NGOs.  

            If in the government civil service comes with the promise of compensation that is not only just but also secured. There is also a promise of rising into higher ranks with more compensation and benefits. In NGOs on the other hand civil service is synonymous to voluntarism. There is no secure compensation and sometimes there is even none at all. The only compensation, but is also the best of all, is the altruistic feeling of being able to help other people and the society as a whole for the service in the name of justice and humanity which I think is the pillar of NGOs, IGOs or IHOs for that matter.

            It should not be taken into the negative the ‘volunteer’ side of the Philippine National Red Cross or the Red Cross as a whole. Even though it has left off from the conventional concept of civil service, the spirit still remains. The whole point of voluntarism is service to the people who have less in life which surmounts any other type of service.  The Red Cross being a humanitarian organization has evolved from the time it was established as being a provider of medical relief the wounded in battle. Today, it participates together with the governments of the world in providing service in any type of tragedy, natural or man-made. The Red Cross has given a different meaning to civil service that the Chinese has so openly contributed to our system of governance.

            Our system of governance also has evolved although less progressive as compared to the countries in the western hemisphere. Since our culture play an important role on the way we run things even in the business of governance, it cannot also be denied that its tentacles of influence has reached the foreign organization like the Red Cross.

            Public administration here in the Philippines isn’t a model to be imitated. In fact, as many political critics would say, it is one of the worse in the Asian region. This fact cannot be proven wrong of course if you consider the majority of the people in charge of public administration. Perhaps there are a few exceptions but these are rather rare. Much has been done on the part of the United Nations as well as the political groups within the Philippines to rectify these ugly facts, still the Filipino political culture persists its influence. Even the educational system does not provide considerable effect on the problem of the Philippines that is “Public Administration”.

            Political scientists interested in public administration study government organizations and their relation to other parts of government. Political scientists investigate how these organizations work, and try to devise methods of improving them. For example, David Osborne and Ted Gaebler’s book Reinventing Government (1992) inspired many national, state, and local governments to adopt more-competitive and less bureaucratic ways of delivering services to the public.

            Although in the Philippine context, the above statement doesn’t ring true. Our conception of public administration is plagued with red tape and impediments posed by heavy bureaucracy. Combine these with our political culture; there occurs a very serious problem.

            Our political culture which emphasizes these trademarks namely; a. Patron-clientilism, b. Palakasan system, c. Manana habit, d. Utang na loob system, e. Strong family ties and such others have contributed to the problems of public administration.

            The Red Cross, being a foreign institution but nevertheless run by Filipino employees is not spared of these indicators. In the course of my on the job training, I observed that even the Red Cross even with its highly western way of management still has problems with the culture of manana habit.

            For one thing, the employees do not arrive on time at the office and the work they do is not always done on time. But these are not as a general rule though. There are only a few instances where the habit comes into the picture and this includes us practicumees. There are also remnants of patron-clientilism in the Red Cross as well as the palakasan system but only on certain services such as the Care-giver Program of the Red Cross and the Safety services where those who are in the upper middle class are given importance. Suffice it to say that the Red Cross badly needs sufficient funds on-order for it to continue its humanitarian services. But again, this is rather an exception than a general rule.

            Still the political culture is there and it poses a problem if it is not strictly monitored which by the way is one of the habits of us Filipinos, we tolerate the little bad things and realize in the end that these little things have become a serious problem.

            It is the contention of modern political sociologists that the state is more or less a reflection of the civil society. And that the problems of the state reflect those of the problems within the civil society. This is clearly manifested in the kind of culture that we have as explained in the above paragraphs.

            One of the political sociologists that have contributed much on the understanding of governments as well as institutions in the society is Max Weber. His study on the rationalization of the government and the society are the basis of modern bureaucracy. The efficiency of governments and the institutions of society heavily depend on its bureaucratic operation in the assumption that the people running the bureaucracy are also efficient.

            Bureaucracy, personnel and administrative structure of an organization. Business, labor, religious, educational, and governmental systems depend on a large workforce arranged in a hierarchy to carry out specialized tasks based on internal rules and procedures. The term is used mostly in referring to government administration, especially regarding officials in the federal government and civil service. It is often used derogatorily to suggest waste, inefficiency, and red tape.

In a more important sense, governmental systems depend on bureaucracy, without which no modern government can function. A hindrance to development in some nations has been the lack of large-scale organizational techniques.

Whilst the previous statements are true, the effective operation of a bureaucracy corresponds to an effective rendering of services in the government. The use of bureaucracy also includes institutions that are not connected with the government as popular belief would contend. Almost all the institutions in our society make use of bureaucracy as a tool for efficiency.

The Red Cross, which is the probably one of the biggest international humanitarian organizations today, keeps itself running effectively through its bureaucracy. It is unimaginable for the Red Cross to not be in hierarchy and not be in doing things in specialized tasking. Otherwise it would crumble into pieces and be in disarray. Its bureaucratic system keeps it in order and working smoothly.

However there is a downfall to this system especially in the Philippine context. As explained in the previous paragraphs, the Filipino culture has an influence on the way institutions are being ran.

As a concrete example, I observed someone applying for the safety services training of the Red Cross for a group of students. Since the Red Cross has a bureaucratic system to follow, naturally the person applying for the service has to comply with them. Unfortunately for her, the one in charge for the applications of the said service wasn’t at the office but was instead somewhere else for no apparent reason. The applicant waited for over an hour and the lady in charge came in.

They exchanged information regarding the application and the lady informed the applicant that the service will be available to them in a week or so. It is quite a long time to wait considering that the safety services training doesn’t really need a lot of preparation since the Red Cross is fully equipped with personnel and facilities to provide such training. The only reason for the delay is the bureaucratic requirement. There are lots of employees in the office who are more than capable of processing the application but then bureaucracy says so otherwise. This is one of the reasons why it bureaucracy is not always effective. And again, this only happens in a few instances in the Red Cross.

The prevalent political culture of our country is still not that mature as compared to other developed nations but this should not be taken as reason for not to opt for change but rather an avenue for the continuing enhancement of the capacity of the processes of education to better mold the consciousness of the Filipino people. If it took the United States of America almost 300 years of democracy to do it, then maybe we really don’t need to hurry up.