
As local government officials start their terms of office today, there will not be an Armand Dean Nocum taking the post of Press Relations Officer (PIO) or Media Relations Bureau (MRB) chief holding office in one of Metro Manila’s influential cities.
Yes, I was offered such post and I was tempted to take it. What an honor it is to be in government to help a Metro Manila city mayor undertake the reforms that he/she had promised to undertake. I believe in the mayor’s sincerity and was honored by his trust to help him/her undertake such reform.
But after much soul-searching, I realized that there are just people like me who work better behind the scenes and in the private sector. I believe that I can do much more as a volunteer public relations (PR) consultant and adviser for the mayor and his official family I have installed into office.
So I had to decline the exalted post of a government servant; the same way I declined offers from political groups to run for congress in the May 10 Elections (pls read www.deanandkingsprfirm.com/3/post/2012/10/last-day-of-filing-of-electoral-candidacy-i-am-running.html )
I remain convinced that true power lies in the Filipino electorate. One need not be elected or appointed in office to be of service to his fellow man. We have proven that for about 13 years now in our education advocacy Kristiyano-Islam Peace Library (www.krislibrary.com).
I remain committed to help the mayor who I helped get his/her programs and projects across more than a million voters who eventually voted for him/her during the campaign season. It is enough for me that I was instrumental in using all the tools of traditional and online media to convince more than a million voters that my candidate is committed and honest to pursue the reforms, programs and projects he/she had promised to pursue.
I have done my part by drafting the campaign communication strategy as head of the mayor’s Campaign Media Bureau during the last elections. Now it is up to the local executive and his official family to fulfill their promise and the electorate to help them. It takes two to tango.
Now I go back to my true PR work were we help mostly corporate clients implement their projects in the renewable energy, water utilities, green architecture and responsible mining sector.
May God bless my mayor-friend and all the local executives who are starting government work today. May they exercise honesty and sincerity in government service and may all private citizens like us do our part in helping them.
We succeed or fail together. Let us all do out part. Responsible citizenship does not end when we cast our votes – that act is only the beginning of a long process of making this country great again!