Candidates start to vilify each other six months away from the midterm election. This is not only exclusive to the government but also to corporations.
My former colleague told me he experienced office politics. He was besmirched by his superior and colleague. He has felt the CEO’s ire as well.
When I was working in Marsman, office politics proliferated. I was apolitical. I did not align myself with any group. I avoided getting associated with anyone. I would rather fight with God beside me than with hundreds who are self-centered and fickle-minded.
Politicians know that alliances either make or break their chances during elections. The Juans, who support these politicians, were either optimists who believed they could bring changes, or opportunists who saw the chance to change their fate.
My father used to join politics at a young age. He exposed his life to danger for candidates against Marcos and his allies. He was appointed vice mayor of Cadiz in 1986. A junior military officer forced him to stop the rallies. To avoid bloodshed after a series of rallies, he stepped down in lieu of the dubious appointment of a close friend of the mayor. The said officer was sacked as head of PNP special forces during the hostage drama in Manila under Benigno Aquino Jr.’s term.
My dad ran for Congress thinking that people are tired of the old “trapos.” He lost and, to his dismay, left politics and concentrated on business and writing. Being a government official can be addictive. A one-term opportunity can become a lifelong obsession. The office is inherited by the children.
Friends like Ramon Ramos and Edgar Liu were there to back me up against office colleagues or even clients who intended to taint my image. Those who don’t have the vertebra to stand for me, prayed secretly. I am no saint but no lapdog as well. I licked no ass, whether foreign or local, just to get promoted.
Early on, I had no desire to be a slave forever to corporate life. Thanks to China, who started our institution 16 years ago. As to my friend, all I could say is, I am sorry for his experience of office politics, but it is up to him whether to leave or live. As for the common Juans, I pity them for the sore state they are in now. Every election, they are still lured by the sweet talks from deceptive politicians.
Thomas Jefferson said, “If a nation expects to be ignorant and free, in a state of civilization, it expects what never was and never will be.” I agree, but if you say otherwise, I rest my case. ||
