Authenticity and Integrity.
You can’t buy it. You can’t achieve it with press releases. No PR firm can create it for you. No consultant can bring it to your organization. No government decree will bring it into existence.
All the gold in China cannot do for the ERC what Zahflo, a blogger, is doing for the ERC.
I don’t know Zahflo personally but I do know she writes a blog at The Real Me. I do know that even after five years, she maintains an excitement for working at the ERC, that she “values friendships & relationships more than achievements & fame,” that she believes “the most important thing in life is the legacy we leave behind” and is “hoping to leave a legacy that my son will be proud of.”
Here’s part of what happened in her work today:
This morning [Tuesday June 26], a male caller was inquiring about the latest developments in the electricity industry. He was asking about my scope of work, so my officemate referred the caller to me. So I took the call. At first he was ok, he asked questions and I answered them in the best way I can. I knew the subject so it wasn’t really hard for me to explain… and then he suddenly burst out…
Man: Ano ba yung press release ng MERALCO na open na yung 1 MW for competition?
Me: Sir, letter lang po ng MERALCO yun sa Chairman, pero di pa namin inapprove kasi kailangan ma-meet yung conditions ng law (RA 9136)…
Man: You in the ERC are liars! That law, the government, is all bullshit! Mga sinungaling kayo eh, sinasabi nyo na may competition na tapos wala pa pala, ang dami nyong pinapalabas, niloloko nyo lang ang mga tao eh!!!
ME: Sir, hindi naman po. Kung open naman po kayo, pumunta po kayo rito sa office namin para ma-explain po ng mas maayos…
Man: NO! I’m going to write the Congress and the Senate. ….
There’s more. Continue the story here.
She’s written about the excitement of seeing the WESM start up after years of preparation. She’s written about her one year old son. Yesterday she wrote a wonderful entry about silly staff fun.
Happy kami kahit di nanalo, it’s how you played the game that matter…tutal in the end, panalo pa rin kami.
Winner!
Oh yeah, Zahflo is a winner. And so is the ERC. This is exactly why organizations should encourage blogging. It gives a public face to the humanity that exists within its walls.
Sun Microsystems encourages their employees to blog. What is their blogging policy? Simple: “Be authentic. Period.”
I have no idea about the technical qualifications of the ERC staff – but I have a whole new – and positive – appreciation for what the ERC is doing.
Zahflo is an example of the payoff from blogging. You simply can’t buy what she achieves for the Commission.
One Comment
Thank you for the appreciation. I’m just a simple employee, doing my little work the best way I can. I can’t make big decisions, that’s the job of the Commission. So when people complain “electricity is so expensive, why can’t ERC reduce the rates?”. Even we joke about it with the Commissioners “Sir/Mam, why don’t you reduce the rates? hehehe”. They just smile and say, “if only we can, we’re paying the same expensive bills you know”. That’s what people forget. We are all consumers. We don’t get discounts in the ERC. Even generator employees don’t get discounts.
Anyway, that’s why I encourage people to ask, seek answers to their questions, rather than blame the government for everything. Information can enlighten you, and eventually help you figure out how you can help the country. Try seeing the bigger picture.