Barangay, SK officials

Needless to say, this near-sighted Ibaloy writer is hoping and fervently praying that in next month’s barangay and Sangguniang Kabataan elections, we will be voting into office honest, competent, selfless, and committed public servants.
Hopefully, those who win are those who ran for office not for the prestige and perks the position bestows upon them but to actually serve their respective constituents to the best of their abilities. In other words, our barangay and even SK officials should be public service and not self-serviceoriented.
If I’m not mistaken, being an elected barangay official, just like those elected into local and national positions, means you are there to serve the public 24/7 or every hour of every day of the year. Definitely, it’s not like an ordinary 8 a.m. to 5p.m., Monday to Friday government job with Saturdays and Sundays as days off (including regular and special holidays, hehe). Obviously, it takes all-out commitment to be a barangay official, more so as the punong barangay or village chief.
The barangay, after all, is the basic unit of our beloved archipelago of delicious coconuts and smiling carabaos’ democratic political system so choosing its leaders should not be taken for granted. Whether we like it or not, their actions can, directly or indirectly, affect the lives of their constituents. That’s you and me, kababayan.
Would it be correct for me to say that many of us don’t even know who the officials of our respective barangays are? We don’t know their names or faces?
Well, we should get to know them so we can also make sure that they are doing their sworn duty to serve their constituents equally and without fear or favor. As Spiderman’s uncle Ben said, “With great power comes great responsibility.”
May our Lord and Savior Jesus Christ continue to bless and keep us all safe.