THE BUSINESS OF GOVERNANCE | LEONOR MAGTOLIS BRIONES | 11/02/2009 4:36 PM
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One of my favorite women writers, Gilda Cordero-Fernando wondered in a feature article: How many newborns will be called “Ondoy” in rememberance of the destructive typhoon which devastated Central Luzon and Manila? She asked a friend what “Ondoy” was a nickname for and he guessed, “Maybe Rolando.”
He guessed wrong. “Ondoy” is the male version of the Visayan “Inday.” True, “Dodong” is the best known form of endearment for Visayan males. “Ondoy” is equally popular as a nickname in Visayan families, especially those who have several boys. Since they are all dear to their parents, one can be called “Dodong”, another “Ondoy” and still another “Dodo” or “Ondo.”!
A lively Visayan folk song - “balitaw” - has “Ondoy” and “Inday” flirting with each other and exchanging jests
When I was growing up in Guihulngan, Negros Oriental, I had several “Ondoy”s for classmates. One family turned “Ondoy” into a surname and everyone was called “Ondoy” including the girls!
One such Visayan I know is Ondoy Malaki of the musical clan from Leyte. Several brothers, including Ondoy are well-known singers and instrumentalists. Anyway, Ondoy has always been called as such by all who know him. His real name is Ephraim.
After the typhoon, a mutual friend, Shirley Nerecina teased him, “how dare you enter my bedroom!” She was referring to her flooded house.
After the typhoon, the name “Ondoy” will never be the same again. Like “Inday” which non-Visayans believe means “servant,” “Ondoy” might connote destruction and death to them.
Yes, there will be many boy babies named Ondoy. This is because among the Visayans, it will always been an endearment for boys.
What incentive mechanism works best?
Policy makers and researchers in public administration and governance have always wondered: what incentive mechanisms works best for successful government projects?
Tantalizing answers to this question surfaced during the unpublicized “Learning Event” which I wrote about last week. The Manila and Bangkok offices of the UNDP, Galing Pook Foundation , and SNV an international NGO, gathered together foreign participants from Indonesia, Cambodia, Sri Lanka, India and Pakistan ,award-winning officials from 12 provinces in the Philippines, and academics from Silliman University and University of the Philippines last October 26-28 in Dumaguete City.
The first day of the Event was devoted to presentations of successful local innovations .These reports ranged from award-winning barangay projects from Tabok, Mandawe City and Sanito in Ipil, Zamboanga Sibugay to municipal projects from Bindoy, Negros Oriental and Capoocan, Leyte to sophisticated city delivery systems from Bayawan Negros Oriental, Davao City, Science City of Munoz, and Naga City.
Services delivered varied from waterworks systems, markets, MDG localization, gender programs, social insurance to AIDs management programs. Foreign participants likewise shared experiences from their own countries.
The second day of the Event focused on incentive mechanisms which propel successful local government projects. Case studies on Negros Oriental and Pasay City confirmed what Asians have known all along: traditional culture and value systems contribute non-material incentives for successful projects.
In Negros Oriental, powerful community traditions of alayon (bayanihan), kurambos (material and non-material contributions or “sweat equity), and service to the community accounted for the series of award-winning projects of the province, cities and municipalities of Negros Oriental.
In Pasay City, the MDGs were translated into family goals, with families signing written commitments and participating actively in cooperatives, capacity building and value formation. Thus, the family is the main implementing unit for the projects. All members of the family are involved in different community projects and events .
Faith-based organizations, civil society organizations and the business sector are active players in the LGUs. In the case of Negros Oriental, the influential role of Silliman University and the three other universities in the life of the province cannot be underestimated.
The Secret
Most interesting of all, officials and project officers in both Negros Oriental and Pasay City consider material incentives such as financial rewards “merely incidental.” The successful projects were not heavily financed and cash prizes did not go to individuals but to the local government itself.
So what propels them? It is largely inspiring leadership, a supportive community and a dominant culture of service. It is also public recognition and affirmation like the Galing Pook Awards. These findings were also confirmed by the other LGUs and foreign participants. The secret to successful local development is no secret at all.
Renaud Meyer and Pehm Grafilo of UNDP Philippines, Ashley Palmer of UNDP Bangkok, Dr. Ed Dorotan of Galing Pook Foundation, Asian development experts, Ben Malayang of Silliman University and all overperforming LGUs know the secret too.
It is often said that government employees are unqualified, inefficient ,lazy and corrupt. One only has to visit the basic building block of our public administration system—the local government unit—to know that there are exceptional performers out there.
Actually Inday, Indoy and Ondoy could be Bisayan diminutives of the spanish "Lindo/Linda" (beautiful one).
However, at one time or another in other Filipino ethnic groups the word Bisaya was synonymous with servant or even slave.
Submitted by boj on Sun, 11/15/2009 - 19:11.I hope you write an expanded article on the misconceptions of the name Inday. It's true that in Tagalog speaking areas, Inday is thought to be a synonym for "katulong." Somebody should tell these people that Inday is just another word for the Ilocano "Ading" or Tagalog "Nene" or the English "Sweetie/Darling." I never laugh at Inday jokes.
Submitted by JojoAgot on Fri, 11/13/2009 - 17:49.
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