OPINION: Calamities should never become opportunities for self-promotion

The initiative was reportedly meant to provide free rides to students affected by flooding.

Critics, however, have questioned whether the prominent branding was simply meant to identify the person behind the assistance or whether it was also an opportunity to build name recall ahead of a possible political run. Cerujano has described herself as an “aspiring SK chairwoman” in previous Facebook posts.

To be fair, there is absolutely nothing wrong with helping people during a calamity. In fact, we need more people willing to help when communities are struggling.

But there is a line between helping people and using the opportunity to build supposed political visibility, as critics have accused her of doing.

And if the person providing the temporary solution is indeed hoping to enter politics later on, there is a certain irony here.

The very reason people need that bangka is because their community is underwater.

Flooding can shut down roads, keep workers from getting to their jobs, prevent students from getting to school and force small businesses to lose a day of income.

A free bangka can certainly help people get through the crisis. But it remains a band-aid. And that brings us to the point.

If you are asking people to eventually vote for you, is the band-aid the brand you want to build?

Because public service should be about solving problems, not simply becoming the person people see whenever a problem needs patching up.

It’s time to remove epal politics completely

The Philippines has spent years dealing with “epal” politics, where public service becomes closely associated with the face, name or branding of a politician. Yet even with the government’s strengthened Anti-Epal campaign, some politicians and aspiring politicians still seem eager to put their faces front and center.

The DILG has rules prohibiting public officials’ names, images and identifying symbols from being displayed on government-funded projects. Whether those rules apply to this particular initiative is a separate question that depends on who funded and organized the service.

But politics is not only about what is technically allowed. It is also about the kind of public servant you want people to believe you will become.

If your ambition is to serve, there is nothing wrong with letting people know you helped.

But there is a huge difference between letting people know and making sure they cannot miss it.

When people are already standing in floodwater, struggling to get home or trying to save wwhatever they can from their businesses, they need assistance.

They don’t need a campaign poster floating beside them.

That’s the point.

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