Our man in Hercules

SAN FRANCISCO – Reports reaching us here during the celebration of Philippine Independence Day on the shooting of Eduardo Tiotioen at the Ninoy Aquino International Airport fueled Fil-Americans’ apprehension about the peace and order, or rather, the lack of it, in the Philippines. If shooting among government agency officers can take place within the NAIA, what assurance will they have that they will be safe as they travel around Manila and the provinces? Of course, we visiting Pinoys are quick to say that shootings are not everyday occurrences, but we come off feeling bad about not being able to convince our compatriots that it’s peaceful in Manila, that traffic congestion has eased somewhat, that corruption (the No. 1 question asked is about corruption in the government) is being checked, that democracy is at work in the land of their birth.

Truth to tell, the fatal shooting of Eduardo Tiotioen, a technical assistant of the Manila International Airport Authority (MIAA) allegedly by Major Cenon Tenorio of the Philippine National Police-Aviation Security Group (PNP-ASG) is unnerving. A telephone conversation with a friend in Manila revealed that the shooting is an offshoot of there being too many agencies operating inside the NAIA.

According to our source, MIAA Gen. Mgr. Alfonso Cusi denounced the killing of his assistant who, he said, was only doing his job of ensuring that the security at the NAIA was at its tightest.

The incident threw light on Cusi’s having been given the authority by President Macapagal-Arroyo, through Administrative Order 151, to rationalize operations of government agencies at the NAIA. The order gives the MIAA police authority over the NAIA premises including the areas allocated and used by government agencies, namely the PNP-ASG, the Bureau of Customs (BoC), Bureau of Immigration (BI), and the National Bureau of Investigation, NAIA branch. Prior to the issuance of AO 151, Cusi had difficulty ensuring tight security at the NAIA with too many hands stirring the broth, so to speak.

With the authority at the NAIA emanating only from one source – from the MIAA – the chances of the personnel from the different government agencies getting into each other’s throats are supposed to be minimized, our source said. It appears the order has not pleased the other agencies.

Tiotioen, according to reports, questioned the presence of Tenorio at the immigration area of the NAIA 1’s arrival area because his presence there, as indicated by his airport pass, was unauthorized. The rebuke reportedly irked Tenorio, who waited for Tiotioen close to midnight before shooting him three times. Tiotioen left a wife and a young son.

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AT A DINNER hosted by Rene and Lettie Figueroa in El Cerito, I had the opportunity to talk with Frank Batara, mayor of the city of Hercules, an hour’s drive from San Francisco. Frank is a naturalized American citizen the Philippines can be proud of, proving, as he thus, that a Filipino can be an effective public official in America.

Frank’s father, Leandro Batara of Laoag, Ilocos Norte, was assigned to the Philippine general consulate in San Francisco in 1957, bringing with him his wife and five children. The children finished high school in Chicago, but upon their father’s urging, went to the Philippines for college. Frank attended the University of the Philippines in Diliman, and finished the bachelor of arts major in economics in 1969. After graduation he returned to Chicago where he took his MBA at Loyola University. His first job was in San Francisco, as financial analyst, and moved his way up to become comptroller, with Bendex, a multinational conglomerate. He went on to become chief financial officer of such companies as Emerson Electric, Dow Chemical, and now, Universal Building Services.

He first ran and was elected as board member of the Rodeo Hercules Fire Protection District, serving there from 1999 until 2001, when he ran for mayor of the city of Hercules when the post became vacant. He ran again, this time, for a four-year term, in 2002, and he hopes he will win in his third bid this coming November.

Hercules is one of cities in the United States that are on the "rotating system." Elections are held for the five-man city council, and whoever tops the election becomes mayor in his second year in office, for one year. The one with the second number of votes, serves as the vice-mayor, and becomes mayor the next year. Then another election is held for the next set of mayor and incoming mayor.

Frank served as Hercules mayor last year (2004-2005). Hercules is the only city in the United States that has more than one Filipino mayor. Previous holders of the position have been Ed Balico, Andy Paras, Gregorio Solidum and Ed Manuel. Frank told me that his kababayans and himself have as their base of support, the Filipinos who make up 50 percent of the voting community. Filipinos are the largest ethnic minority in the city.

Similarly, he is being given support by a network of UP alumni numbering around 100, in the Bay Area. An Upsilonian, his brods are also a big help. "It helps that you have friends who take an extra mile to help you."

Hercules’ day-to-day affairs are handled by a city administrator otherwise called "city manager." The mayor is chief executive and chief legislator, and the council, said Frank, sets policies, initiatives, agreements, and legislation.

As the council meets in the evening, Frank is able to attend to his professional duties during the day. When he was mayor, he made himself available from 6 to 9 in the evening, to listen to his constituents. "I wait for people to tell me how I was doing, whether I was doing well, what I should be doing," Frank said. One thing about being a public servant in America and Hercules, he said, is that "the citizens are very active. They will not hesitate to tell their officials what they want and what they do not want about how things are being run."

Unlike in the Philippines where decisions are made by government officials, he said the American voters "get in the face of the elected. Their expectations are high, they demand that elected officials show themselves to be competent to tackle issues. They mistrust officials, they compel them to get to work. Decision-making thus percolates in the bottom, it’s a participative thing. Politicians are on their toes, because they can be booted out of office."

Frank mentioned the case of California Gov. Gray Davis who was booted out of office in 2003, six months into his second term. Two processes were involved – the recall process which required one million signatures to boot out an official; simultaneously, the ballot asked, do you want to recall the governor, and if yes, who would you wish to take his place? Of the 15 candidates vying for the position, Hollywood actor Arnold Schwarzenegger won 52 percent of the votes.

While he was mayor, Frank initiated the approval and building of a public library, costing $16 million; managed to attract businessmen to invest and create jobs in Hercules, and secure the approval of a $30-million ferry terminal which would allow boats to transport commuters from outlying ports in the Bay Area to San Francisco, thereby easing up congestion of freeways as well as cutting down commuters’ travel time. Traffic, said Frank, has been identified as the No. 1 problem in the Bay area.

Frank actively promotes awareness of the Philippines. In 2002, he created the Philippine Cultural and Historical Association, one of whose activities is celebrating Philippine Independence Day with a festival, parades, and cultural presentations. The city, he says, supports the activities by providing police manpower.

"I am proud to be a Filipino," says Frank. "What I’d like to do is make Filipinos proud of their heritage." He encourages children of Filipinos who were born here, to study their parents’ homeland. A program, Lakbay Aral, sends students to the Philippines and makes them stay with families there, to have exposure to the Philippine way of life, culture and traditions.

If there’s a Filipino who deserves a medal for selling the Philippines in America, it would be Frank Batara.

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My email: [email protected]