Public service, hard work and enterprise

The hardest working person in public service. Last Saturday, during the launch of Go Negosyo’s newest program, Trabaho@Negosyo, I gladly said this of Sec. Cris Roque of the Department of Trade and Industry during my welcome speech. Imagine my surprise when President Marcos Jr. paid me the same compliment during his speech. To be given such a compliment, by and in front of people I admire and respect, is, I think, a moment I will not soon forget.

And what a time to receive such kind words. I have been terribly busy these past months, juggling my roles as the chair of the ASEAN Business Advisory Council, as the jobs cluster lead of the Private Sector Advisory Council and, of course, as head of RFM Corporation; and Saturday was Go Negosyo’s big day as we launched Trabaho@Negosyo. The work has been quite overwhelming, but I am convinced that all these efforts support our rallying cry for all these years: Prosperity for All. Be it the ASEAN or the Philippines, we must leave no one behind. Inclusive prosperity is sustainable prosperity.

Trabaho@Negosyo is meant to position entrepreneurship not merely as an alternative to employment, but as a primary driver of inclusive and sustainable job creation. When we empower someone to start a business, we are not just helping one person; we are creating a fountain of opportunity for dozens, and eventually hundreds, of others. MSMEs comprise almost all of the enterprises in the country and generate more than half of the jobs. As one industry observer put it, jobs are the engine of growth while enterprise provides the fuel.

I made the shout-out (I think this is what it is called today) to Sec. Roque during my speech mainly because I think people need to be reminded how hard it is to serve in government, and that we should be thankful that some of our best and brightest choose the difficult path of public service.

Being at the helm of the Department of Trade and Industry is not easy. I know this from my father, Jose “Joecon” Concepcion Jr.’s time as DTI secretary during the Cory Aquino administration. As I recall, Dad initially refused the post, and even Jaime Cardinal Sin had to join the chorus to convince him to accept the offer. I remember that even other leading luminaries from the private sector at the time declined to join him at the DTI, saying that they would be in a better position to serve the country as part of the private sector. They knew – as Dad did – what sacrifices awaited them in government service, yet my father went and served anyway.

Among his musts at the DTI were private-sector consultation, a bias towards the poor and the creation of employment and entrepreneurial opportunities – what we now subsume under the word “inclusivity.”

I think this is why I have a soft spot for Sec. Roque. I see in her some of the principles that Joecon embraced. Granted, these are different times, with trade being more global and the AI revolution affecting almost everything, but still, aiming for inclusivity and the insistence on private sector participation are evergreen, and remain central to this administration’s strategy.

That Sec. Roque has walked a mile in the shoes of the small entrepreneur is a big plus. She built her own business from the ground up and in order to serve in government, she had to put that aside, along with her ambitions for her company and her obvious passion for her line of business.

Maybe that’s why I take exception to the unfair criticism hurled at her. It’s easy to be brave when it costs you nothing to be brave. The true test is when you have to give up something. When Dad took on the DTI post, he had to divest from RFM, a company in which he invested so much hard work and sacrifice to build and grow, and where our family’s history is entwined. I have seen what it takes to give up something to enter public service.

Remember that Sec. Roque has been at DTI for barely two years. To look to one person to solve problems that had years to metastasize is a mistake we as a people have made too often. This constant, unfair criticism from the sidelines has cost our country so many good people in government. We must remember that we, too, need to do our part. Just like how Joecon saw that it is better to light a candle than to snuff the light out of people who are brave enough to say, “Yes, I’ll do my part.”

Fortunately, we live in a time when more people are wiser than to look to a single savior to bail us out of our predicaments. For example, private sector is doing its part and now pushing for the upskilling and reskilling of our workforce so the Filipino worker can become more globally competitive. Some of the country’s largest agriculture companies are working together with the government to increase our farms’ productivity and make farming profitable by integrating small farmers into their value chains. There are continuous efforts to untangle the red tape that is making it difficult to do business. All these problems took years to develop, and it will take all of us working together, patiently for years if needed, to undo the mistakes.

As I always say, an entrepreneur must have a positive mindset in order to succeed. I think this should also apply to how we see our role in our country’s future. To paraphrase what President Marcos Jr. said during the launch of Trabaho@Negosyo, we must embrace a positive mindset as a strong complement to our collective role in nation-building.

Source: Go Negosyo - www.philstar.com