Dave Achondo I FOR one believe in the saying that everybody deserves a “second chance,” and that people are “innocent until proven guilty.” But there is a problem with promoting those known to be corrupt in the government even though they were not convicted because of little or no evidence to support the accusations against them. This move can still be taken to be irresponsible, unethical or, if not, even irrational. It doesn’t make any sense no matter how you look at it. Would you promote me if I was known to be into corruption in your company? Even with that thought, I’m sure you would be thinking twice in doing so. With good intent and a “unique” method, Northern Mindanao’s Land Transportation Office director Oscar Salcedo says he promoted 35 alleged corrupt workers, hoping that they would change their ways. However, that did not sit well with citizens who argued that it would be a ludicrous move even to consider them for a promotion. The point is that they should first be cleared from all allegations beforehand. I agree. LTO should have further investigated these people so that they truly qualify to be promoted. It sends the wrong message to other employees in LTO or even to other government agencies who play by the rule. Kinahanglan pa diay mangurakot aron ma-promote? One of the purposes why Director Salcedo promoted them is to create more vacancies for new workers. If you ask me, if LTO wanted to create more vacancies, promoting questionable employees is not the ideal way to do it. Stop the cuddling and get-on with the firing. Any employee understands that he or she should always strive to do his or her best. There are times when a promotion isn’t based on seniority. They should be seen by their colleagues or subordinates as deserving for the promotion itself. They should deserve it, not just because they were there first. Salcedo said, “Kon dili nimo i-promote, unsa-on man nimo pagdugang og tawo? Kon mag-hire ko, unsa-on man ipa-ibabaw lugar nako sa ila? Ma-demoralized na sila, di ba? So gilantaw nako ang ilang future, and ang ilang personality.” First, the LTO should not concern itself about how these allegedly corrupt individuals would feel because if they did not do anything wrong, they have nothing to fear to begin with. The government has no place for corruption. We already have plenty of those running around, and there is no need to add more to the fray. The LTO director should also think of another word for its cleansing drive as it does not count as a “cleansing” method for any government agency. Take for example what the Cagayan de Oro City Police Office (Cocpo) did. They have been purging scalawag cops by suspending, filing administrative cases against them and some even got booted out of the force. Now, that’s what “cleansing” should be. I don’t know if a promotion falls in the same category though. I also would like to point out that if the LTO wanted to avoid these 35 individuals from being ridiculed, they should have just kept it under wraps, away from the public eye. It should expect a backlash from co-workers, the public and the Internet trolls. Because if I was one of those promoted in January and my name magically got out to the public--let’s just say all eyes would be on me, even if I didn’t do anything--people will start looking at you differently and sometimes, unfairly. No matter how hard I try to make sense out of this, I can’t fully grasp the director’s reasons. It sounds unfair. I have heard a lot of irrational moves done in the government, but this one definitely deserves a spot in my “Top 10” for its “uniqueness.” However, I really do hope that this move would really produce results and that it would go according to Salcedo’s way. For now, we will just have to wait and cross our fingers, and just hope that Salcedo’s strategy is not a terrible idea.