Magsaysay boy’s SBMA post raises eyebrows

By Tonette Orejas - Inquirer Central Luzon Desk

CITY OF SAN FERNANDO, Philippines -- Except for a stint as political affairs officer in his mother’s congressional office, 23-year-old Vicente “Jobo” Magsaysay II has made it big in his second job.

The eldest son of Jesus Vicente Magsaysay and Zambales Rep. Milagros Magsaysay has been named by President Gloria Macapagal-Arroyo to the 14-member board of the state-owned Subic Bay Metropolitan Authority as the province’s private sector representative.

Critics

His appointment, made known only last week, was criticized by sectors in the freeport, notably Sen. Richard Gordon and Zambales Gov. Amor Deloso.

In separate interviews, Gordon and Deloso said the young Magsaysay had never held a job prior to his appointment as SBMA director.

Gordon said Republic Act No. 7227, or the bases conversion law that also created the SBMA, has not been followed again in this case.

“The workers of the (former Subic Naval Base) have been totally excluded,” said Gordon, the first chair of the SBMA and former mayor of Olongapo City, where much of the former base workers live.

He said former employees of the US military in the base’s ship repair, public works and naval centers should have representation in the SBMA board to ensure the “continuity of the vision.”

The law gave bases conversion agencies, mainly the Bases Conversion Development Authority, the power to convert former American bases like Subic, Clark, Camp John Hay and other bases into productive lands and make the progress in these military facilities beneficial to those once dependent on them.

“I was really disturbed by it,” Gordon said of Magsaysay’s appointment, adding that he learned about this from Deloso.

The governor said he was “upset.”

Contribution

“I don’t know what the boy would contribute to the SBMA when he has not done any job in his life,” Deloso said.

SBMA Chair Feliciano Salonga on Wednesday confirmed that Magsaysay had joined the board, the policy-making body of the SBMA.

Magsaysay replaced his father, Jesus Vicente, who ran and lost for Zambales governor in the May 14 elections. His grandfather, former Gov. Vicente Magsaysay, also lost in his senatorial bid.

“[Magsaysay] was appointed by our President. She wrote us a letter for Jobo to join the board,” Salonga said in a phone interview.

He said the young Magsaysay had attended two board meetings this month.

Reached by phone, Magsaysay said his SBMA stint was so far the second job he has held in his life. The first was as political affairs officer in his mother’s congressional office.

“I ran the office and I took that job seriously,” he said.

Magsaysay said he finished AB Political Science at the Ateneo de Manila University, where he is also taking up a master’s degree in public management.

“I’m young but I’m capable for the job. As a director, I think I can do moral decision-making. Wala akong bahid na anything na marumi (I have not been smeared by any wrongdoing),” he told the Philippine Daily Inquirer, parent company of INQUIRER.net.

Fast learner

“I am really a hard worker. Ang learning curve ko mabilis na matuto (I learn fast). I have been observing how (other directors) are answering. Inaaral ko talaga (I’m really trying to learn),” he said.

Magsaysay said he should not be perceived as someone riding on the name of his family.

“I want to excel. I will ask my elders for advice but the decision-making will be mine,” he said.

Age, according to him, should “never be an issue” because “there are many young people in government agencies and in Congress.”

“My grandfather became governor when he was 26,” he said.

His mother, Representative Magsaysay, said the opinions of her son’s detractors should “not be the yardstick of my son’s capability.”

“Who are they to judge him?” she asked.

“He’s sobrang level-headed. Marunong siyang sumabay ke nasa mataas ka o mababa. Nenerbiyosin sila sa kanya because he’s qualified (My son is extremely level-headed. He knows how to deal with people from all walks of life. They’ll be scared of him because he’s qualified),” she said of her son, the eldest in a brood of six.

Her son, she added, was “not bobo (dumb).”

Salonga has called Magsaysay “our young David.”

“He’s in a learning mode, absorbing much of the issues. I’m guiding him in the issues because his parents are friends to me,” the SBMA chair said.

As director, Magsaysay gets P10,000 in honorarium per meeting (two or three are held monthly), free housing within the freeport and gas allowance.

The position of the late Jose Calimlim as senior deputy administrator remains vacant. Calimlim, 62, died on Nov. 30 after a lingering illness.