Secretary Diokno and Chief Supt. Eleazar are gaining public approval

IF an honest-to-goodness public opinion survey were conducted in Metropolitan Manila as to who are the key personages in government residents regard as exemplary, Budget Sec. Ben Diokno and NCRPO chief Guillermo Eleazar would be the favorite choices, hands down.

Secretary Ben is widely praised for enticing out-of-work Filipinos to apply for government positions where 264,000 vacancies are waiting for the qualified.

It will be noted that his one source of popularity is not directly related to his work as the budget wizard of the national government. Recruiting qualified personnel to man government positions is the mandated task of the Civil Service Commission.

But the Cabinet man’s call has opened the eyes – and enlivened the mood of the public – to what he said are employment openings that have competitive salaries and benefits.

It used to be that job applicants’ preference was the private sector where packaged compensations are relatively higher than those in government.

Secretary Ben has done a splendid job in this direction.

In regard to Chief Supt. Guillermo Eleazar, Metro Manila residents can say that with him in his position, the 18 million inhabitants in this prime region can sleep soundly at night.

The NCR’s top cop seems to be awake 24/7. Just watch the news programs in most TV channels.

For one thing, he has a very high approval word-of-mouth endorsement, mainly for his unrelenting drive against all forms of criminality.

And in particular sense, he has been given plaudits with his unmasking, and dismissing from service, scalawag policemen, many of them participants in high- profile crimes such as kidnapfor-ransom, illicit drug coddling and protection, illegal detention, extortion, etc., where rogue policemen are involved.

Eleazar is determined to put an end to the sickening activities of these rogue lawmen.

* * * CHEERS TO VISA PRINT ADS SERIES. Regular Manila Bulletin readers will never fail to notice the five serial advertisements of Visa Card appeared in prime pages of this daily a few weeks ago.

Impressively, they came out again in the Sunday Bulletin issue of August 5.

The series, all on fine dining dishes, are more than half-a-page in size, in full color, superb photography, enticing copy, and flashing layout. All distinct ingredients that will catch the attention of leisurely and serious newspaper readers.

If they are not yet Visa Card holders, many of them will surely pick up the phone at their convenient time, and call the card company for the privilege of owning one. That’s my confident assertion.

Since the series delved mainly on culinary enticements, I am giving the Visa marketing communication group my unsolicited copy on wardrobe enhancement advertising slant. Here goes:

“You want your passion for fashion enhanced. We’ll give you even the fabled ‘King’s Wardrobe’. (But only the real mantle, not the unseen one.)”