Perhaps it’s really about character.

There was a time when we looked up to first world countries with all their creature comforts and modern gadgets. We dreamed, maybe secretly, about possessing the American dream - from its standard of education to its freeways, from its politics and mature democracy to its freedom of expression and ownership, from its consumer culture to their unabashed wealth. That was not too long ago really. But look at where we are now. How quickly times change!

These are times when major economies seem powerless to prevent their downward spiral and when the global financial crisis seem to have no immediate end in sight; when we wonder how we, as a country, would fare. We hear about the pump-priming activities of the Philippine government, we attend various seminars discussing the various governance reforms being undertaken and implemented and yet we still read about the possible adverse impact of the crisis to our economy.

There is an uncertainty, a desperation at the news we read.

Would we be able to weather the unknown depths of this financial crisis? We do not know how, we, as ordinary government employees would fare. How would we be affected and what are the effects of the crisis in the normal discharge of our functions? Is our government doing enough or anything at all to stem the bad things they say will happen? We do not feel anxious because we really do not know enough to worry.

The theme for this year’s convention “The Global Financial Crisis: An Opportunity to Examine What We Are Doing Right” is precisely the response of AGAP to address this dearth in information. We did not choose to dwell on the global financial crisis itself nor its causes. There is no use dwelling on that! Much has been written and much debate heard about the underlying causes of this “event”.

Instead, we want to highlight what we have been doing right all these times. What policies we have in place to weather this storm. Thus, we selected topics which dealt with governance successes such as the experiences of Isabela and even Philhealth; we chose to present the promising budget reforms that would enhance accountability and put a premium on agency performance; we selected the topic on BTr’s debt strategy to inform the participants the choices we have and the decisions we made. AGAP likewise chose to present the developments in procurement reforms, the anti-red tape act and the recent policy developments of the Commission on Audit.

The message we want to impart, quite simply, is that our government is doing a lot and doing its best. While the rest of the world is enveloped in a pall of gloom experiencing a recession, we are unfazed and go about the business of living as if nothing out of the ordinary is happening.

Perhaps there is something about the Filipinos’ proverbial resilience. It is a strength that allows us to go through, what would seem as unendurable hardships to others, and yet maintain a childlike glee. We go through the daily challenges of everyday work in government, we stay late to finish reports required and we do not expect anything in return. When our efforts are recognized, our joy knows no bounds.