A RARA AVIS IN GOVERNMENT SERVICE

The people have long been aware of graft and corruption in public service, that at no time in Philippine history has there been real and sustained acclaim bestowed on personnel in government offices. This negative perception, unfounded or not, is a sword of Damocles on every nape of every government worker. To escape from this sinister categorization is an Herculean task; thus, most just play dumb and indifferent to the cajoling insults in order to survive in the concrete jungle aptly named modern civilization.

The scenario is bleak, but not totally dismal and perditious. There are sporadic glints of lighted candles in some obscure tunnels, although the flickers are dimmed. Yet, the solitariness inspires. Like the kind of public service a Boholano did in his 33 years before retirement, long years of continuous persuasion to keep right despite the countless wrong turns his colleagues in the Bureau of Post, wittingly or unwittingly, did to earn a fast buck. That he was a poor man doing the right thing, inspite of the temptations along the way, is the stuff the life of Cayetano Jamero has been substantially formed. If the world is a stage, where everyone plays a part (according to William Shakespeare), Mr. Jamero played his part bravely well.

His father, Angel Jamero, was a farmer and tuba-gatherer in West-Ubujan, Garcia-Hernandez, Bohol where he was born on August 7, 1931 . His mother, Clara Paglinawan, was a saguran-sinamay weaver who helped raise a brood of eight children. The sixth in the family, he dreamed of educating himself at all costs, for he knew, even as a child, that it was through education that he could improve his lot.

Cayetano enrolled at the Canayaon Elementary School , where he was a consistent honor pupil. It was not a mammoth problem studying in the vicinity of his barrio, but it was a different story aspiring for his secondary education. His parents cannot afford to send him to high school. He had only one recourse: to feign for himself and be a working student. He boarded a dilapidated bus and went to Tagbilaran, then still a sleepy town, and applied as a houseboy to the late Col. Generoso Lamdagan. Enrolled in night classes at Rafael Palma College , he was an honor student. Things could have turned better, but his parents beckoned for him to go back home. He proceeded with his studies at the Central Visayas College . To support himself, he mastered his father's livelihood as a tuba-gatherer, until he graduated in 1951, with honors, and President of the graduating class.

He knew that his passport to a better life was through a college education. He decided to see some of his relatives personally to tell them of his plight. This brought him to Ozamis, Cotabato City , and Kidapawan, a bus and jeepney trip over dilapidated roads, including a six-kilometer travel by foot. There was a short stint in Kidapawan riding a carabao drawing a balsa to transport abaca fibers. In Mintal, Davao City he worked in the NAFCO (National Fiber Corporation). In Matina, he plowed corn and rice plantations. During some free hours he tried his luck in Harvardian Colleges, Ateneo de Davao and other schools for an opportunity to be a working student. It was futile.

Malaria was rampant then. After working as an interpreter in Visayan, English, and Tagalog for an Ilocano plantation owner, he decided to go to Manila in December 1952; but when informed about the HUK movement, he went back to the hinterlands of Kidapawan selling and bartering for low-priced medicines. In February 1953 he came back to Bohol . A teacher at Rafael Palma College introduced him to the Mayor of Sierra Bullones, who employed him in his ricemill. Until an opportunity for him to be a working student opened up.

For two years he was in the Office of the Registrar of RPC. He took an examination to be the Editor-In-Chief of the Jr. Republic, while still working as a clerk. He finished Associate in Arts in 1955, Bachelor of Arts (Cum Laude) in 1957, and Bachelor of Laws in 1959. He was President of the Student Catholic Action and Vice President of RPC Strivers. In the 1957 and 1959 elections he campaigned for a politician who promised him employment in a government agency. Great was his frustration when, instead of hiring a civil service eligible like him (1956), the non-eligibles were given priority. He went directly to the Postmaster General. He was first hired as a laborer. When his superiors learned he knew stenography, typewriting, and Law he was promoted to clerk doing investigation work. This was the turning point of his life.

A month later, he was offered to study and train for a Postmaster's Course, which he finished in six months, and brought him to his first assignment as a Postmaster back home in Garcia-Hernandez. In 1971 another unexpected promotion came, which he refused: Postal Audit Examiner of Region VII, then comprising Bohol , Cebu , Siquijor, Negros Oriental, Samar and Leyte . But Postal Inspector Rufino Casanova, who personally offered him the job twice, did not accept no for an answer. Casanova gave him many so he could start traveling over the entire region to examine and audit accounts. Satisfied by his performance, the Postal Inspector promoted him Postal Service Officer in Region XI in Davao City in 1974, aside from being the Chief in Legal Affairs. He inherited 56 cases from his predecessor, since 1960, but in two months he disposed them, filing criminal and administrative cases. He led nine other Filipino scholars under the United National Development Program (UNDP) for a 10-month study in Postal Management in the Asian Oceanic Postal Training School in Bangkok , Thailand . He made quite an impression in Bangkok : He was elected Editor of the school paper; he was selected leader of a team on Time Test Project in Postal Operations, which included members from Thailand , Korea , Papua New Guinea , and Fiji .

While in Thailand he was promoted Administrative Officer, Postal Region XI, Davao City . In 1977 he became Assistant Postal Inspector, and a year later Postal Inspector nationwide. As District Postal Inspector in 1980 he discovered fake Money Orders in General Santos , Polomolok, and Koronadal Post Offices. In 1980 he led a team that busted a long-time anomalous stamp detaching in Lapu-Lapu City . During his assignment in Region X, he uncovered an anomalous transaction in Misamis Oriental. He discovered misappropriation of public funds in Sierra-Bullones Post Office in 1987.

As Post Master General in Metro Manila he busted a technical smuggling syndicate operating at the University of the Philippines Post Office, Dilliman, Quezon City. Because of the foregoing accomplishments he was selected Outstanding Postal Inspector in Central Visayas , and Outstanding Postal Inspector of the Philippines in 1988. Mr. Cayetano Jamero is a rara avis in government service, which is riddled with malpractices mostly aimed at personal gains. He rose from the ranks and, throughout his career in the Post Office, he was a rare bird in upholding integrity. Now retired, he still finds time to serve through Couples for Christ and other civic and religious organizations. His principle in life - Pray always, work and you will not starve.

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