“The statement backfired spectacularly.”
“Anyone who claims to work 18 hours a day is either lying or stupid.”
This statement, in a video that Sen. Imee Marcos appeared in, seems to be a dig at Vice President Leni Robredo, who told journalist Jessica Soho in an interview that she works an average of 18 hours a day. “Kasi on the average, mga anim na oras ‘yung tulog ko,” Robredo said.
In the video, Marcos spoke about a worker named “Len-Len” who fainted after working 18 hours straight. The senator said the solution was simple: “Time management ‘yan, eh.”
She added that a person should consider the amount of work that they can do in a day: “Ang pagtatrabaho ay parang pag-inom ng kape. ‘Pag nagtimpla ka, dapat tantsa mo: Kaya ko ba ‘tong ubusin?”
What was likely a dig at a political rival inflamed workers across the nation, who excoriated Marcos for her arrogant presumption that it’s just as easy as “time management” for all workers.
People from all walks of life shared on social media their experiences of long days at work using the hashtag #AkoSiLenlen.
Here are just a few examples:
Veteran journalist Alma Anonas-Carpio wrote: “I’ve worked as a journalist for a bit over a quarter century. Long days were the norm. I’d usually put in between 10 and 16 hours on the work clock, not including the after-hours work that took the form of tracking down sources, research material, vetting data I’d gotten, looking for leads on stories that were difficult to put together…Len-Len ba kamo? Proudly so. And I am no liar, nor am I stupid.”
Rappler editor Joel Pablo Salud praised his wife, novelist and editor Che Sarigumba, for putting in long days on career, family, and personal projects. His favorite story is about how Che, a few hours after giving birth to their child, rose from her bed to edit her share of news stories for the day.
I myself worked 12- to 14-hour days, seven days a week, for several months last year under a contract of service at a government media agency under this administration. Because I was the only editor trusted to vet all online content, I was on board from morning till night, every day. I repeatedly asked for another editor to be hired, but my request was ignored until I broke down, went on medical leave, and said I would resign, in view of my health. (An associate editor was hired within a couple of weeks. Puwede naman pala.)
Work is not just a cup of coffee. Time management? Tell that to the demanding bosses in the government and private sectors. Tell that to the patients who need care in the face of healthcare worker shortage. There are many occupations, many reasons, many life circumstances that Senator Marcos, having lived in the lap of luxury all her life, does not understand.
People who have the sort of extreme privilege she has have maids to do the housework and secretaries and aides for the mundane office work, so they afford to lean back and concentrate on the bigger picture. Marcos has the option to exercise “time management” and choose to do only the tasks that fit in her day.
Her video was elitist in attitude, tone deaf, and insensitive to the 99.99% of Filipinos who do not have legendary gold hoards to make their lives easier. If she was trying to take a potshot at Robredo and gain public approval, it backfired spectacularly. But it’s not the first time Marcos manifested her privilege and entitlement.
Here’s an example: in June 2019, the Cordillera People’s Alliance (CAP) criticized her for saying, “Siguro magpapatawag ako ng mga Igorot namin kasi kailangang basbasan ‘yung office ko. Kay Sen. Trillanes ata ‘yung nabunot eh” (this was after she, as a neophyte senator, was assigned the former senator’s office in a raffle).
The CAP said in an official statement: “We take great offense on Imee Marcos’ disrespect to Igorots and our indigenous rituals to hurl insults at her political enemies… Igorots, in our historical struggle for rights and self-determination, should not let this simply pass. Marcos has no right to objectify nor act as if she owns us… To use [our rituals] out of context is a great dishonor.”
To refer to “their’ Igorots is offensive, but Marcos didn’t realize that before the words came out of her mouth. Same with this “18 hours” video, which will go down in PR history as an example of “what not to do when trying to build a good brand.”
Her brother Ferdinand Jr., who is running for president, has repeatedly called for unity. But how to do that when his own sister inadvertently sabotages, so it seems, their own efforts at burnishing their image?
*** FB and Twitter: @DrJennyO