Welfarism 33, Janitor turned lawyer, self-reliance vs welfare-dependence

There is a nice and somehow sensational story this week about a former janitor at the Commission on Elections (Comelec), pursued law studies as a working student, and passed the Bar Exams, results were released last Tuesday.

My lawyer-friend from UP, Comelec Commissioner Luie Tito Guia posted this in his fb wall last Wednesday:

Thank you for the inspiring visit Compañero Ramil Comendador. May there be more of you in this world. It was in this office, then occupied by Comm. Rene Sarmiento, where he started working for Comelec.

Allow me please to incorporate in this post, Comm. Rene's story:

"SPECTACULAR BAR EXAM NEWS! In 2006, he applied for work in my office at COMELEC as utility man/ janitor. I had not met him from Adam but knowing he was from Catanduanes and was very passionate to work with me, I accepted him. He comes from a poor family "Ang sahig nila sa probinsiya ay lupa." While working in my office, he asked me if he could study after office hours and I said yes. He finished his pre-law studies, living a Spartan way of life. Very simple. After pre-law, he asked me if he could study law. I said "Why not?" He received much encouragement from my legal and non-legal staff. His cheering squad. After my retirement from the COMELEC, he contnued his law studies. Today, he is now ATTY. RAMIL COMENDADOR. Today, I say "I bless the Lord. So great is your faithfulness to Ramil!""

Atty. Rwn Caliba was one of the lawyers in the office Comm Sarmiento and he shared this:

"I first met this guy in 2007. We both started working for Commissioner Rene V. Sarmiento at the COMELEC in that same year. While we fussed with legal concerns at the Legal Unit, he was silently and patiently doing his tasks: cleaning our office and doing errands without complaint. While everybody was headed home, Ramil had to rush to his classes.

Almost a decade after that meeting in 2007, his efforts paid off. Congratulations to a good colleague and friend.

Welcome to the legal profession, ATTY. RAMIL COMENDADOR!"
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I think the dispensers of many government freebies -- free healthcare, free cash transfer, free housing (ala Kadamay), free univ. education, etc. -- may be unhappy with self-driven poor people like him. They can get out of poverty with minimal government freebies.

In the literature of endless freebies to "fight poverty", government politicians, officials and consultants do not ask the the micro and personal aspects of poverty, they just throw away tax money to poor and pretending-to-be-poor people. A person who does not want to work, or a person who works 4 hours then complains about work for another 4 hours, or a person who works 6 days a week but also drinks and parties 6 nights a week and have zero savings, will become poor, 101%. Yet government throws endless, no timetable subsidies.

Education for the poor, healthcare for the poor, housing for the poor, tractors for the poor, cash transfer for the poor, pills and condoms for the poor,...

Next will be iPad for the poor, flat tv and jacuzzi for the poor, free universal income for the poor, free electricity for the poor, car for the poor. Whatever, so long as taxpayers are screwed forever, Government (politicians, officials, consultants) will continue the subsidies and create new subsidies for the poor and pretending-to-be-poor. 

Self-driven and ambitious people will quickly reduce poverty and these state officials and consultants may be unhappy with that. Mababawasan ang racket nila.

A friend, DJ Castro alerted me on this person who criticized people who applaud this new lawyer. Very insecure comments, see this.

"Sino bang mahirap ang di nangarap na maging doctor o propesyonal?" -- marami. At maski may pera ka, mahirap maging doctor or lawyer or engineer or physicist, etc. Titigil ka sa kakapasyal sa malls, bars ng madalas. Titigil ka kakainom gabi-gabi, or mahjong, tong-its or karaoke gabi-gabi, kasi madami kang exams and assignments. Madaming tao ayaw maghirap lalo pa intellectual exercises, ke mahirap or mayaman. Mas madali pa-inom-inom, pa-sosyal-sosyal, pasugal-sugal, etc.

Socialists hate successful people, especially the self-reliant, ambitious, non-welfare-dependent, non-state-worshipper people.

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See also:
Welfarism 30: Big Government and Corruption of People's Values, December 06, 2014
Welfarism 31: More CCT and Subsidy Programs Won't Solve Self-inflicted Poverty, February 12, 2016 
Welfarism 32, On forcing restaurants to give their excess food to charities, July 27, 2016 
Cicero, welfarism and fiscal irresponsibility, August 11, 2016