Other end of ‘Malasakit ‘
The halal economy and Islamic finance may sound specialized, but they concern something fundamental: the opportunity to work, invest, produce, and prosper without setting aside one’s faith.
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The halal economy and Islamic finance may sound specialized, but they concern something fundamental: the opportunity to work, invest, produce, and prosper without setting aside one’s faith.
Senator Bong Go and I both write for this publication. We share its opinion pages, but little else. I have seen him a few times. We exchanged pleasantries once, too briefly for me to presume familiarity.
Most of what I know comes through the imperfect window of my feeds.
Long before becoming a senator, Bong Go was one of the government’s most recognizable faces. During Rodrigo Duterte’s presidential campaign and later as his special assistant, Go appeared so frequently beside him that the media dubbed him the “pambansang photobomber.”
The label may have been teasing, even insulting. Yet it may also have made him familiar and, to some, endearing. The man once noticed at the edge of another leader’s photographs went on to occupy the center of his own frame, finishing first in the 2025 senatorial election.
Political machinery, alliances, and loyalty surely mattered. But his success raised a useful question: What do people recognize as service?
This is not an endorsement or an attempt to present Go as the ideal public servant. I do not know him well enough. His record, like that of every elected official, remains open to scrutiny.
A senator’s principal responsibility is to legislate. The Malasakit Centers Act remains Go’s signature law. His work has also extended to regional specialty centers, fire service modernization, evacuation centers and other measures involving healthcare and emergency preparedness.
Legislation is collaborative. Authorship, co-authorship and sponsorship carry different weight, and collective work belongs to no one person. Still, a pattern is visible: concerns associated with Go’s public identity have found their way into measures intended to bring government closer to the people during illness, hardship and danger.
That pattern should also cause the government itself to look inward.
Public servants prepare reports, reconcile budgets, process documents, and measure accomplishments. These are necessary. But the government can become so absorbed in documenting its work that it forgets the people for whom the work is done.
Public service requires ambidextrous hands. One must navigate rules, defend budgets, and move institutions. The other must remain extended toward the citizen. Competence without compassion may keep the machinery moving while leaving people unseen. Compassion without competence may offer comfort, but it cannot deliver the lasting service people deserve.
For politicians, the greater challenge is to turn personal accessibility into institutions that continue working without their intervention. Otherwise, “malasakit” remains attached to a name instead of becoming a permanent character of the government.
If I may ask something more of Senator Bong Go, and of other national leaders whose approach to public service is similarly people-centered, it is that they extend this concern to matters that directly affect Filipino Muslims.
The halal economy and Islamic finance may sound specialized, but they concern something fundamental: the opportunity to work, invest, produce, and prosper without setting aside one’s faith. The legal foundations already exist. What remains is to connect them more effectively to farmers, traders, professionals and young entrepreneurs who are ready to participate but still find too few doors open.
Our legislators might consider measures that make halal certification more accessible and credible, strengthen halal enterprises and exports, and widen access to Shari’ah-compliant financing, insurance, and investment. These would not benefit Muslim Filipinos alone. They could create livelihoods, attract capital, and open international markets for the country.
This is not merely a request for assistance. My fervent wish for my people is that our inherent dignity be recognized by others and expressed through genuine opportunities to build, provide, and determine our own future.
Malasakit reaches for someone in need. At its best, the government helps that person regain a footing and move forward without waiting for another intervention.
Malasakit is one end of the bridge. At the other is dignity.
When the government clears the way for people to cross from one to the other, service has completed its journey.
