"What is the most important rule in life?", Mr. Bureaucrat, a career officer in a government agency, blurted as he swang his club and sent the golf ball 200 yards away. I managed only to shrug my shoulders, not knowing that Mr. Bureacrat was about to give me his life lessons with a swing.
"Never stick your neck out for anyone," he declared as we walk towards the golf ball in the green. "You know kid, in my youth, I once facilitated a big transaction in which powers that be made a lot of money, because of my signature. I was given my share, but theirs were a lot more. And we partied like we have been friends all our lives. But things got bad when the lawsuits started coming, and I was left on my own. I paid the lawyers, I paid the fixers, I paid everybody who demanded to get paid to get my ass off the hook. And you know what? I was left on my own. My fair weather friends wouldn't even send me money for bail. I lost it all, but survived with a lesson in life. I vowed that no one is ever going to make that money on my signature, except me. " he said as we found the ball about five meters away from the second hole.
He continued,"These politicians, they come and go. They tell you they have a project, and it would be good for the country, and they have some budget for the boys, for so long as I sign on the dotted line. I've managed to dodge these proposals, not even when they brandish those legal opinions from those bastards in the legal department. Hah -- those lawyers will never go to jail for writing a stupid opinion. But people like me who made government a career will do, especially when the new politicians take over. And you know what? They have all been sued. If I have not been as careful, I would have ended up exactly as the first time. I've outlived them all in my department, and I've managed to stay away from the lawsuits. Remember this kid: Never stick your neck out for anybody." and we stopped as he aimed his putt.
"It's such a lonely world," I told myself as his golf ball rolled into the hole.
Hndi pa problema yan. Ang mas lalong problema is if after you've declined to affix your signature is you're threatened, say, by a syndicate. O di ba, mas nakakatakot yun? Makes me shiver thinking about it.
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