“Attendance” can sound elementary, something schools or offices routinely check to determine one’s compliance with the rules.
Even in the age of virtual meetings and online correspondences, physical presence remains important. It conveys a willingness to block one’s time off for a specific conversation, hear what the other party has to say, and focus on the issues at hand – no other distractions.
Sometimes, attendance is optional. One does not have to be present, but one chooses to be there, nonetheless. If the person agrees to the invitation, it shows that they believe it is important, and that they hold whoever invited them – the person or the institution, in high regard. They commit to speak the truth and answer questions to shed light on the matter.
In other times, attendance is required. The requirement puts additional pressure on the person, and out of a sense of duty and a desire to show goodwill, they present themselves. Not showing up shows defiance, even contempt.
Last week the National Bureau of Investigation invited Vice President Sara Duterte to its premises so that they could look into complaints arising from her online press conference on November 23 when, in a fit, she said she had already talked to an individual to kill the President, the first lady, and the House Speaker in the event she, herself, is killed.
The VP said she could not make it because she was going to the hearing of the House of Representatives’ committee on good government and public accountability, which is looking into the use of confidential funds by the Office of the Vice President and the Department of Education.
The House committee postponed its hearing precisely to enable Duterte to go to the NBI. In the end, she still did not show up, anyway, saying she had pressing matters to attend to.
But what could be more pressing than the need to clear one’s name and explain why her “no joke, no joke” statement should not be taken as an active threat? Another meeting has been scheduled for next Wednesday. The NBI says that if it does not get word from the VP again, it would be compelled to act on the information that it currently possesses.
It must be exhausting to constantly think of excuses not to show up. It’s a dilemma shared by all other employees of the OVP and DepEd who practically had to be brought to the probe, kicking and screaming, after a series of refusals to attend the hearing.
What a contrast to the ease in which the Vice President puts together a press conference to either cry persecution or threaten to harm others, in a bid to show her “toughness,” or to rally supporters to her cause.
In the end, the measure of leaders is the ability and willingness to show up at uncomfortable, even difficult times. This, not threats and noise and tears, is real mettle.
