In Pursuit of Excellence

When I found myself pregnant and unmarried at 37, rather than overanalyze this event or second-guess the series of events that led to this, I decided to uproot myself from the big city I called home for the last 15 years or so, and I moved back to real home – Piddig, Ilocos Norte.

With this homecoming, I also decided to go back to government service. I went back to the same local government unit that I left for the big city about 15 years ago.

This time, I made a conscious decision to pursue excellence. In the past 15 years, I have known and become friends with people who unfailingly pursue excellence in their daily lives. I learned that to qualify for the Assistant Treasurer position, I have to pass the Basic Competency for Local Treasury Examination (BCLTE) and the Intermediate Competency for Local Treasury Examination (ICLTE). The BCLTE and ICLTE are Levels 1 and 2, respectively, of the Department of Finance Bureau of Local Government Finance’s three-level Standardized Examination and Assessment for Local Treasury Service (SEAL) Program that “aims to professionalize the local treasury service.”

I decided that the pursuit of excellence does not mean a passing grade (80%). 

I planned a review schedule for both the BCLTE and ICLTE NOT aiming for the top 10, let alone the highest score. I set about both exams with a more specific goal — get 90%.

In both exams, I failed. I earned 89.19% for the BLCTE and 88.89% for the ICLTE.

Why 90%?

At my age, I have learned a long time ago that comparing myself with other people leads not to excellence, but to misery. Aiming for the TOP score means competing not with myself, but with thousands of others.

90% means excellent and it is a goal I can work with. It is SMART. It is specific, measurable, achievable, realistic, and time-bound.

How others performed relative to me is irrelevant. How I do vis-a-vis the goal I set for myself IS what matters. But, hell, I still compare. I am human after all.

Of course, seeing my name on the list of top performers is sweet. When I learned I got the second-highest score in the June 24, 2018 BCLTE, I was happy that my efforts were rewarded. I thought that I deserve such an honor. After all, for more than 3 months, I went through the Local Treasury Operations Manual and other relevant readings while my son is happily breastfeeding. And when I saw my name at the top of the list of the October 14, 2018, ICLTE passers, I could not believe it. My dream of being a topnotcher had come true!

It is a recognition of the people who have supported me on this journey. My Mama, for being totally supportive, for Auntie Aida who tirelessly cares for Uno while am at work and doing my personal development things, For Uno for being the brightest star among them all. Of course for N, my special someone. Does not everyone have a special someone who gives them not ladders to reach the moon and stars, but rocket ships? 

Vomit Inducing

It was not easy though. Anything worth doing is never easy.

My journey to the Top 1 of the Intermediate Competency on Local Treasury Examination was vomit-inducing. Literally.

30 minutes before we reached San Fernando, La Union, where I attended a 3-day seminar and where the examination will be held, I felt so dizzy I asked the driver to stop at the next gas station.

I got off the car and walked to the toilet while holding on to anything solid – the gas pump, the wall. When I got to the toilet, I had no time to close the door. My lunch of paksiw na kambing and pinakbet mixed with a generous amount of coffee came out gushing from my mouth and nose. My head hanging over the toilet bowl made a good ‘inspiration’ to spew more of it.

We finally arrived at the Commission on Audit Regional Office I for the October 10 to 12, 2018 Cash Management and Control System Seminar. Bringing your baby to a live-in seminar is not the most comfortable decision, but it becomes even less comfortable if the live-in arrangement is a dormitory type. Am glad though that COA accommodated us in their dormitory, otherwise we would have checked-in in at a hotel outside. I could not imagine the logistics of breastfeeding Uno while Mama and he are billeted outside.

The seminar was intense. It demanded my attention and 100% of my focus. So, my plan to study for the ICLTE with half of my mind occupied with the seminar flew right out of the proverbial window. I could not do a ‘flamingo’ on this one. Flamingos keep half of their brain awake while sleeping. Would not that be a very useful skill?

On the third and last day of the seminar, I was already panicking. My 3,000-word finals for one of my Masters of ASEAN Studies subjects remained unwritten. I will take half of Saturday to do it, and then spend the rest of the day reviewing for the ICLTE, I told myself. Easier said than done. I did not factor in a teething baby.

On October 13, at around 9 PM, 3 hours before I had to hand in my final exam, I called my partner in tears. “I want to give up.” I cannot do it anymore. I was sleep-deprived with another sleepless night ahead of me. I have my paper to write. I only had three hours to finish the 3,000-word finals. Three hours I do not have any.

If I give up, everyone will understand. I have too much on my hands anyway. Work, Bannawag weekly column on personal finance, my regular articles for The Corporate, consulting commitments, University of the Philippines Open University, distance learning program at MMSU, regular magazine articles, my forgetfulness which I am blaming on my cesarean operations (but probably just plain old age), and above all else, Uno and N. (How forgetful? One time I wanted coffee. I could not find hot water. It took me a moment to realize that I could not find it because I was looking for it inside the refrigerator.)

My plate is not only full, but it is also overflowing. Everyone will understand if I give up and do not show up for my exam. But I would not be able to forgive myself for giving up.

I plodded in my exam and sent it a few minutes before midnight. I went to sleep with the thought that when I woke up, I will have another chance to have a go at the goal I set for myself, the same goal I identified for the BCLTE and of which I failed at.

No Excuses

The things I listed above are ready excuses I can choose from IF I fail in my goal or worse, fail the exam altogether. Excuses are dangerous things. They are not just plan B. They are plans B to Z when one fails and prefers to ignore the very cause of a failure.

When I got my BCLTE result, I know I can do better in my ICLTE preparation. After registering for the ICLTE, I planned for a review schedule around the projects I already have. I know that in preparing for the BCLTE, I was not fully committed to my goal. I went about it like a kite caught in the middle of turbulence. I had to have a more definite plan so I can get a 90% score for the ICLTE and then follow through with the plan.

My name may be at the top of the list of ICLTE passers, but my score (88.89%) tells me that ultimately I did not achieve my goal. What it tells me though is I did my best vis-a-vis my review plan. I am satisfied that for ICLTE, my pursuit of excellence is successful, and being recognized for it is a wonderful feeling and something that I will not take for granted.

About the Author: Anna Liza works at the Office of the Treasurer of the Municipal Government of Piddig, Ilocos Norte. 

Note: This article was previously published in the printed issue of The Corporate, Guide and Style for Professionals Magazine.