EVEN Atty. Rebo Saguisag is surprised how he's holding on despite his busy schedule.
Rebo Saguisag on juggling duties
The son of esteemed former Sen. Rene Saguisag is no circus performer but somehow, he manages to juggle his roles as the UAAP executive director, a father to two young kids, while being a re-electionist councilor for the first district of Makati City.
But to him, there's really no secret to how he manages to fulfill all those obligations.
"Time management lang," he said.
It pays that at a youthful 49, Saguisag has a good grasp of what he needs to prioritize, whether it be serving his constituents to overseeing the operations of the premier collegiate league while also making use of the technology present in front of him.
"Because of Zoom and other technologies, nakakatulong din naman. I'm a firm believer also that you should ask help when you need it," he said.
For the UAAP, Saguisag feels fortunate to have gotten the full confidence of the Board of Trustees from eight member-schools as well as 16 managing directors that he really feels that no matter how heavy the load is, everything comes in a breeze.
"It's a collective work sa UAAP. Tagapamagitan lang ako dito and I'm just happy to be here. Pero I think much of the work that was done dito sa UAAP, doon pa sa preparation stage eh. So all the hard work came before that and everything is just falling into places," he said.
As much as he oversees things, Saguisag also knows when to back off and entrust most of the operations to those who know better.
The current men's basketball tournament is a good example as he allows commissioner Tonichi Pujante to man the games while he remains in constant communication with the managing directors on where the league should go.
"I'm here to monitor things and make sure that everything's ok, but we have a very good tournament director and the hosts also are here. We've learned how to manage things via technology so there are ways naman," he said.
His role as a legislator also hasn't suffered one bit from all these UAAP responsibilities that he has.
A lawyer by trade, Saguisag also feels that he has made the role of a councilor more vital to the public eye thanks to the livestreaming of the sessions that they partake inside the halls of Makati City Hall and on the virtual arena.
To him, it's important that the public sees the work you do that directly impact their lives from ordinances to projects approved by the city council.
"Sa pagiging konsehal, I'm trying to change the way people see a councilor. People tend to forget that we're legislators and we're lawmakers," he said.
"Aside from going around, there's serious work in legislation and being a lawyer helped. Solid ang contribution ko sa sessions, debates, amendments, privilege speeches that it's not appreciated on the ground. There could be no projects kung walang budget and it starts with appropriations in the session hall," he said. "When people started tuning in, people realize na kailangan pala namin magsalita and they might say na, 'Magaling pala magsalita si Atty. Saguisag.'"
Considering all the responsibilities he has on hand, does one work affect the other?
Saguisag begs to disagree.
For him, being a multi-faceted professional only helps his job on both ends.
"Yes, we're fatigued pero nare-recharge ka every time," he said. "Sometimes kahit pagod ka, there's a change in scenery so nagkakaroon ka ng second wind. So I find respite. After a long day sa UAAP, nare-recharge ka naman when you meet people in the campaign trail. The same goes the other way around."
"It's really a challenge minsan sa time but yung growth mo, iba pa rin yung multi-faceted. It just depends on how you play your cards."
If there's something that this juggling act has taught Saguisag, it's really that compromise is the key for everything.
"Politics is the art of navigating things," he said. "There's politics everywhere, dealing with people and tryng to navigate to get what you want, the art of governing. The more exposure to different people, the better. So yun na yung skill, you pick out what you can and use it on the other."
Get more of the latest sports news & updates on SPIN.ph