Meaning: An encouragement to drink or to finish one’s drink.
Did you know that the term “Bottoms up” originated in an era when English sailors were encouraged to drink?
There is a popular story behind its history where English sailors used to be bribed with coins to join the navy and many times, they would be tricked into joining by being given a beer with a coin at the bottom of the glass. Sounds fun, right? There is a reward after drinking a reward. I can drink to that!
According to the legend, men began to say “Bottoms up” to their drinking buddies so they could see if there were coins in the glasses before the drinks were finished. Now, in modern times, most people say, “Bottoms up!” to cheer their buddies when drinking alcohol, having fun, and celebrating an event.
It used to be a happy term, but did you know that it could also be a negative phrase? In some situations, people say “Bottoms up!” to encourage drinking something unpleasant. For example, you need to drink your medicine despite its bitter so someone will say to you “Bottoms Up!” until you finish it.
Yes, my dear readers, how are you after the long weekend? Have you recharged and had fun together with friends and families? Nothing wrong with having fun, of course, as long as it does not hurt anyone or as long as it is after working hours.
Speaking of “Bottoms up!,” it has been all over the news recently, have you seen it? In case you haven’t, then let me fill you in on some spicy information. Last week, on 16 August, acting port managers and seven other officials of the Philippine Ports Authority assigned to the Port Management Office of Bohol were caught on CCTV drinking inside the PPA office multipurpose hall to celebrate the acting port manager’s birthday.
That’s not the worst of it. Aside from drinking on the premises of a government facility, they used the office chairs and tables (supposedly for meetings and official functions) for their drinking session with lots of bottles of alcohol, an invited band, and the attorneys and port police dancing as shown on the CCTV footage.
Like I said, having fun is not bad at all, celebrating birthdays is okay, and being together with friends or co-workers on a special day is totally fine…. but not to the extent of using government facilities and resources to fuel that fun.
These eight officials of PPA Bohol, including the acting port manager/birthday celebrator, two legal attorneys, four port police officials, and the Port Services Department Bohol head, were removed from their posts pending an investigation.
Recently, PPA General Manager Jay Santiago issued a memorandum reiterating Memo Circular No. 013-2023, otherwise known as the “Strict prohibition on the consumption of alcoholic beverages in the workplace.”
The memorandum was first issued in 2018 under the same management after the former DoTr officials issued a directive prohibiting alcoholic beverages in the workplace — all in accordance with Civil Service Commission Memorandum No. 4, series of 2011, stating the policy guidelines on the prohibition of alcoholic beverages among government officials and employees.
See? No government official or employee is excused for drinking inside a government office. An official is expected to serve the public, to give assistance, to make their lives easier, to be of great service to the community, and not to be another source of conflicts and problems within their areas of responsibility.
Ports operate 24/7, thus there is no need to be complacent at any moment. Thank goodness for the high-tech surveillance system of the PPA, serious negligence and deliberate negative acts like these can be monitored from the head office.
To be fair, drinking has long been the center of workplace culture, whether for socialization or to gain each other’s trust. In fact, in China, drinking with business partners serves as a moral contract in which the potential work partners get drunk together until they become friends and gain each other’s trust and professional interests.
But we are not in China, we are here in our beloved country striving to always change to rise from the difficulties of being in a third-world country. A lot of people, or even more deserving people, need jobs, hence, any job, especially a government position, should not be taken for granted and abused.
Now this brings us to a question: Does alcohol have a place at work and should it?
Your guess is as good as mine. Let us not normalize alcohol drinking at work or the pressure to participate. It may seem like a nice gesture to subsidize alcohol at events to build camaraderie, but it is not necessary in carrying out government functions, especially inside office areas.
There you go, fellow boat riders, yes, we either sink or swim all together because we are in the same boat, but this time we’re not in the same boat because no one wants to be bonding with booze and boss in an office setup on a weekday. Smells like a “Bottoms up!” disaster. Yikes!