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With
Cabinet Secretary Ricardo Saludo, a staunch ally of
President Arroyo, moving out of the Palace to assume the
chairmanship of the Civil Service Commission, expect his
departure to trigger a musical chairs of sorts in
Malacañang. His appointment, ergo Karina David’s
departure, was perfectly timed, wittingly or otherwise.
The
months of April and May, the summer months, are the
traditional festive months, with many localities holding
fiestas usually in honor of their patron saints. This
May, in particular, also marks the end of the one-year
prohibition on the public appointment of defeated
electoral candidates. Thus, one can expect more
political fireworks in the next few weeks as the Palace
likely pays homage to its own political patrons.
With
Ricardo Saludo moving out, the position of Cabinet
secretary becomes available. Coffee shops are also rife
with rumors that outgoing Armed Forces Chief of Staff
Gen. Hermogenes Esperon is likely to be appointed to the
Defense post, while Defense Secretary Gilberto Teodoro
(a nephew of Eduardo “Danding” Cojuangco) will likely
move to the Interior department. Interior Secretary
Ronaldo Puno, meantime, will reportedly move to the
Palace as executive secretary, while Executive Secretary
Eduardo Ermita will either be posted abroad or moved to
the state gaming regulator Pagcor.
Another
version of the rumor has Environment Secretary Lito
Atienza moving to the Interior department, considering
his long-time experience as a local official, first as
vice mayor and then as mayor of the City of Manila.
Other potential vacancies in the Cabinet are from the
possible replacement of Agriculture Secretary Arthur
Yap, who may be moved back to the Palace as Cabinet
secretary in place of Saludo; and Finance Secretary
Gary Teves, who may be either posted abroad or named to
head either a government financial institution or a
government-owned and -controlled corporation.
There
seems to be some issue with some Cabinet performances,
particularly those of Yap and Teves. Yap, who is
reportedly intending to run for the Senate in 2010, is
getting plenty of undeserved flak nowadays because of
the escalating prices of rice and wheat as well as corn
and livestock, while Teves is reportedly being made to
account for the Bureau of Internal Revenue’s (BIR)
collection shortfall for 2007. In the latter’s case, a
party-list congressman who sits in the powerful
Commission of Appointments already voiced his intention
to ask Teves to explain the shortfall the next time the
Finance secretary appears before the commission.
The
Agriculture and Finance posts are obvious hardship
posts, more so now with the brewing problems involving
food security as well as limited government finances for
much-need infrastructure and public spending. In this
sense, it may be highly unlikely for the Palace to
attract “new faces” to assume these posts. But it can
choose to rehabilitate older faces, including former
representative Butch Pichay, who may yet be interested
to give Agriculture a go after failing in his bid to
“plant” himself in the Senate. As for Finance, on and
off several names have been bandied about, including
those of Trade Secretary Peter Favila and Education
Secretary Jesli Lapus, who were both at one time bankers
in their respective professional careers. Also rumored
to be considered for the post is the Development Bank of
the Philippines’s Reynaldo David. Prior to joining
Finance, Teves was also a banker, serving as chief
executive of Land Bank of the
Philippines.
While
seemingly unfair to make Yap and Teves account for
events and issues beyond their respective control—with
the food and oil crises both global phenomena while
dwindling tax collection more a direct concern of the
BIR commissioner—the Palace is well within its
prerogative to either continue supporting both officials
or replacing them. For that is the nature of public
service in this country, particularly in the case of
executive appointees. Most, if not all, serve at the
“pleasure” of the presidency, and can be easily
dismissed as they were appointed—rightly or otherwise,
fairly or not.
The
possibility of musical chairs is high as it is timely,
with the President perhaps feeling the need to cater to
her patrons and benefactors to assure her own political
survival at least until 2010. With just 25 months left
in her six-year term, political debts should be settled
in the next few months—before the new Congress opens
during her State of the Nation Address in July. With the
present “crises” of escalating food and oil prices and
dwindling tax collection, she may just realize an
“opportunity” to “strengthen” her Cabinet in the next
few weeks by introducing new faces or announcing new
initiatives as she moves around her officials.
And as
she completes executive consolidation in the next few
weeks, through a possible Cabinet revamp, this may
complement political actions in previous months to
consolidate her power base in the House of
Representatives with the ouster of Jose de Venecia as
Speaker and his replacement with Davao Rep. Prospero
Nograles.
One can
only hope that the President will clearly calculate all
her political moves in the coming days always with the
nation’s best interest in mind. Whether the Cabinet is
in need of an overhaul, and whether this will be the
solution to present governance ills, is a matter of
opinion. One thing clear, though, is that her
government, as well as her public image, requires a
major transformation. There is a clear and pressing need
to muster strong public support for her presidency.
But it
is truly uncertain whether the long tradition of
political patronage and the practice of appointing
defeated electoral candidates to Cabinet posts will be
the expedient solution. Obviously, executive changes now
will have pros and cons, supporters and detractors and,
ultimately, successes and failures. Question is can the
President still afford to continue with governance
characterized by hit or miss?
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