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Malacañang reporters are busy trying to divine what
exactly goes on in the mind of President Arroyo these
days. She herself triggered the speculations when she
let on just a few days ago that she definitely intends
to shake up her Cabinet soon.
The
start of the impending revamp will presumably coincide
with the lapsing on May 14 of the one-year electoral ban
on appointments. With the legal impediment out of the
way, she would be free to draw from—first and
foremost—the leftovers of the ruling coalition’s
devastated 12-member Team Unity senatorial slate.
The
guessing game is on and among the names frequently being
bandied about in speculative reports are those of Mike
Defensor, former Malacañang chief of staff; former
senators Ralph Recto, Vicente Sotto III and Tessie
Aquino-Oreta; former Surigao del Sur representative
Prospero Pichay, and Jamulul Kiram. These six were among
the nine administration candidates who did not make it
to the Senate last year. Only three made it—Edgardo
Angara, Joker Arroyo and Juan Miguel Zubiri (this one by
a hairline, which is still under protest).
The six
also-rans mentioned above—all known to be die-hard
administration loyalists—have reportedly been
expectantly waiting in the wings for this moment. Each
one expects a political plum to be thrown his or her way
as a reward for sticking it out with her through thick
and thin.
It’s
part of our ingrained culture, I guess. We Filipinos
have been accustomed to think of repaying what we call
utang na loob as a solemn obligation. In our
society, ingrates, or those who forget past favors, are
to be despised.
But the
President no longer has the luxury of time to make
mistakes in her appointments. She has only two years
left. Any mistake could be fatal to her avowed
aspiration to leave a lasting legacy to the Filipino
people. She, therefore, has to be extra careful in her
choices.
For
example, one of the six defeated senatorial candidates
has been heard bragging he is not aspiring for some
lofty Cabinet portfolio but “something much lower,” such
as the commissionership of the Bureau of Customs.
Heaven
forbid, but if this politician gets what he wants, it
would not be unlike—I’m sorry to say—appointing Dracula
to the chairmanship of a blood bank. What a disastrous
impact that would have on whatever remaining credibility
Mrs. Arroyo may still be enjoying at this juncture of
her term. This politician, by the way, has only himself
to blame. By himself alone, he has built up an unsavory
reputation with his flamboyant, high-flying,
big-spending habits that proved to be his undoing in the
senatorial elections.
At this
point in her term, the President must seriously dedicate
her time and efforts to leaving a lasting legacy to the
nation—such as staying the course on putting order and
sanity in the government’s fiscal affairs, reducing
power rates, ensuring food security, increasing
employment opportunities, battling poverty both in the
rural and urban areas and strengthening the
public-education system.
Omerta_bdc@yahoo.com |
