Two resignations in the span of one week has left the Aquino administration exposed to attacks from its harshest critics who, going by recent news leaks, probably include people in its own camp, aside from the political opposition.

The first one was the expected and rather delayed resignation of Ernesto Diokno as prisons chief. The second was the shock announcement of Transportation Secretary Jose de Jesus that he’s leaving the administration to spend the rest of his life “in relative quiet” outside of government service.

Critics of the administration would have us believe that both affirm the rudderless leadership of the presidency, and in a noisy, rambunctious democracy they are welcome to their opinion.

The fact, though, is that in a noisy, rambunctious democracy, political appointees come and go all the time for this reason or that, with not one circumstance being exactly similar to the other.

As in any organization, no one is really indispensable in the government, from clerk all the way up to the President. This is true especially in a country that has changed presidents both constitutionally and via People Power; and where changing leaders can either be taken as a sign of dysfunctional politics or as a successful expression of popular accountability, depending on where you stand.

Mr. Aquino drew flak for praising Diokno for resigning and for even considering him for another post in government.  Such criticism is valid in light of the fact that Diokno’s resignation, which was caused by the scandalous prison escape of former Batangas governor Antonio Leviste and was made possible by an unbelievably lax security system, did not have the most important component of a political resignation: the acknowledgment of improper conduct.

Indeed, it was even President Aquino, his boss, who had to tell the people that the resignation was the former prisons chief’s “best form of apology.”

Seen in another light, perhaps Mr. Aquino was just thankful that Diokno finally resigned, heeding the clamor of popular opinion, instead of going with his initial instinct to wait for the furor to blow over, thereby saving the President from the seemingly difficult decision of firing him.

God knows we have had no shortage of government officials and leaders who felt no compunction to step down even if they were so loathed. The President is probably hoping—or if not, would at least be fortunate—if his other appointees with less than sterling records would follow Diokno’s example and resign, as well, like Land Transportation Office chief Virginia Torres, who is facing several court
cases involving malfeasance in office.

The policy of granting inmates sleeping-out and living-out privileges was introduced, not by Diokno but by his predecessor Oscar Calderon, who served during the Arroyo administration. The privilege was part of the program to reform convicted criminals prior to their reintegration into society. Mr. Aquino has said, however, that the current corrections manual does not include such a privilege. Hopefully, this inherited policy that caused Diokno’s resignation would be rescinded, once and for all, and that other much-needed reforms in the penitentiary would be forthcoming.

The resignation of de Jesus, followed by three of his undersecretaries, could be considered more seismic for the administration. There was no clear harbinger for it. Even the President was surprised.

De Jesus is one of the superstars of the Aquino Cabinet. He is quitting his post just as the Department of Transportation and Communications (DOTC) is about to bid out two of its big-ticket Public-Private Partnership Projects: the operation and management contracts of Light Rail Transit 1 and Metro Rail Transit 3.  What’s more, the media were abuzz with rumors that the reason for the resignation was more personal than otherwise stated; that it was caused primarily by the President’s failure to stand up for his DOTC secretary.

This is one of those times Mr. Aquino would like to be able to count on the self-proclaimed competence and efficiency of his three-headed communications group to soften impact of such rumors, but de Jesus himself did him a big favor by dismissing all speculations and publicly declaring that his resignation is just what it is. He got old and tired, and would like some peace and quiet.

After serving three presidents—he was also Public Works secretary of Cory Aquino and Fidel Ramos—and a third of his life in government, he certainly deserves the rest. To paraphrase the plain-speaking US President Harry Truman, if you can’t stand the heat anymore, it’s time to get out of the kitchen.

This is a fresh opportunity for Mr. Aquino to set, if not make clear, the ground rules for the role that his Cabinet must play in pursuing his political and governmental priorities, and to address whatever tensions are troubling his young administration.

The buck stops with the President, as another Truman line goes. Although he cannot do it alone and needs his Cabinet and his Executive staff in Malacañang to help him run the government, Mr. Aquino is the one ultimately in charge. Or at least he should be.

The President chooses his people and decides what and how much to delegate. Tensions in the Cabinet, within the Palace, between the Cabinet and the Executive staff, between the Executive and the other branches of government—all the past presidents have had to deal with these. It is up to Mr. Aquino as Chief Executive to make sure the usual petty politics does not overwhelm the legitimate and higher demands of the government. Our people are hoping he can do the job to which he was elected.