The problem with is ?

It is cute. An exclamation point says it all. I have listened to Linggoy Alcuaz and Nars Lim being interviewed on the evening newscasts explain what the movement is all about. I share their concerns but at the end, they are not clear about what happens next. Maybe Linggoy was a little more explicit. That is why he earned a warning from the National Security Adviser.

On the whole, the biggest problem with the ! campaign is the ? that comes after if it is successful. Do we go extra constitutional as in EDSA 1 and declare a revolutionary government? Do we follow the constitution and allow the vice president to take over? The problem is, a successful ! campaign splits the country down the middle and puts us on the brink of a civil war. Even four more years of Erap has got to be better than a civil war.

In a way, Mar Roxas is right about learning to live with Erap. That is what democracy is all about. Binoto mo, tiisin mo. Well, for those of us who didn't vote for him, it is still our fault. We didn't work hard enough to have a better candidate win. It isn't as if we didn't get fair warning about Erap's impending election. But we still allowed more candidates to run instead of convincing even two or three to consolidate and form a united force.

In a way, Erap is right about the elitist ! movement destabilizing the administration. That is also what the communist movement is doing, hoping that if the government is destabilized enough, they are the only ones organized and strong enough to take over.

But the ! movement has its uses. It puts Erap and his cronies on notice that they cannot go on with business as usual. With all eyes focused on his every move, it wouldn't be as easy to corner the PCSO's funds and he would think twice before calling up the SEC chairman to suggest his friend is innocent before he is even investigated.

The ! movement will give the ECC trio, Paeng, Titoy and Mar, a little more clout in influencing the President on vital economic decisions over that of his midnight Cabinet. In fact, if the ! movement wants to be a little bit more constructive, it will throw its support to the three, who are doing a heroic job of saving the country at a most difficult time.

Actually, the ! movement epitomizes the dilemma of many concerned citizens today. Erap doesn't seem to be working out but the alternatives aren't great either. Waiting out the rest of his term may seem like an eternity but what's the choice? We are stuck with a lemon. We have to see how we can help Paeng, Titoy and Mar make lemonade out of it.

We can have our first opportunity to express our sentiment in a democratic way next year. If the Filipino people are indeed sick and tired of the administration, they can express their disgust by shutting out the LAMMP ticket in the senatorial elections.

I doubt if even that will happen. That is because, Erap still has a significant portion of the population rallying behind him. Or, put another way, the masa will succumb to traditional politics when election time comes around.

In the meantime, a Cabinet revamp isn't going to produce anything more than one day's newspaper headlines. And since the story had been beaten to death even before it happens, it may not even merit an above the fold treatment when it finally does. As a man-on-the-street interviewee on ABS-CBN's Pulso: Action Balita puts it, it doesn't matter who sits in the Cabinet because we will just get more of the same.

President Estrada should not allow himself to be railroaded by vested interests working through media to do a revamp for the sake of having one. I don't think Lito Banayo will do any better than Gemma in the tourism portfolio unless the sector is given proper infrastructure support. Besides, Banayo says he isn't interested in it. Erap should take his word for it.

Gemma is doing as good a job as could be done under the circumstances. It is also silly to accuse her of graft for trying to get the kind of material support the tourism promotions program needs in the absence of sufficient government funds. And why should the executives of Singapore Airlines be brought up before the Ombudsman? That will be the last time any sane private sector entity will offer to help us for anything.

And with the appointment of Dong Puno as Press Secretary and Spokesman, the President should not just appoint Rod and Jerry to any other government position as consuelo de bobo. Their experience and competence must be considered. I don't think Rod is a good fit as president of PNOC.

Being president of PNOC calls for some technical in addition to managerial competence. The position should not be treated as a way station prior to retirement or heaven forbid this time, the memorial park. The perks of the office, while still better than many government corporations, aren't what they used to be.

Rod would be a square peg in a round hole at PNOC. Even in its somewhat emasculated form today, PNOC is still our government's principal agency for energy development. Rod will have to go through a long and tedious learning curve to make a difference at PNOC. The geologists, economists and other technocrats working there have their own language.

In addition to the work he must saddle his brain with, the job is also very physical. To be effective, he must also go to a lot of far flung drilling or exploration sites which entails a lot of physical punishment. I don't know if this fragile health will allow him to do that. Rod cannot work the long hours required nor does he have the inclination to.

Rod will not be in his elements at PNOC. I should know. I have worked with Rod and I have worked at PNOC. We need someone there who will take on the job not just as a sinecure, which will happen with Rod.

Who then? I can only think of Nazi Vasquez, a geologist who has worked on energy all his life. He should have been named president to begin with, if he was not an older brother of Leny de Jesus. Strange as it may sound, appointing Nazi would depoliticize the job bring back its technocratic image, despite his seemingly strong political connection through Leny.

Jerry Barican on the other hand, will be underutilized as just a director of DBP. On the other hand, that may be just what Jerry wants at this time. He may think that he deserves a little rest after being mauled daily as the President's spokesperson.

The point is, if the President must revamp his Cabinet, it must be to give more sense to the appointments and not just as another musical chairs exercise to placate media and the in-fighters from within his own circle.

Dr. Ernie Espiritu e-mailed this one for today.

The famous sex therapist was on the radio taking questions when a caller asked, "Doctor, I want to know, why do men want to marry a virgin?

To which the doctor handily responded, "To avoid a bad review."

(Boo Chanco's e-mail address is [email protected])