Rhetoric blamed for 'destabilization'

So who's really rocking the boat?

Presidential Spokesman Fernando Barican denounced an administration congressman yesterday for issuing "unnecessary rhetoric" that only creates perceptions of destabilization.

Barican was specifically addressing his statement to Rep. Ernesto Herrera (LAMP, Bohol), who earlier accused some of the President's officials of destabilizing the government themselves.

The congressman claimed such instability was evident when Mr. Estrada allowed convicted priest killer Norberto Manero Jr. to go free. He said the slip-up was caused by "their bunglings, their inefficiency, their incompetence, and their petty quarrels and factionalism."

Barican said that "if we are going to go through this cycle again, we are really going to have no future as a country because we will be faced with political and economic instability ... There is no need to raise the rhetoric to this level," Barican said.

He added: "I think there is a need on occasions to remind ourselves that nothing is perfect, that things need improvement, that people commit mistakes ... These are the normal parts of governing, but sometimes we take rhetoric a little seriously and strongly and we all get hurt because of this."

Barican also said there were no slip ups by the Palace regarding Manero's release.

"We don't really believe the Manero matter was a faux pas by the Palace," he said. "The matter has gone through the normal process and it has gone through every president."

He added that there was nothing suspicious about Manero's release.

"There is nothing dubious about the conditional pardon granted to Manero ... he met all the legal requirements to be pardoned and to have an opportunity to lead a reformed life after serving (his) jail term," Barican said.

He then appealed to Mr. Estrada's critics to refrain from issuing such "rhetoric" that only tends to create wrong impressions about the stability of the government.

"Sometimes the rhetoric is unnecessary and uncalled for and on occasions, not needed, not useful," Barican said. "However, I think the best thing to do is to call for sobriety and to call for the people to go back and look where we are."

He told opposition leaders that "we may have all arrived on different ships but we are all in the same boat now." --