Praise for Indonesia vs disappointment in the Philippines?

There were tears in his eyes as Agriculture Secretary Luis "Cito" Lorenzo denied to reporters on television that he was being "eased out of the Arroyo Cabinet" and claimed he was "embarking on a higher mission".

His tears, in short, belied his words – for they certainly were not tears of joy.

What’s tragic is that Lorenzo did a crackerjack job as Agriculture Secretary, and before that as Presidential Adviser for Job Creation and head of the Million Jobs Program. Most of all, he had not merely been absolutely loyal to La Emperadora, at her beck and call 24 hours per day, and underwriting his work in government with about a hundred million pesos of his own money. He had brought the agricultural sector to its highest quarterly growth in 15 years.

For being so loyal and successful, Lorenzo was canned.

Yes, eased out. Given the heave-ho. Three hardworking years have ended in his being humiliated.

It’s clear to everyone that his new "jobs" – which he gamely tried to bill as a "promotion" – were actually not merely a demotion, but crumbs thrown to him not merely to assuage his hurt, but to vainly try to prevent La Presidenta from acquiring the image of La Gloria Ingrata. Chairman of the Land Bank (plagued by some earlier scandals) and Chairman of the Quedancor, and the consuelo de bobo opportunity to hang by his bruised fingertips to a lessened but still "Cabinet" rank as Presidential Adviser.

In sum, Lorenzo was dealt a Dinky Soliman-type Ejection Slip. In the case of poor Dinky, he being discarded had at least a credible political reason behind it: The need to reward Vice President Noli de Castro and give him what had been promised Kabayan months ago, the Social Welfare (DSWD) Secretaryship. Like Cito, Dinky had been doing a good job, although in less spectacular fashion. Yet there had been a visible reason for GMA discarding Dinky, namely to put her own Veep in, as promised. Where was the need to create a vacancy in Agriculture by kicking out – not aside – Cito?

Was it the "plunder" case filed against DA officials by former Solicitor General Frank Chavez, which may yet threaten to go "higher up" past the Department of Agriculture? This has been bothering La Presidenta, but Lorenzo’s fingerprints don’t seem to be on that scandalous transaction – the tell-tale fingerprints seem to belong to others still strongly entrenched in the Department.

As we’ve said, and as Lorenzo himself asserted last Thursday morning when he spoke at the breakfast forum of our Manila Overseas Press Club (MOPC) in Greenhills – only hours before he finally got the "word" from the President – every Cabinet member "serves at the pleasure of the President." This holds true in the case of Lorenzo. Yet, most people remain puzzled even why he was bounced.

It continues to be true that GMA can choose or reject any Cabinet member she wants – at her Presidential pleasure. She must have a care, however, in all her appointments and firings about how these moves look to the people who elected her to her second term, lest she incur the displeasure of the citizenry.

Truth to tell, Lorenzo knew for more than a week before his being ousted that the Agriculture portfolio was being taken away from him. He had been told that the President was "creating" another Cabinet position for him.

One intimate who learned of his coming ouster from other insider sources in Malacañang confronted him with the information several days ago, and told him in no uncertain terms: "Cito, that alleged ‘new’ Cabinet post is bullshit. You’re being demoted and downgraded! Better get out of government – pre-empt the Palace announcement, and say you’re leaving to return to the private sector. Say you’ve done your part, you’re happy about having served the people and our country, and contributed to the success of the GMA government. For heaven’s sakes, praise GMA to high heaven’s if you must. But get out! You’ve got every valid reason in the world: You’ve neglected your family business, costing Lapanday, Macondray, Del Monte, etc. losses of hundreds of millions. Cut, and cut clean!"

However, poor Cito remained loyal. After an hour and a half closeted with the President in her Malacañang office, he was "convinced" to stay under those . . . er, unflattering conditions. Oh, well. It was his earnest decision. But those tears told the story.

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And what’s so great about the incoming Agriculture Secretary Arthur C. Yap – supposed to take over come August 15? He may be a nice guy, but what are his qualifications and achievements, aside from his having once been a student of GMA’s in the university? Or being a close friend of you-know-who?

As Undersecretary, wasn’t he also in charge of the National Food Authority (NFA)? And wasn’t this the agency suspected in earlier scams of multimillion-peso overpricing in rice and corn importations, including transactions in foreign exchange denominations. This is not to say Yap was involved in any chicanery or whatever, but Sus, the NFA never racked up any great achievements.

The "new" Cabinet of GMA, alas, is not shaping up very well. The public may still be willing to give her some slack, and we hope she takes a really new and better tack.

However, what we detect in Malacañang is a growing smugness, and an attitude that: "We’re now in power for the next six years – and we’ll do what we want – and the public be damned." Let’s trust this arrogant euphoria doesn’t harden into policy. And that somehow, some measure of pragmatism and realism is restored. We won’t even ask for idealism, but that would be best.

The people "elected" La Emperadora and her court back to power, but they may not give her six years if her retinue continues to convey the impression that "the public be damned". It’s time to pause and consider, with more circumspection, the President’s next moves – and Cabinet, as well as agency appointments.

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In case you’re wondering what happened to KNP Opposition Presidential bet, Fernando Poe Jr., the Opposition is preparing to file a protest charging election fraud. My sources don’t promise where or when, or how, but if the charge materializes, it will involve the insistence that FPJ was cheated of victory by 500,000 votes. Former Chief Justice Andres Narvasa is being tapped as the frontline lawyer in this contemplated case which will be concentrated on several key voting areas.

Where will FPJ get the money to pursue such an expensive case? That’s the question certain sneering Palace officials are giggling about. Well, let’s see what happens. There might even be "piso-for-protest" movement among the public, if Malacañang’s moves prove irritating to the public.

There’s no guarantee such a protest will prosper, but it will ensure that there’s an investigation into electoral fraud. One beneficial bonus from it could be a purge and reform of the Commission on Elections. Believe me, the Comelec needs reform – and some officials need to be punished.

It’s ironic. We’ve bragged since 1946 of having been the first democracy of Asia. Yet, our May 10 elections have been derided and denounced all over the world as the longest "slow-motion" count and a disgrace. In sharp contrast, the latest issue of The Economist, (July 10th-16th) had as its front-page photo and headline: Indonesia’s Shining Example.

The Economist’s editors, in their lead editorial, declared in the subtitle: "Indonesia deserves great praise for its speedy transition from autocracy, through chaos, to democracy."

That much-respected, internationally-circulated weekly magazine’s laudatory piece pointed out that three years ago, Indonesia – with 220 million people, plagued by separatist and religious violence, the rupiah in free-fall, and in which "politics had descended to a pitiable level of squabbling and incompetence" looked headed for chaos.

"The world’s fourth most populous country, some foresaw, might come apart like a string of pearls, or, almost as bad, avoid disintegration only by the return of a brutal dictatorship such as that of Suharto, the general who was ousted by huge street protests in 1998.

"In October 2002, such fears suddenly bulked much larger, when Islamist terrorists, linked to al-Qaeda, set off a bomb in Bali that killed more than 200 people.

"This week things look wonderfully different. On July 5th, for the first time in their history, Indonesians voted to choose their president. The final result will not be known until late September, since a run-off between the two top candidates is now needed. But the election was free, fair, peaceful and, above all, conducted in a spirit of moderation that was remarkable in a country where democracy is only six years old."

In sum, nobody cried out, "I was cheated!" or "I was robbed!" Or "I will storm the gates of the Palace in anger and protest!"

We’re the country in which the elections looked chaotic, even worse the canvass, and in which our demo-cracy looks tattered indeed. This is sad. It’s time for a very hard, second look at ourselves, and the true state of the nation.