The appropriate response

Thanks to my fellow columnist Jarius Bondoc and Mr. Buban of the Office of the Solicitor General, I realized a serious mistake I made while writing about the plea bargain agreement involving the case of retired Major General Carlos Garcia.

What should have been written was that the Office of the Special Prosecutor (OSP) and Office of the Ombudsman (O-O) were the parties responsible and now I will not offer any explanation or justification for my mistake but rather express my humble apologies to Solicitor General Joel Cadiz and his staff at the OSG.

 No one has asked or suggested that I make this correction or admission. I do so because I believe that it is the appropriate response under the circumstance. As a columnist or opinion writer, our work can lift up or put down people and institutions. There is a presumption of expertise and knowledge that people accept based on trust.

This mistake however gives me a perfect opportunity to point out my personal limitations, as well as the existence of “inconsistencies” in developing stories that may ultimately confuse or mislead even those in media.

In other words even when we do things to the best of our knowledge, there are moments when some things are lost in translation, in transmission or confusion. In the end when one makes a mistake as I did regarding the OSG, the appropriate response is to accept responsibility.

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Someone who deserves praise for giving the appropriate response is none other than President Noynoy Aquino who personally addressed the outcry concerning the plea bargain agreement with Ret. Major General Carlos Garcia.

 The “Action Factor” of the President immediately stopped something that could have gone against the administration or something that would have seriously discredited P-Noy’s leadership and fight against corruption.

It is important to cite the “Action factor” because the President has often been penalized by the public and media for being too deliberate or tentative in addressing critical issues or controversy.

While the President may have a genetic dislike for unsolicited advice, P-Noy should develop the “Action factor” into a proactive program of leadership in his administration.

Many local leaders and business people have expressed an unusual optimism about the prospects for 2011. Even church people have pronounced 2011 as a year of grace and favor. The only glass of cold water threatening to douse the optimism is the “Government factor”.

Where we stand, it is encouraging to hear about how BIR Commissioner Kim Henares has done a radical reshuffle of BIR officers who have started to appear like oysters clinging to an ocean rock bed.

Even the timely confiscations of the Bureau of Customs has helped local food producers by making smuggling a lot more difficult. Of course much more needs to be done to get the message through both within the BOC as well as their clients.

But the even bigger question that should now concern P-Noy and his government would be their “Action factor” for 2011.

It is ironic that everyone in government, both past and present, often talk in terms of figures. How many tourists? How many investors? how much direct foreign investments? etc.

What about making each Cabinet Secretary submit a business plan or several business plans for their areas of concern. If not a business plan, then maybe a campaign strategy aimed at better servicing the business community or foreign investors.

Right now the major departments that will have a serious impact on our business progress for 2011 are the Departments of Finance, DILG, Trade and Industry, Labor, DOTC and Tourism.

The question is: what are their plans in terms of real public-private partnerships and what will these departments be offering to convince that the Aquino administration is not just about aspirations for national integrity but also represents a bureaucracy that is creative, proactive and collaborative with the business community.

While we may all be in the Christmas season, it might interest people in government to know that even through the holidays I know of many business people working overtime to be a step ahead in 2011. Yet all of them are also wondering what they can expect from the administration beyond the usual bureaucracy.   

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One Christmas song that keeps replaying in my mind is the one sang by Karen Carpenter about “faithful friends who are dear to us, gather near to us once more”.

As presents drizzle in, I am once again reminded how “Tita Elsa” always sends me a box of ensaymadas even if it has been a difficult year, these are the only ones I eat for the whole year. “Miss Baby” never forgets even if we never see each other for a year. The Culinary Queen has yet again provided me the stuffed chicken for Christmas eve dinner even though I have not seen her shadow in three years, and my classmate who calls me her public defender has once again sent a box of deadly temptation — one kilo of genuine Wagyu steak.

I cite them not for the cuisine but rather their being faithful friends. Through thick or thin, seen or unseen they always remember... even if I don’t. I love you folks.

Merry Christmas to all!

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