A first time for everything

Yes there is a first time for everything and everyone, even popular Presidents.

In the case of President Noynoy Aquino, for the first time in his charmed presidency, his popularity rating reportedly crashed last week. For the first time he finds himself speaking out and defending the unpopular “DAP-PDAF” of Malacañang. For the first time he is forced to request media outlets to hook-up and air his veiled offensive against political crooks who have turned the tables on the President and besmirched his reputation and his integrity by dubbing him as the “King of Pork Barrel.”

For the first time it is clear that the President finds himself in a mess that was not of his making but that of Butch Abad who is either the creator of DAP or its conductor. For the first time, it is clear that the Liberal Party in failing to protect the President and failing to come to his defense, is nothing more than a mythical might and a mythical ally of the President. It is clearer than ever that when the going gets tough for the administration, the automatic protocol is: No lightning rods here. Every man for himself.

Based on the speech, it was very clear that as far as the President is concerned, what is foremost on his mind is that people are clear on who is corrupt, how he views the PDAF-DAP controversy, and that his opponents are made aware of the fact that he is pissed and he intends to do something about it.  That much he achieved. The only card that the President failed to use for impact was to name names. Most everybody already knew who he was referring to and were hoping against hope that he would name them since he has immunity from suit while in office.

Unfortunately the entire exercise of the presidential broadcast may have been a “fail” simply because many in the intended audience were apparently expecting something very different and were therefore disappointed. While the broadcast media managed to give all of us clues that the President would be speaking about the DAP-Pork barrel controversy, many of us were expecting to hear P-Noy say: “OK you win – I’m giving up the pork!” What we did not expect, or assumed he was smart enough not to say was: “I want my pork and you can’t make me give it up.” Yes, the President is a very transparent and honest person, but public relations is such that it is best not to remind people that you are ignoring or disregarding their sentiment. If you have to do it, do it but don’t rub our nose in it.

Truth be told, the President’s stated position on the DAP was already expected but not what the public was expecting in terms of pronouncements. Given the latest musical chairs game at the palace, people may have been half wishing or expecting an announcement of a miniature cabinet reshuffle or a major pronouncement on the removal of incompetent and unproductive cabinet members particularly at the DOTC, the MMDA and maybe even among DPWH officials. In fact, in ordinary people’s minds, the reason why P-Noy’s popularity ratings plummeted may not have totally been related to the pork barrel controversy.

The PDAF-DAP issue may have ignited the mess but a series of really irritating events contributed to the collective dissatisfaction that resulted in the survey debacle. If P-Noy got a team to study the news and Facebook posts for September and October, he might discover that many people were repeatedly stuck in traffic for several nights for several hours. Several people got stuck in airports, found their flights delayed or cancelled while issues about flooding, potholes, the deterioration of EDSA, NAIA 1 being world’s worst airport, the Zamboanga siege, very unpopular bonuses for GOCCs and agencies simply began to pile up. While P-Noy personally dealt with Zamboanga on the ground, the rest of his team who were left to run the country were hardly seen or heard from except for his irritating talking heads who apparently have also irritated the President enough to cause a change!

Putting things into perspective, I have seen the President visibly irked only in 4 incidents so far. First was in the Luneta hostage crisis, the second was when leftists created the term “Noynoying” to portray him as a do-nothing President, the third was when bus operators defied the government by staging a boycott, and last Wednesday when he made his first “Presidential broadcast.” P-Noy clearly dislikes being falsely accused or being labeled to look like the bad guy and I can relate. Unfortunately, even the holiest of people in the Bible got bad press and false accusations from their critics and enemies. Yes, the Bible has a ton of stories regarding political power plays, palace intrigues and plots.

When I found myself in exactly the same situation, I remember the wise words of Ambassador Danding Cojuangco (P-Noy’s uncle) about how to handle the situation: “Hayaan mo sila, matulog ka ng mahimbing at hayaan mo silang mamatay sa inggit” (Let your accusers be. Sleep in sweet slumber and let them die of envy). The godly choice would be to pray for your enemies, but as President, P-Noy has more important concerns to bother himself with the petty articulations of a handful of activists or the wicked workings of thieves.

Better sooner than later, but at some point the President will have to decide. To go after the enemies of the state and to get rid of his useless friends who are no help in running the affairs of the state. Difficult, but necessary tasks. May God enlighten you and the people you serve and may they in turn, cover you in prayers for what may prove to be the trying times of your presidency. God Bless you, Sir! 

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