Erineo “Ayong†Maliksi is reportedly out of the running as chairman of the Philippine Charity Sweepstakes Office. The former governor of Cavite, a member of the administration’s Liberal Party, reportedly lacks the educational requirements for the post vacated last week by Margarita Juico, who cited age as the reason for her resignation.
There are individuals older than Juico, however, who are holding key positions in the Aquino administration. Speculation on the reason for her resignation remains focused on her reported rift with Interior Secretary Mar Roxas, president of the LP, whose members now occupy many of the top positions in the executive branch.
President Aquino, a member of the LP, is expected to remain loyal to his party and pick persons he trusts for government positions. But the President may want to consider a non-politician for the PCSO post – one with known skills in financial management and who understands charity work.
Charity must transcend political affiliations, and must not be used for partisan purposes as elections approach. The PCSO distributes ambulances, medical kits and other forms of assistance to local government units. Its individual beneficiaries are mostly the poorest of the poor, who often seek referrals from their local politicians.
Such forms of assistance are badly needed across the country, and the need cannot be compromised by politics. The nation has seen the ugly consequences when politics is injected into humanitarian work, in that unfortunate conversation between Roxas and Tacloban City Mayor Alfred Romualdez in the immediate aftermath of Super Typhoon Yolanda.
The World Bank, which is the principal supporter of the conditional cash transfer program for the very poor, has made an effort to steer the program away from the clutches of politicians. This task has always been hardest during election campaigns. A similar effort to de-politicize PCSO programs must also be implemented, especially with the approach of the 2016 elections. In picking the new PCSO chairman, President Aquino must bear in mind that true charity is free of politics. Charity is for all.