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Opinion

Pnoy on tv, too late to mean anything

TO THE QUICK - Jerry Tundag - Pilipino Star Ngayon

Noynoy Aquino is going on national television later this evening to address the nation about the controversial presidential pork barrel that he and budget secretary Butch Abad have euphemistically called the Disbursement Acceleration Program, which the Supreme Court earlier struck down.

I am giddy with excitement about this development not because I need to hear his explanation but because I have been proven right in my prediction that it will take him several days of silence, reclusion and cigarettes before he gets to summon enough gumption to face the music, by which time it will be too late.

Earlier, I was proven right as well when Noynoy refused to accept the resignation of Abad. I knew Abad would be forced to tender a courtesy resignation and Noynoy would promptly reject it, hewing closely to a repetitive script that is fast becoming the hallmark of this farce we call the Aquino administration.

And I really feel bad about the people who sincerely but naively put all their eggs in Noynoy's basket. They must now be feeling pretty much like the orphaned Miami Heat fans. The one hero they once looked up to for deliverance has delivered all their eggs somewhere else.

The Heat "fans" are now in a dilemma. They now need to prove whether they are truly Heat fans or were just in it because of LeBron. So will they stay the course and remain with the Heat, which I suspect is really just for appearances, or pack up and go with LeBron to Cleveland?

The same with the believers of Noynoy. Will they continue condemning the pork barrel, in whatever form and name it may come -- just like Noynoy did one time while still a senator -- or now accept it in its specific form and name as DAP, which Noynoy is expected to praise and defend to high heavens on tv this evening.

Many backers of Noynoy blessed with the ability to see things for what they are and whose hearts are truly rooted in principle than in pride have started to criticize him for defending erring pals and refusing to heed good counsel for him to do right. Others, too proud to own up, would rather defend the indefensible.

I knew right from the start that Noynoy was a fake. It is just unfortunate that in their desperation for reforms and sincere desire to see an end to corruption, some Filipinos were driven to accept whatever it is that is handed to them packaged as a solution to their problems.

I knew Noynoy was a fake because if he was truly honest and had the best interest of the country in mind, he would have rejected outright the invitation for him to run for president. Noynoy knew from the start that he did not have what it takes to be president. By saying yes to the offer, he betrayed the nation's trust.

He knew right from the start how high the expectations of his countrymen were, expectations he knew he could never fulfill. Before his mother died, not once in his life was his name ever dropped as a probable bet for president. That was not just a hint. It was a declaration to his face that he just didn't have it.

If Noynoy was not a fake, he would not have allowed himself to be used by those who coveted the pass-on popularity of his mother which they sought to harness, through Noynoy, for their own interests and benefit -- interests and benefit of which the DAP is just one glaring example.

Unfortunately for this country, and for those who truly but naively believed in him, Noynoy not only swept with him into power his own clique of corrupt politicians, allies and supporters, he is also obstinately defending them and ascribing them no capability to do wrong.

Noynoy is a tough nut to crack because he thinks like a child -- you know, when you are not with him you are against him. That is why, political enemies and critics aside, even those with only the best of intentions can never penetrate his shell.

No trait in a person can be so unpresidential than this impregnability. His automatic rejection of all except those in his inner circle shuts off the nation from his consciousness. Only occasionally will he lighten up to pay them lip service, like calling them his bosses. But everybody knows he is just pulling their legs.

ABAD

AQUINO

BUTCH ABAD

DISBURSEMENT ACCELERATION PROGRAM

IF NOYNOY

KNEW

MIAMI HEAT

NOYNOY

NOYNOY AQUINO

RIGHT

SUPREME COURT

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