Finger-pointing, "your face sounds familiar"
The Senate and the BOI Reports notwithstanding, the president has openly and repeatedly pointed to General Napeñas as the immediate and direct cause of the Mamasapano debacle. What we heard from PNoy, in his meeting with the religious leaders headed by Brother Eddie Villanueva last Monday, is that Napeñas has ''fooled'' him. The general allegedly did not disclose the true picture on the ground. Napeñas allegedly failed to ''coordinate." It was all Napeñas' fault. He has to take all the "bullets." And the president has no responsibility whatsoever. General Alan L. Purisima is also without fault. This was repeated in the PNP Academy and in the PMA graduations, respectively. This finger-pointing is becoming the official mantra of this administration. But both the BOI and the Senate disagreed.
If we follow the president's line of argument, then Napeñas did it all, without clearance from the president. He did it on his own call without the knowledge, much less the approval of the hierarchy of command. Assuming indeed that he did as now claimed by the president, therefore, somebody so high must have given Napeñas that power, that authority, and that audacity to move and endanger the lives of SAF troopers, on his own discretion. And that somebody was not acting PNP chief Espina and definitely not DILG Secretary Mar Roxas, who was purposely and intentionally kept in the dark. That somebody must be higher than Roxas. A grade one pupil would know who that powerful one is.
The senatorial aspirant, Madam Secretary of Justice, is quick to pronounce her boss innocent, the BOI conclusions notwithstanding. If Malacañang is entirely faultless, then the president is not responsible either for anything that happens to our country. He has nothing to do concerning the incoming energy crisis. His favorite Energy Secretary Ecot Petilla is also not at fault. Then, perhaps it will be the fault of the consumers for using too much energy. It may be the fault of the businessmen and industrialists who own the companies that use too much energy. It may be the fault of the car owners, bus owners and jeepney owners for using a lot of gas and crude oil. Malacañang is not at fault. The president has all the immunities from any and all kinds of faults.
If the president is not at fault at all, then he has no responsibility for the congested seaports that caused the spiraling of the prices of imported goods and cause too much delay in the export of Philippine products. Malacañang is not at fault for the series of mechanical troubles besetting the LRT and the MRT, the archaic railway system and the risky highways and perilous roads that led to too many road accidents and deaths. The president has no responsibility for stinking toilets and the congestion in the airports. He is completely faultless. He has nothing to do with the rising incidence of crimes, of the worsening drug problems and the rise of terrorisms. These are our fate, our destiny. We just have to grin and bear them as our crosses to Golgotta.
Malacañang has nothing to answer for the rising poverty incidence, for the millions of jobless and homeless Filipinos, for Filipinos who are executed abroad, kidnapped or caught in the midst of battles, in search of jobs which are not available in the domestic labor markets. The president should not be asked about OFWs who are raped, jailed, and maltreated abroad or summarily executed for their religious beliefs. Malacañang has no accountability to the people. He has all the reasons and the justifications, and there are many subordinates to point to. We have a completely immaculate president, blameless amidst all our adversities.
I am sad that we are in a nation whose leader has no accountability to the people. We are called "the boss" but when something goes wrong, some underlings are at fault. The top guy is never at fault. Perhaps, the fault, like Shakespeare said, “Is not in our stars, but in ourselves, that we are all underlings." Sad.
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