Department of Miscommunication?

In his most recent press conference, DOTC Secretary Jun Abaya reminded me of people who say sorry but ruin it all by justifying or citing reasons why it’s really not their fault and that they were also hurt and that they have feelings too!

Listening to his statement, it was clear that Secretary Abaya was trying to show the public that something was being done about the problem but clearly making a lot of effort to avoid admitting fault on the side of airport personnel, even saying that the whole uproar has been blown out of proportion and has affected the morale of airport security screeners. Abaya also emphasized that the officials present and working at the NAIA were all there to help and serve President Noynoy Aquino and that they were as concerned about his image relative to the embarrassing incidents of “Laglag Bala.” This actually gave me the impression that the press conference was mostly about complying with the President’s instruction, or simply to pacify El PNoy who is probably at wits end on how to justify not firing Secretary Abaya, NAIA GM Honrado and the head of the Office of Transport Security Usec. Roland Recomono. 

Here is a portion of the transcript of the said press conference:

And to give you a perspective: If you have 34.2 million passengers who pass through NAIA terminals; and there are 1,510, let’s say 2014, who were caught with ammunition, and you do the math, then the percentage of passengers with ammunition versus the total number is 0.004 percent. That’s 0.004 percent.

If you take it from departing passengers alone, dahil karamihan dito are really departing passengers because the arriving passengers are not screened on their way out of personal baggage, it is 0.008%.

So it appears that cases have been blown out of proportion. Let us be mindful that when allegations cast aspersion on all, it is not far-fetched to think that some of those tasked with our security will suffer from lower morale. This would be a disservice to all.

But again, although we are talking about statistics in the decimals, let me emphasize that a single case of any passenger wrongly charged, extorted upon, victimized by planting, unjustly charged in court, is unjust. It is not something that government should ignore. It is something that government should put full force and attention to. And likewise, it is a great concern for the state. The numbers don’t spell it. A single case of injustice merits full government attention.

So we are ferreting out the truth to fix lapses, and restore the confidence of the public in our airport security staff and police, and likewise, restore the morale of our security personnel as well.

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Had Secretary Abaya consulted with real professionals in communication, he would have been advised to first keep it short and simple by saying: there is a problem – we will look into it, I give you my personal assurance. (Sadly his assurance at this stage has the same value as an expired load for a cellphone).

Then he would have been advised not to blame or insinuate malice or wrongdoing because he is already in a defensive position and to kick up the dust at his detractors does not achieve any good or improve his position. Never use accusatory terms such as “casting aspersion” or “blown out of proportion” because you are essentially saying it’s not your fault, even worse you are pointing your dirty finger at someone else, in this case, presumably the media!

Third, he would have been told to drop the statistics because they never catch in the face of emotions, apprehension or paranoia. In this particular case, his use of statistics back fires on him because it reveals (on his terms) that the incidents involving live ammo or amulets have been going on since “2014,” and it has taken this political wild fire” to force the DOTC to react. A counter to his claims would also come in the form of a statement on Trip Advisor that a “Laglag Bala” incident took place in 2012. Statistics and data are only good for bragging scores and quotas not reducing fear or paranoia.

Fourth: Don’t contradict yourself and never shoot yourself in the foot. After trivializing the incidents with statistics, Abaya blows up his own boat by saying:

“But again, although we are talking about statistics in the decimals, let me emphasize that a single case of any passenger wrongly charged, extorted upon, victimized by planting, unjustly charged in court, is unjust. It is not something that government should ignore. It is something that government should put full force and attention to. And likewise, it is a great concern for the state. The numbers don’t spell it. A single case of injustice merits full government attention.” This “beauty pageant statement” does not reflect the action or response of the DOTC or Malacañang apologists. There were victims and until yesterday the P-Noy Misadministration was living on “denial.”

Fourth: accept the situation for what it is, from the public perspective because you are outnumbered and outgunned and no amount of rationalization will convince a crowd, the public, even a mob on something they already made their mind up about. So far what government apologists have been doing is adopting the philosophy: “If you can’t convince them – confuse them.” What they should master is the art of convincing people they are on our side. Unfortunately that is difficult for the lawyers at the DOTC and Malacañang who are trained to argue, who believe their opinion is the only one that counts, and who constantly believe they are “right.”

It is too late in the game for members of the P-Noy Misadministration to learn “real” public relations and public communications, but for those left in the bureaucracy or planning to be in the next administration, it would be well worth your time to learn from such “fails” and to remember that: A “civil servant” who needs to explain or apologize when everything “has blown out of proportion,” is a civil servant who has failed to serve properly.

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