The televised nationwide public address of Noynoy Aquino Monday evening to explain the presidential pork barrel called DAP, or Development Acceleration Program, started off with a very clear indication that his administration is falling apart.
Would you believe that he himself, the president of the land, would be the one to actually check the readiness of the microphones and cameras for the live feed that was to follow? Yes, he did. Noynoy, already at the rostrum and all set to go, had to pause to tell his audience to wait as the feed was being synchronized.
Wow. Wasn't that the job of someone else? Anyway, what else did you expect but another flop. Even having an audience clearly shows Noynoy needed to have a crutch. Most presidents give televised addresses from their offices -- alone -- except for a few close aides and the camera crews.
But Noynoy must now be feeling so alone and isolated that there must be great comfort in having himself surrounded by the mandatory officials, who are obliged to nod occasionally and clap at the end, never mind if they had to sit tight and uncomforable for the entire duration of Noynoy's b.s.
My greatest embarrassment, however, was on catching a glimpse of the Cebu governor among the herded stiffs. But I guess you can't tweet a lick of your tongue. I felt ashamed too for my religion on seeing a squad of pom-pom girls dressed in nuns' habits.
The address of Noynoy was a big fat lie. Everybody knew even before he gave the address that he was going to lie. Again, never mind those officials who have no choice but to be there. But the others who came, came with the knowledge that they were lending themselves to be witnesses to the commission of a lie.
Everything that Noynoy said in that address was a lie. The DAP was never conceived to do good but to perpetuate the evil that is the pork barrel. What incidental benefit may have been derived as a result has a different purpose altogether -- they had to show a little something.
But that little something is sorely missing in details. Oh, Noynoy mentioned building classrooms. But hasn't his education secretary been insisting there is no classroom shortage? Ah, the fish always gets caught in the mouth.
Still, never mind about the lies because that was what everybody expected Noynoy to do. He actually had no choice. Either he lies, or he owns a mistake. But Noynoy never owns to a mistake. To him, it was the Supreme Court -- all 14 justices of them -- who erred.
Noynoy believes he is more intelligent than all the Supreme Court justices put together. To prove that, he gave the whole world a glimpse of that superior intelligence by bringing down the constitution to the level of a no parking sign.
To prove that it is all right, in his mind, to violate the constitution for as long as you are trying to do good, he told the world that it is all right to park next to a no parking sign if, say, you are trying to save someone who is dying. What a moron.
To sum it up, what Noynoy told the Filipino nation is that he is beyond the reach of the constitution and that the Supreme Court better not mess with him. He actually warned the Supreme Court to avoid getting into a head-on clash with his presidency.
Promptly taking the cue, the Commission on Audit announced an audit of all Supreme Court funds. There could be more if the Supreme Court doesn't toe the line, especially after it has been put on notice that Noynoy is going to seek a reconsideration of its "wrong" unanimous ruling on the DAP.
So you see, we have all been wrong in calling for the head of budget secretary Butch Abad. Abad can froth in the mouth pushing for DAP, but if Noynoy does not approve it, nothing will come of it. In the end, the buck stops with Noynoy. Noynoy is the face of DAP, not Abad.
Noynoy has exhibited dictatorial tendencies, making him dangerous. But he can be more dangerous than an ordinary dictator. Most dictators throughout history have shown remarkable levels of intelligence. Dictatorial powers in the hands of someone like Noynoy and heaven help us.