I was one of those who vetted for Noynoy Aquino, (and have Paypal receipts to prove it) being qualified for President compared to the more cerebral Dick Gordon and Gibo Teodoro because the latter duo did not have the stature to mount a credible and a successful presidential campaign during the May 10 elections the way Aquino can. The Office of the President, to my mind, should only be symbolic of our unity as a people and the discharge of its function, a matter of collective decision of its cabinet and technocrats so minded to help the President on the day to day business of the Office. Though the choice of honorable cabinet members and brilliant presidential advisers, could be a very thorny issue too.
But the petulant President, was taking the center stage and was explicit in his body language that he was in charge of the affairs of the state. It is for this reason that this early, people are already seeing his lack of depth and statesmanship. I batted for him for his ability to secure the majority votes and unite a fractious society, and not to lead a divided nation on the strength of his political acumen because there was none. But his popularity, however, may hold a vast reservoir of goodwill from the electorate who might be willing to join him in this perilous journey to seek for peace and prosperity of the nation. This early he should accept his lack of political savvy and seek the wisdom of his elder statesmen, if he has any, before embarking on a decision that is very crucial to the life of the nation. It is too early for Aquino to become a traditional politician, unless of course, he had always been one right from the start.
The latest of his blunder was his pronouncement that the detained Senator Antonio Trillanes may not be guilty of “coup de’tat”, “mutiny” or “rebellion” in connection with the 2003 and 2007 Oakwood and Manila Pen military adventurism staged by the Senator and his group. If it was his own opinion, it could be excusable, but if it was the opinion of his “legal advisers”, it was intolerable. The case against Senator Trillanes and his minions was already filed in court after the prosecuting officer has already determined that a “prima facie” evidence against the Senator and his companions was found to warrant the filing of the case. Prudence dictates that he should stay his hands from the case and let the wheels of justice run its course without “presidential overbearing” to railroad the case towards the acquittal of all the accused.
Perhaps the President thinks that the people are so stupid not to see that the motive behind this presidential interference was his effort to get additional vote in the Senate to ensure the election of his LP cohort, Senator Francis Pangilinan as Senate President of the 15th Congress. Or that he was already of that opinion that the people were stupid because they elected him in the Office in the first place.
If this new administration which promised to lead us in a journey towards better governance and integrity in public dealings, could be this cold and duplicitous, then we are in a far worst state than the previous administration it has replaced.
Expect also the same administration, which may need additional vote for the Senate Presidency, to treat Senator Ping Lacson, who is still in hiding for the murder of newsman, Bubby Dacer and his driver, Manuel Corbito with kid gloves when he has finally summoned enough courage to resurface.
The first blunder of Noynoy was his insistence to take his oath of office before the dissenter in the SCORP, Justice Conchita C. Morales while Chief Justice Corona was also present in the stage. It was rubbing the salt in so to speak. He could have been more presidential by taking his oath before a humble barangay official and downplay his rejection of the SCORP, but even this simple vestige of a true statesman is utterly lacking in him, much less an ordinary common sense.
His second blunder was creating the “Truth Commission” headed by the very untruthful EX-CJ, Hilario Davide, Jr.
His third blunder was appointing VP Jejomar Binay, who has been salivating for the Presidency since day one he was elected VP, the head of HUDCC. Another misstep of this administration, aside from this latest blatant “judicial interference” could lead the Presidency being handed to Binay in a silver platter via EDSA TRES. When that happens, we could no longer pray for help, for obviously, God had not been in our side for too long that we have barely noticed it.
Viewpoint Neutral 