MANILA, Philippines - "If you can't stand the heat, get out of the kitchen." - Harry S. Truman It seems that all the bases are occupied or filled up not by good players but by problems even before President Benigno S. Aquino III can go up and take the bat. And, it is not even 100 days of grace period and moratorium on criticism. Anyway, it is showtime. President Aquino is saying the right things, and tantalizing turns of phrase while his executive officials are fumbling to impress their boss by press releases, and stumbling over problems whose origins are not of their own making but whose onus, as successors, is their command responsibility whether it be the grievances of Police Inspector Rolando Mendoza, or "jueteng" corruption, or PGMA's "midnight appointees," or midnight deals. Thus, the birth pains of the Aquino administration are slowing down reforms either due to sloppy selection, or close friendships, or sibling influence, or political accommodation, or financial payback. Whatever it is, the product-mix is not jelling well, or harmonizing satisfactorily since President Aquino himself appears to have his own personal priorities, likes and dislikes, taste, and focus that which may be perpendicular to what his frontliners think are more urgent and of greater priority. The parts still have to come together. For example, DILG Secretary Jesse Robredo and Usec. Rico Puno should have immediately tendered their irrevocable resignation the very day the bloody hostage-taking incident ended. Instead, to add insult to injury, Sec. Jesse Robredo was not only left out of the IIRC charge sheet but actually became himself a member of the investigation panel with President Aquino affirming his trust and confidence in the two culpable officials which can only happen in the Philippines. Moreover, what will these officials be charged with? It cannot be murder since the slaughter of eight innocent Chinese tourists was perpetuated by a lone crazed policeman while officials to be charged were as far away from the crime scene as a Mount Everest mountaineer is to the nearest city. As accessory to the crime? That would be stretching the logic too far. For incompetence? They are all guilty of incompetence but that would be an exercise in futility. Hence, will the suspects be fined, reprimanded, suspended, terminated, forcibly resigned, demoted, or exonerated? Easier said than done. In time, the memory of the incident will fade, and the tragedy will have been forgotten by Filipinos who have short memories, although the families of the victims will never forgive the ineptitude of the local authorities. For President Benigno S. Aquino III, it is best to bear in mind the wisdom of Benjamin Franklin that "If you love life, then do not squander time, for that's the stuff life is made of." The people are watching and waiting, and the nation is counting and monitoring between the smart comments and sincere intentions that President Benigno S. Aquino III verbalizes and promises, and the helter-skelter, erratic, tentative, and confusing guidelines and fiats emanating from the
Office of the President that tend to reveal an evident lack of profundity and erudition that may be borne out of lack of experience, political savvy, and vision. You be the judge.