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Friday, March 30, 2012

UNCHANGING POLITICS

Chaff from the Grain
UNCHANGING POLITICS
By Former Press Secretary HECTOR R.R. VILLANUEVA

"Men are all alike on their promises. It is only in their deeds that they differ." — Moliere

CONTRARY to the popular image of an avenging crusader against graft and corruption, President Benigno Simeon Aquino III, by upbringing and training, is as traditional a politician as the rest of his former colleagues in Congress whose character and disposition will not dramatically change in the next four years in the same manner that a zebra cannot change its stripes.

That is, President Benigno Aquino is neither a reformer in the revolutionary context nor an iconoclast in the radical definition of the term.

His reform agenda is limited to and confined to the combative prose of his teleprompter speeches which he cannot do without.

Hence, his corruption mantra is trapped in the rhetorics, and are not being translated or followed up, or implemented into deeds by his officials.

Thus, a clear distinction has to be made between fundamental and revolutionary reforms that will transform the psyche and culture of the people and society, and willfully going after one’s political enemies, critics, and detractors and labeling them as reforms.

A case in point is the massive use and mobilization of resources of the National Government to go after the enemies of the administration from releases of development funds, to coercive leaks of confidential information and documents, to appointments to government positions, subterranean allowances, and public works to allies and supporters.

These are accepted armory and ammunitions in traditional political warfare which President Benigno Aquino is familiar with, and obviously supports the use of largesse like a typical politician.

This makes President Aquino a traditional politician of the purest breed, judging from the slow trickle-down effects of his reforms.

For example, the "kotong" cops and corrupt clerks have not taken to heart President Aquino’s "daang matuwid" exhortation. Corruption has remained systemic.

When all is said and done, while President Benigno Aquino has obviously the noble intentions of overhauling society, eradicating the culture of corruption, and ingraining the virtue of honesty, the President will not succeed in these noble reforms if his actions are motivated by vengeance, personal hostility, and political vendetta.

That is why the reform agenda is not taking off.

You be the judge

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(For comments and views please e-mailchaff_fromthegrain@yahoo.com.ph)

BY THE WAY
Critics and impartial observers are questioning the insistence of the Commission on Elections (Comelec) on buying the Smartmatic PCOS for cash, albeit discounted, valued at R1.1 billion instead of just leasing the equipment… These units are not only obsolete in technology but are rusting away at a Laguna warehouse after two years of disuse, requiring cleaning and upgrading… Will this be an impeachable offense, or plain graft?... Incidentally, the Land Transportation Office (LTO) has traditionally been an Iglesia ni Cristo turf for many years... Any arbitrary and hasty reorganization will not be looked upon with favor… At the DOTC, the general observation is that appointments and contracts for approval by Secretary Mar Roxas go through a funnel, or an "imbudo" that has no opening at the other end… Last, an important trivia… Japanese earthquake experts advise and recommend that everyone, apart from other preventive measures, should keep handy sneakers or rubber shoes within easy reach or under the bed in the event of earthquakes that will rain down shards of broken glass and other sharp objects to avoid unnecessary injury and infection…Abangan…

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