Showing posts with label Malacanan Palace. Show all posts

Malacaῆan people should stop mumbling wishful thoughts….

By Apolinario Villalobos

Every time people in Malacaῆan say something, especially about the “good works” they have done, eyebrows are raised. The statements are embarrassingly eliciting guffaws, giggles, laughter. There is for instance something on poverty which is implied to have been reduced, or crime rate that has been checked, or energy problem that is being resolved, or economy that is on the rise, or unemployment rate that has been reduced, etc. etc. For one who is not blind, deaf and dumb, all those are of course, wishful thoughts!

Filipinos, except the ass lickers in Congress and other nooks of the government, know for a fact that surveys are just numbers and not facts. How can those at the palace by the Pasig River say that poverty has been checked when the minimum wage got stucked way below the poverty line while the prices of prime commodities have not been returned to their former affordable level, or steadily and stealthily rise under the noses of the so-called guardian agencies like Department of Trade and Industry and Department of Agriculture? How can they say that unemployment rate has been reduced when every year, the number of standbys balloons as great number of fresh graduates march out of university and college portals every year with no jobs in sight?

On the issue of energy, it is only now when the summer season is fast approaching that the government is in a quandary on what to do, despite the current administration’s having all solid five years, but they did not lift a finger. The president relied on the input of his “bright” secretary of Energy who has the tendency to make panicky statements. As a last resort, they asked Congress for an emergency power! The said agency is even still in a limbo on what really must be done, as no fixed solution is in sight. On the other hand, alarming statements are issued by the Energy secretary to condition the mind of the Filipinos for the blackouts that should be expected!

When we were in elementary, every time we had tests, our teachers would order us to pass our papers “finished or not finished”, when the bell has rang. For this administration, it is not “finished or not finished”, but just “not finished”. But the consolation of the president is that his hands are verrrryyyy clean with all the constant washing!

The President’s Spokespersons

By Apolinario Villalobos

The past presidents of the country had only one spokesperson each. No problem was encountered every time those spokespersons relayed to the media during the press conferences what the president wanted to convey. Questions were answered with profound resoluteness and clarity.

It is important that the spokesperson is consistent, intelligent, articulate, and updated with the happenings. Extra care should be exercised every time the spokesperson opens his or her mouth, being the alter ego of the president. Unfortunately for the current president, every time his spokespersons open their mouth, contradictory statements are heard. And they have an impressive “number”… more than “one”. Does the president need such a number of speakers? Can he not find one that can be trusted? He has been told about the danger of getting more than speaker as they will just muddle his messages to the Filipino people. He did not listen. This criticism has been given color by some sectors of the media by calling his group…Student Council, due to the obvious inexperience right on the first several days they started to speak for him. Still he did not listen.

Now, blunder after blunder ensued as these spokespersons verbalized  statements from the president’s office. But still, the highest official of the land took no heed in the call of even the media men to take a closer look at how his spokespersons perform and do what is best and practical. He forgot perhaps the adage: too many cooks spoil the broth.

Finally, not only are his trusted agency secretaries pushing him down, but his equally trusted “speakers”, as well. What a misfortune to befall such a “good guy” whose father is treated by some Filipinos as a “hero”. Is it fair?