Lessons from the first 100 days

Every opinion maker and his blog seem to be in 100 Days mode this week, even though there is no way three months and a week of governance could be the basis of a fair assessment of the six-year presidency of Benigno Aquino 3rd. But there is sound reason to go over key actions of his administration and the lessons it can learn from them. Indeed, when a wise leader makes mistakes, he looks for lessons, not excuses. So here are some takeaways from PNoy’s first hundred days:

Lack of involvement

The President must take charge. President Aquino’s big debacle since June 30 was the Rizal Park hostage crisis, and his main failing in the eyes of many was his lack of involvement, not even assigning a Cabinet member that his order to use the PNP-Special Action Force in the bus assault was carried out. PNoy has repeatedly quoted the international manual on terrorism to justify the absence of Palace or Cabinet intervention. But when the nation’s global reputation and good will are at stake, which they are in any incident involving foreigners, the national government cannot but be involved. Moreover, contrary to the terrorism manual’s analysis, several Filipino hostage takers had shown deference to top officials who negotiated with them, rather than escalating their demands and hardening their stance.

The need for high-level intervention is further underscored by the repeated success of Palace and Cabinet efforts and guidance in resolving hostage, mutiny and kidnapping events during the Arroyo administration (see August 30 column). During the 2003 Oakwood Mutiny, ambassador and former armed forces chief Roy Cimatu and then-deputy presidential chief of staff Rene Velasco negotiated with the Magdalo group of rebel soldiers, who surrendered peacefully. The 2007 school bus hostage incident outside Manila City Hall was resolved with direct participation of then-Social Welfare Sec. Esperanza Cabral, Sen. Bong Revilla and Gov. Chavit Singson, to whom the grenade- and Uzi-armed hostage taker surrendered.

Waging a campaign

The President is governing a country, not waging a campaign.

In his first act as president, PNoy issued, revised, then reissued Me-morandum Circular No. 1 firing civil servants holding non-career positions. Then came executive orders terminating so-called midnight appointees and stripping government lawyers of career executive status conferred by the previous government. These actions may have made for front-page and prime-time news, but did the Palace consider the impact on government operations, public service and morale in the bureaucracy?

Plainly, President Aquino must realize that his word is policy, not just publicity. More than just winning public approval, his statements convey and, indeed, decree government actions and positions. Even before he took office, he openly disputed the Supreme Court decision to affirm the power of his predecessor to appoint Chief Justice Renato Corona. In his public statements, PNoy had claimed or insinuated anomalies in the budget, rice and police procurement and road projects. He had also declared that Sen. Antonio Trillanes should not have been charged with coup d’etat. Are these official positions formulated after full review of law and evidence, or just tidbits for media to play up and forget, as they did on the campaign trail?

Begin at home

The fight against corruption begins in the President’s own house. While the investigation and prosecution of past presidents grabs headlines and pumps up public fervor, they do little to fight corruption in incumbent administrations. That’s the evidence from the first Aquino administration, which had both the Presidential Commission on Good Government and Kamag-anak Inc., and the second Macapagal presidency, which prosecuted, jailed and convicted deposed leader Joseph Estrada, but was still pummeled with allegations of high-stakes graft.

What’s more needed is a tough line by the President against corruption under his watch. He must be as strict on people close to him as he is on others—or stricter—to show that he means business in fighting sleaze. But now, we see a leader who repeatedly alleges anomalies in the past government without proof, but dismisses jueteng allegations against a close aide without investigation. Last week the Palace announced that the commission investigating graft among presidential appointees will be scrapped. What message is all that sending to PNoy’s friends, supporters, allies and other close associates appointed to high positions in the government?

Show respect for others

To gain respect, the Palace must show respect for other institutions and nations. In his TV interview on the hostage crisis, the President implied that an official Hong Kong letter on the incident showed disrespect toward his office and the Philippine government. While such an affront, if it happened, was improper and inexcusable, one cannot but recall how Hong Kong Chief Executive Donald Tsang himself was treated. His call to PNoy during the crisis was turned away, and a Palace spokesperson even suggested that Tsang’s statement about the call was untrue.

But then, some high officials in the Philippines may sympathize with Tsang. For weeks, Chief Justice Corona, head of a co-equal branch of government, was treated like a usurper of the highest judicial post.

The constitutionally independent Ombudsman Merce-ditas Gutierrez was openly castigated and threatened with removal if she did not handle cases against the former First Couple as the Palace wanted.

And the President had no qualms about remarking on cases already in court, like the coup d’etat trial of Sen. Antonio Trillanes. Is this part of the “Tuwid na Daan?”

Remember the past

Ang hindi lumingon sa pinangga-lingan, hindi makararating sa paroro-onan. That Filipino proverb on the need to remember the past in charting the future, seems relevant to a leadership that seems hell-bent on denigrating everything about the past administration and portraying itself as the exact opposite in every way. In fact, many policies and programs of Gloria Arroyo were espoused by Benigno Aquino 3rd in his first State of the Nation Address, from conditional cash transfer to peace and security thrusts toward the communist and Muslim insurgencies.

As for the Arroyo traits that Aquino eschews, there may be instances when the former are more appropriate than the latter. One common comparison is between the micro-managing lady and her more hands-off successor. For instance, President Arroyo closely monitored and managed crisis situations through her chosen officials and the Palace situation room, and even directly intervened: she herself issued the surrender deadline to the Oakwood mutineers in 2003. By contrast, PNoy was low-key during the Rizal Park hostage drama. Maybe, just maybe, the current administration may have a thing or two to learn from the past.

There are lessons too that have yet to be learned in the coming days, months and years. For one thing, going by the past, public opinion ratings are never forever, and neither are political alliances. And it will be clear over time that any sweeping and fundamental reform will require not just winning slogans and one popular, tough-talking leader. Rather, fighting decades-old ills like corruption and jueteng demand long and sustained efforts, broad collaboration among disparate sectors, painful sacrifice and unyielding faith and fortitude in the face of hardship and setbacks.

Indeed, the lessons get tougher from here on.

Ricardo Saludo heads the Center for Strategy, Enterprise & Intelligence ( ric.saludo@censeisolutions.com This e-mail address is being protected from spambots. You need JavaScript enabled to view it ), providing expertise in strategy and management, enterprise development, intelligence, Internet and media. –RICARDO SALUDO, Manila Times