P-Noy took the fall for his kabarkadas

I like the tweet of Ruffy Biazon posted by RG Cruz on Facebook: A president should always be ready to take the blame. But those around him should always make sure he doesn’t have to.

It shouldn’t happen the way it did when P-Noy took responsibility for his bungling underlings. But no one wanted to take responsibility so he had to. Horrible! Even in chess, everyone is expendable to protect the King. That’s simply because if the King falls, the game is over.

So why did P-Noy take the fall for the obvious failure of his kabarkadas?

I am not an expert on how the mind of P-Noy works. I do not know him at all. I must have been in his shadow only twice or thrice. But I was talking to someone who knows him a little bit more. That person thinks P-Noy is more of an introvert and has a rather small circle of close friends.

I can understand that state of mind. That could well describe me. But what apparently makes us different is that I really do not need friends as security blankets. I understand that P-Noy does.

So I am told it is not surprising for P-Noy to claim responsibility for the Luneta hostage debacle because it was getting too hot for his close buddy Rico Puno. Under questioning by the de Lima committee, Puno had to admit that he is not qualified to handle a hostage situation. The police at the site must have sensed that too and that’s why they apparently ignored him when he tried to communicate supposed orders from P-Noy.

Another question comes to mind after Puno’s admission of inadequacy: what exactly can he handle to merit the DILG post? Has he undergone some police training perhaps? Or is his qualification merely based on his chummy relationship with PNP officials?

Other than his special friendship with P-Noy, is he really qualified for the job of Usec for police matters at the DILG? A guns and ammunitions salesman does not make an expert on police matters.

As Usec, he does not have to undergo vetting by the Commission on Appointments. So he can keep his position even if he has no special skills so long as P-Noy trusts him.

Indeed, P-Noy had effectively gone over the edge for Puno when he instructed poor Jesse Robredo to stay away from the police because that’s Puno’s turf. I am not sure Robredo can legally shirk responsibility just like that because under the law, he is responsible for the police. Robredo should not have agreed to an arrangement that looks like what Cito Lorenzo agreed to at Agriculture with JocJoc Bolante as the real power.

In fact, Puno is closer to P-Noy than Robredo in the same way that JocJoc was closer to the Arroyos than Lorenzo. I was told that when the Cabinet was being formed, there were strong indications Puno was able to convince P-Noy to appoint PNP Chief Jesus Verzosa as DILG Secretary with him, Puno, keeping the seat warm until Verzosa retires.

When that didn’t seem something that could be explained well, P-Noy decided to keep the DILG portfolio for himself in the meantime and that means it is Puno who is effectively the DILG head. And that’s what is going to happen now that P-Noy declared he will retain direct control of PNP. We now have a DILG with two effective heads: Robredo and Puno standing in for P-Noy.

It now seems that appointing Robredo was an afterthought and only because there was strong pressure from political allies in the Liberal Party and civil society to give the position to the Magsaysay awardee. It is also because Robredo had credentials good enough to show VP Jojo Binay who wanted the post too.

Of course P-Noy is playing with fire that could burn his administration down by coddling those in his inner circle who have lost the confidence of the people. But P-Noy probably figures he has a high enough approval rating so he can take the heat. I understand that the Palace took a quick opinion poll to measure the damage on P-Noy’s approval rating after the hostage debacle and he was said to have lost a very manageable 11 points.

I imagine the way they see it, P-Noy’s 86 percent approval rating less 11 percent is still higher than the 60 percent when he decided to run for President. But it is too early in his watch to lose this much. My gut feel tells me even those who voted for him and are still supportive are also now starting to wonder if what happened is the last or just the first of similar blunders ahead from what is turning out to be a bunch of amateurs in high places.

P-Noy must be more demanding of his inner circle. Kabarkadas have a way of taking it easy knowing the boss has a soft spot for them. Thus, it is easy for them to take P-Noy for granted compared to those who got appointed on the strength of their credentials or proven track record of achievements.

If this three headed hydra of a Comm Group knows what it is doing, it will work to fix the damage in the area of how the public perceives the competence of this administration moving forward. They should tell us in very specific terms how P-Noy is fixing the problems that caused the Luneta debacle. And since P-Noy did say something about heads rolling, the public is waiting for really big heads to roll and not just some PNP underlings.

One more thing… Secretary Sonny Coloma should, like all good spokesmen, also learn when to keep his mouth shut. I don’t understand why he said on government radio at that, P-Noy will not resign even if he took responsibility for the blunder.

No one is asking P-Noy to resign anyway so that Coloma’s statement is worse than useless. It may have given the opposition ideas. I think Coloma should suppress his desire for exposure at all costs just so he can keep his job at the Palace. 

One last thing… the guys around P-Noy had better learn how to play chess so they can understand why everyone including the Queen, the bishops and the knights are dispensable and may be sacrificed to save the King… They must protect the King or the game is over!

Vistan and Popoy

Popoy Juico called me to say that neither he nor wife Margie volunteered their opinion about Sonny Vistan to the Palace. They also did not actively campaign to ditch Vistan’s GSIS nomination. Popoy said he was asked about Vistan after the Palace got some negative feedback from many other people who had interacted with him while he was at Solid Bank. Because he was specifically asked, Popoy explained, he gave his opinion.

Popoy thinks people are giving him and his wife too much credit in terms of influence at the Palace. He also said he had long forgiven Vistan and does not carry a grudge anymore. He also said none of the things he said or heard said about Vistan that reached the Palace had to do with issues of integrity… only work style. Mahirap ka-trabajo.

I take that to mean that perhaps, the Palace is not comfortable with the brash and intimidating manner by which many ex-Citibankers are known to relate with people they work with. Some people describe ex Citibankers as ego maniacs with a superiority complex that grates in the Filipino workplace.

I guess the Palace wants a team player. I guess they are ready to sacrifice some competence in favor of someone with a less developed ego. Maybe they want someone who is a “batang klub” or with the mindset of a kabarkada.

 For now, it is back to square one in the search for a new GSIS president.

Husband Jose Villaescusa sent this one.

GIRL: Walang hiya ka! Bakit hindi mo sinabing may asawa kana pala?!

GUY: Aba aba! Hoy, ikaw itong nagsabing you are looking for a husband! Well, I’m a husband.

Boo Chanco’s e-mail address is  [email protected]. This and other columns may be accessed at www.boochanco.net