Balancing off Ronnie, Lenny with a 3rd man - Gotcha

Catholic bishops have it all wrong in asking that Joseph Estrada stop his sons from running for public office. They say he promised walang kamag-anak. But that pertained to government deals, not the right to suffrage -- to vote and be voted upon.

Executive Secretary Ronnie Zamora had wanted to thwart creation of an Office of the Chief of Staff. It would be another layer in bureaucratic Malacañang, another duplicator of functions, another block to his designs.

He already shares power as Little President reluctantly with a Presidential Management Staff chief who points out his every mistake to the Boss. He needs another cordon sanitaire around the President like he needs more pounds of fat.

But Zamora blew it. Opening his mouth too soon, he lost -- again -- in his turf war with PMS chief Lenny de Jesus. Estrada didn't relish being pre-empted on national radio about contemplating De Jesus' replacement with former U.P. professor Aphrodicio Laquian, much less having Dragon Lady crying all over him. So Estrada scolded Zamora, then gave De Jesus her pick: elevation to full Cabinet rank as head of a housing department-in-the-making, or stay as mere secretary to the Cabinet but with attendant authority to review public contracts worth P50 million and higher.

De Jesus' tears hint what her preference is. She could have sobbed with joy upon hearing Zamora's calculated intrigue about a department post, but she didn't. So Zamora will have to contend with a feared third force, for Estrada said he sure will appoint Laquian chief of staff as soon as the latter scraps his bid for Canadian immigration.

Zamora characteristically will keep quiet for now. It is not for Malacañang factotums, who draw power not so much from their official duties than from their proximity to the center, to rant against presidential decisions. It is for them to accept everything in silence. A President can be rude, insulting, even downright sadistic to his close aides, a scholar once observed, but their only response will be, "How fortunate that he has us around him who understand the tremendous burdens he is carrying." The President can display social manners of a Vandal sacking a Roman villa, and his intimates will remark to one another: "We don't care about style; what matters is his deep feeling for the poor." And so Zamora had a convivial lunch with De Jesus in front of Estrada right after the scolding.

Yet Zamora knows his bigger woes have just begun. For the strength of his position lies in its consolidation, not dissipation. He has seen it before, as executive assistant in Ferdinand Marcos' Malacañang.

Midway into his martial rule, Marcos had sacked his ambitious executive secretary and abolished the position. He dispersed the job to first two, then three, ultimately seven executive assistants. When they used to work through an executive secretary, the assistants began reporting directly to the President. They elbowed each other for his closeness and attention. Malacañang was never the same again.

When Cory Aquino ascended to power, she restored the Office of the Executive Secretary but also created the PMS to deal with power blocs antagonistic to the former. OES resented having to share chief of staff authority with someone else, but bore it in silence. Fidel Ramos continued the setup, although bickering perennially erupted between OES and PMS.

Zamora and De Jesus are adept at nurturing power blocs to trip each other for presidential favor. Estrada knows it and likes the balance. But an adviser whispered that with Zamora and De Jesus always at odds, Malacañang work could end in deadlock. His solution is not to streamline by putting one under the other, but to create a third office -- a bloc -- soon to be led by Laquian, said to be a nominee of original San Juan supporters.

INTERACTION. Joselu Legarda, Makati: "More and more citizens are welcoming Marine deployment, more and more mayors are asking for it (Gotcha, 19 Jan. 2000). Nothing new. Citizens also welcomed martial law, for it improved law and order. But those were extreme times; the only `extreme' now is quality of government."

Beleaguered citizens in Iliad also welcomed the Trojan horse, Joselu.

Ex-nun Erlinda: "What are politicians so scared about Fred Lim -- that he'd soon stumble upon their irregularities?"

They don't call `im Dirty `Arry for nuthin', Erlinda.

Francis Roque, hotmail.com: "If congressmen don't want Marine patrols, then they should give up their pork barrel for police recruitment."

I hear deafening silence from them, Francis.

Danny Petilla, Woodland, Ca.: "Lim should expand his smear drive and paint houses of the President's friends with `tax evader' or `smuggler'."

Give him time, Danny, he's new on the job.

C. Ibarra, Vt.: "Lim can color-code his spray-painting: green for gamblers and womanizers; yellow for reneging on promises to the poor; blue for favoring the influential; orange for incompetence; violet for protecting felonious relatives."

I know what you're driving at, C., rainbow for Malacañang, right?

Ellen Gumagay, Md.: "I echo Vivian Syyap's frustration with mail not being delivered there (Gotcha, 19 Jan. 2000). I sent photos to my family early November. They haven't received it till now. My only fault was to send it `priority' in an envelope from the post office here -- a temptation for postal workers there who must have thought there was cash inside and threw it away when they found none. Mom says some guy there must be displaying my picture on his desk. Grrr!"

Don't mail a picture frame as "priority," Ellen.

Roel M. Tacaca, Va.: "My mother called to say they just received the Christmas card I sent in November. Guess what, it was obviously opened and resealed. This happens to me every year. Maybe the Marines should take over."

Thank you, Ignacio R. Bunye, Maybelle Miraflor, Mariano Tajon, Ernie Roque, Edrie Alcanzare.

YOUR BODY. A large study casts doubt on the widely held belief that daily vitamin E pills help ward off heart problems. Tests routinely given to patients before cataract surgery do not make the operation any safer. For more broken beliefs, check out cnn.com/health.

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