Gloria in exclusion, or who let the dogs out?

Given that it is the Christmas season, the only “Gloria” I would like to talk about is the glory of God. Unfortunately, the President and the Presidency is larger than the holidays and instead of writing about “Gloria in Excelsis Deo” I have to write about “Gloria in exclusion”.

Disturbing as it is, I must write about the fact that the President may not be a lame duck, but (with all due respect) she is beginning to look like a “saling pusa” who always has to clean up other people’s mess. 

I have long suspected and stated my suspicion that the President’s men may be running things behind her back, but recent events have just about confirmed them. The almost funny part of it is that the two recent events both begin with the letters Pen… as in Peninsula and Penitentiary.

When the Magdalo soldiers held their “armed press conference” at the Manila Peninsula, President Arroyo gave particular instructions to her people on the ground “Not to unduly harass the media”. The response was tear gas, pointed guns and assault rifles, handcuffs, detention, confiscation, documentation, and forced fasting.

To this day, none of her officers or cabinet members, particularly Secretary Ronnie Puno, have ever admitted or confessed as having directly given the order to handcuff ALL MEDIA people. No one has admitted to the fact that the police came ready with bundles of plastic ties more than needed to tie up all the tourists at the Peninsula.

After the Peninsula blunder the next case of manipulation and blunder came from the state penitentiary, where the erroneous or scandalous release of one Romeo Jalosjos caused an uproar. It is not clear how much information or involvement the President may have had in the Jalosjos case, but she certainly had to step in someone else’s bull shit.

Add to this the past sins of some cabinet members who used their powers and connections to influence local elections, where some cases are still being contested by children of the President’s allies who got whipped by their opponents. Then there was the case of money being given out as party favors to new local officials.

Of course who could forget the scandalous involvement of cabinet members in anomalous or controversial biddings such as ZTE and Transco?

Sadly the President seems to be using up most of her time and energy defending or cleaning up her people’s mess. Even if the most recent survey on her “corruptness” was questionable, she is clearly being associated with the corruption of her people. Unless the President wakes up to the lying lullabies of trouble makers around her, the trouble may soon overwhelm her.

Some of the less aggressive and controversial cabinet members around the President seem to have just about given up on stopping the abuse of power or “lakas ng dating” of the trouble makers. They try to do their best in singing their chorus of praise for her leadership and the administration but they also show their disappointment and diminishing faith that good will prevail.

The issues clearly revolve around incompetence or greed. Some are deemed ineffective, useless, or damaged in the position they hold. A few have been around too long and have effectively controlled affairs within Malacanang. Others maybe delivering trophies to the President, but there is now a growing suspicion that some of the problems being solved are also problems that they themselves created. If there are cases of “kidnap me”, why not “coup me with coup pals”?

In a recent gathering of business people, politicians, social activists and some members of cabinet, there was a hushed yet collective wish that the President would shake things up in government in the New Year. Although many were resigned to the idea that change will only come after 2010, some of the optimists and prayerful people wished for a cabinet revamp by January.

In response some of the politicians and government officials compared notes or solicited who ought to be “retired” or outrightly replaced. That in it came easy because the names were those deemed weak, controversial, or corrupt. The more difficult problem was who to get to replace the rejects.

In his book The Principles and Power of Vision, Dr. Myles Munroe wrote: “Vision generates hope in the midst of despair and provides endurance in tribulation. Vision inspires the depressed and motivates the discouraged…. Vision is the foundation of courage and the fuel of persistence.

“Our world today is in desperate need of vision. Even a casual look at the prevailing conditions in our twenty-first century world is enough to produce fear, hopelessness, uncertainty, insecurity, emotional and social trauma, depression, disillusionment, discouragement and despair.

“The threat of economic collapse, social disintegration, moral decay, religious conflict, political instability, global health epidemics, ethnic cleansing, and the clash of civilizations DEMANDS LEADERSHIP THAT CAN SEE BEYOND THE NOW INTO A PREFERRED FUTURE, THAT HAS THE SKILL TO TRANSFER THAT VISION INTO REALITY, AND THAT HAS THE COURAGE TO INSPIRE US TO GO THERE. 

The Arroyo administration has spent most of its time explaining, defending and protecting itself. Everyone has graciously given the President enough room and understanding that she has political debts and political favors to pay. But when those around her start thinking that the President owes them, that the President needs them or that the President can’t survive without them, then the President now needs to prove them wrong. The President must now be President and not whittled down to “Resident”.