Hot on "wang-wang," frozen on Hong Kong

When President Noynoy Aquino first assumed office, an inordinately big deal was made out of two popular but absolutely meaningless gestures: No blinkers and sirens (or wang-wang) in his car, and specific orders for his convoy to stop at all red lights.

I was incredulous. I felt that if Noynoy meant to show leadership by example, he did not have to treat the country to a circus. All substantive and relevant demands needing presiden-tial attention are destined to fall on his lap as a matter of course. Or has he forgotten who he is?

As president, Noynoy doesn't have to go looking for opportunities to showcase leadership. They will come looking for him. But if that frivolous and reckless "no wang-wang" show offers any consolation, it is that now we know the kind of decision-making to expect from our president.

What made this display of official frivolity, and the subsequent national outpouring of approval for the folly, even sadder was the realization that the true extent of naivete in the country seemed more sweeping than previously imagined.

There went my countrymen, lustily cheering the pudding before the eating. But as fate would have it, the real show did not take long in coming. Along came crazed former police officer Rolando Mendoza. And the world of Noynoy turned upside down, as if struck silly by a wayward bus.

Mendoza commandeered a tourist bus with Hong Kong tourists inside, taking them hostage. To make the absurd story short, the negotiations failed, police botched a rescue attempt, and Mendoza went berserk, killing eight of the tourists before himself getting killed.

Let me say at this point that I disagree with those who insist Noynoy should have gotten personally involved in the crisis. I do not think the situation, no matter how grave, demanded the direct intervention of the president.

Nevertheless, the incident presented Noynoy with precisely the very opportunity he needed to show leadership. Here was a situation that was in stark contrast to that stupid "no wang-wang" show he starred in earlier to enthrall a nation too quick to fall for the shallow.

Here was the real thing, the final piece of shit that threatens to pull the innards out. With the world as his stage, via the magic of satellite television, Noynoy had the opportunity great leaders don't want to miss stepping into to challenge the limits of their capabilities.

But this was not to be. By the accounting of most neutral observers, Noynoy failed to exercise the kind of leadership demanded by the circumstances, even if these circumstances did not require his direct involvement in operational decision-making.

All Noynoy could have done to exercise leadership was simply to act presidential. And by presidential is meant not being invisible to the public eye. With television going crazy over the incident, the one thing the global audience saw was the very thing they did not see: Noynoy.

Where was the president? Did Noynoy not realize that even just by showing his face on television, even with nothing attributed to his image, the sobering and reassuring impression to be derived would have been that the leadership was at least in control of the situation?

There are times when just the sight of the presidential face, or the sound of his voice, could have a telling effect on the way people carry out their responsibilities on the ground. But sadly, that face and that voice were nowhere to be seen or heard that fateful day.

And then last Friday, exactly 11 days after the fiasco, President Noynoy suddenly showed his face and found his voice. It finally occurred to him it was time to take the blame for what happened. "At the end of the day, I am responsible for what has transpired," he told the nation.

What did I tell you? A man who builds monuments to "wang-wang" is bound to find the truly important things too imposing and threatening. Frozen into inaction, they agonize interminably. And when they finally act, they will find the audience has left, and the reason for acting gone.