Top priority - systems change

In one of his statements on the hostage crisis P-Noy said “I presumed that I could trust officials when they assured me that everything is okay. But that was not the case. Perhaps, I should have taken a more active role.”

When the new president took his oath last June 30, 2010, I am sure he knew that our nation was very, very sick. There is an extremely urgent need to bring the state of the nation into a flourishing one. In order to achieve this, the top priority must be a revamp of our systems - from the country’s defense units, the police, the courts to the jail systems.

How can the President be so naïve to say that he can trust the officials (during the hostage crisis scene) knowing in hindsight that public service in this country has deteriorated and therefore, is predisposed to committing blunders? When Leila de Lima interviewed the policemen last week, she sounded quite exasperated with their answers. It was only her patience that kept her sane all throughout the DOJ inquiry. I am sure anyone who was watching TV that day felt embarrassed and disheartened with the PNP officers in their verse and tact. But reality bites with a sting – this is the quality of officers we have in this country (many even worse). We need intensive training programs big time!

P-Noy cannot afford to accept mediocrity in government. He must make sure he rules in the true sense of the word. He needs to involve himself in the details of planning and implementing changes even if he thinks otherwise. He has already won the spirit of the people. This is a golden moment that does not come along with every president. We are all ready to change but if we continue to see his government fail in leadership, security and controls – then that expectation we have on this President will turn to despair.

Without a good police force, heinous crimes will continue to plague our communities. Without good jail systems, prisoners will continue to “escape” from our prisons which leak like sieves. Without a good court system, our court dockets will forever be clogged with hundreds of thousands of useless cases, leaving the major ones involving rape-murders by big shots and small fry alike, kidnapping, homicides, massive swindles and scams “stuck” unresolved in the pipeline. Our policemen are demoralized owing to public mistrust: Sadly there are too many crooked cops or ex-cops mucking up the situation. We expect that under a “principled” leader, the Philippine National Police will bounce back and regain the confidence and admiration of the nation. In the meantime, rebellion and banditry continue to plague this scattered archipelago and our Armed Forces seem to be too preoccupied on positioning their “favorite” men than in planning tactical warfare and building our country’s defense team. Susmariosep!

How can P-Noy say at this point in time that he can trust the people in government? How can he be ascertain that officers will do the right moves and make the best decisions, when we know very well, there is a lack of proficiency in government. Mr. President, you have barely been in office for a year. Have you forgotten the fight you staged against the previous government during your campaign? Please don’t make us cry in frustration. It is heartbreaking to see that after a long struggle our hope of becoming a great nation once again is crumbling down to pieces.

Please Mr. President, challenge both the local and national government to give back and serve the country. Do not encourage government officials to build a perception that they own the towns and cities they lead. In every town, city and province – schools, parks, bridges and streets are named after the local officials. Isn’t that shameless? Who are they anyway? They are not heroes and yet their names are all over the place.

Why is there poor collection in every bureau? How can the government maximize these collections? Easy, redirect all officers to stop dividing the collections amongst themselves. As a result, so little is turned over to the government. I thought P-Noy becomes president all these hanky punky will stop. It hasn’t!

Even the almighty and ever-powerful Ombudsman who should be the “protector of the people” is not showing us that justice can be done. There are way too many cases pending and up to point in time no actions have been taken. The performance of this office has been questioned in so many cases and instances. In fact, why do we need to even create a Truth Commission for that matter?

Four of the Ombudsman’s eight powers, functions and duties under the Constitution are: 1) investigate on its own, or on complaint by any person, any act or omission of any public official, office or agency, when such act or omission appears to be illegal, unjust, improper or inefficient; 2) direct upon complaint or at its own instance, any public official or employee of the government, or any subdivision, agency, or instrumentality thereof, as well as of any government-owned or controlled corporation with original charter, to perform or expedite any act or duty required by law, or to stop, prevent, and correct any abuse or impropriety in the performance of duties; 3) direct the officer concerned to take appropriate action against a public official or employee at fault, and recommend his removal, suspension, demotion, fine, censure, or prosecution, and ensure compliance therewith; and, 4) determine the cause of inefficiency, red tape, mismanagement, fraud and corruption in the government and make recommendations for their elimination and the observance of high standards of ethics and efficiency.

Just these four powers alone, if performed with determination, would have yielded positive results that would have curved to a large extent graft and corruption, red tape and inefficiency, fraud and mismanagement in the bureaucracy.

Whether the Ombudsman has performed her duty as “Protector of the People” by discharging effectively the powers, functions and duties lodged by the Constitution and R.A. No 6770 in her office – will determine whether she betrayed public trust and culpably violated the Constitution, warranting her impeachment.

Isn’t it too late in the day for the Office of the Ombudsman to wake up from its long sleep by suspending the Euro Generals for a case filed two years ago, for swiftly probing the Globe Asiatique housing mess in Pampanga, and for denying hostage taker Mendoza’s motion for reconsideration of his dismissal from the PNP when that motion was sleeping for nine months. These belated actions remind us of that old movie “Too Late the Hero” starring Van Heflin.

This is the best time for P-Noy to use our eagerness to become better before we change our minds. If P-Noy continues to show us a lack of decisiveness then his appeal to the people will wane faster than you least expect it.

We need a powerful presence, a strong commanding force and an incorruptible leader in this country. We cannot afford to have a wobbly one. Such is the present perception – I hope he gets back on track!