Different minded President?

Let us all be honest about it.

A lot of people who believe they are entitled to an opinion have at one time or another, described or “called” President Noynoy Aquino, a something or another.

To be quite candid about it, even his so-called allies or party-mates have labeled him regarding his personality at work and at play.

While it may be expected of his enemies to call him names, that’s not as disturbing and improper, compared to when his allies and party-mates “put” labels on the President.

For instance, a high- ranking member of the Liberal Party is regularly quoted by senior media practitioners as calling the President: “Hard headed” and “Mahirap turuan” (difficult to teach).

From the sound of it, the President’s party-mate has become increasingly frustrated and this has manifested in the emotion and adjectives used in labeling the President.

In like manner, many Key Opinion Leaders openly write off the President as “Deaf” or “clueless” because the President has not acted or reacted positively to their suggestions or concerns.

I personally found myself slowly drifting along with this notion that when people don’t follow our suggestion or advice, we simply call them “hard headed”, “ignorant”, “clueless” or “Stupid”.

Thanks to the Zen moments that come with sweeping and hand mopping our bedroom floor, I had a moment of revelation otherwise known as a minute of common sense.

Yes we all have an opinion, some of us may know better than others, and I presume that we sincerely just want to help with good intentions. Unfortunately all these also conspire to make us blind of other people’s opinions, intentions and interest.

Just because people choose not to “listen” or follow our advice, does not make them wrong. Neither does it make us right. They simply choose to be “Different Minded”.

For all intents and purposes, today’s “leaders” are old based on relative age and technology. Global and local economies have been ripped and are being redefined; long established political powers and systems are under attack by social media and being rendered powerless.

As Bob Dylan has sung: “The times they are a changing”.

Considering the fact that the standard solutions have failed to solve age-old problems of government, it is time to be “different minded”.

When Malacañang started to tell the public that Ex-Senator Mar Roxas would soon be coming into the Palace to help, most of us could not imagine or believe that the President would intentionally create a situation of conflict between Roxas and Executive Secretary Jojo Ochoa.

When news began to circulate that Ex-Congressman Nerius Acosta would be a Presidential adviser on matters pertaining to the Department of Environment and Natural Resources, most of us painted it all as part of sharing the political spoils.

But in hindsight, I must confess that I now feel like I have my foot in my mouth.

It was not very long ago when even, “I”, suggested the very same idea in a slightly different manner. I remember saying back then that in order for the new administration to efficiently run the government it would be wise to have 2 teams.

Team 1 would be the “official” bureaucrats composed of experienced “career” government officials who know the ins and outs of each department as well as the complex legal and bureaucratic processes and realities. They would be the government insiders.

In order for the bureaucrats to be effective, they must have the ears of the President and in order to achieve this, they need to pair up with “The Insiders”.

Team 2 would be the “trusted” team of allies and private sector experts who have the confidence and direct access to the President, access to corporate resources and networks and who would provide the “out of the box” thinking.

In light of this realization, both Team 1 and Team 2 should start talking and working on “Team building” because over the weekend, I received the first “Official rumor” of a movement that will take place in September.

Yes, boys and girls, the enemy is on the mood and he is preparing to steal, cheat and lie. The members of the mythical Balay and Samar group may be sharpening their swords for an eventual confrontation with each other, but they would all be fools, as this would simply push them into the trap being laid out by their bigger and common enemies.

While the Balay and Samar group fight for Presidential favor like brats, their enemies are plotting to replace the President altogether by painting him as a mentally challenged leader or an utter incompetent.

If the President’s enemies succeed, being associated with the Balay and the Samar and the Liberal Party would have the same value as a political death sentence.

President Noynoy is obviously very “Different Minded”. My source tells me that he refuses to be the bubbly, baby-kissing politician, refuses to be “Pa- Charming” and is so detached that he often goes in and then out of events without bothering to chat.

Another informant told me that the President is so deliberate and analytical with paper work, tactless and direct about incompetent or unpopular candidates for certain government positions, and honest about his opinion to a fault.

In other words, we don’t have a politician or someone possessed by a “performance Spirit”. We have a President who promised to go after corruption and he has continued on that path with singular purpose.

In the mean time, Exec. Secretary Jojo Ochoa, Mar Roxas, Secretary Sonny Coloma, Senator Frank Drilon and Speaker Sonny Belmonte should all step into the gap and get other things done instead of being swept by simmering discontent and failed expectations.

If we are convinced in what we believe should be done, that is reason enough to do it ourselves. Telling others what to do often results in nothing getting done.

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