Mouthpieces on the loose

While President Benigno “Noynoy” Aquino III is still trying to contain the fallout from the Oct. 18 incident in Basilan where 19 government troopers were killed in a firefight with Moro Islamic Liberation Front (MILF) rebels, a potentially explosive situation is again brewing. Riding on purported demoralization in the ranks of the Armed Forces of the Philippines (AFP) over how their Commander-in-Chief is handling the Basilan incident, talk of destabilization plots is allegedly being hatched against President Aquino.

The purported destabilization plots were given credence by government authorities, thanks to a bungled press conference at Malacañang Palace handled by the presidential spokespersons. Responding to queries, deputy spokesperson Abigail Valte confirmed the supposed existence of destabilization plots against the administration but that President Aquino is aware of it and is closely monitoring the situation.

“There are those who wish to take advantage of the situation for political leverage. We are aware that there are efforts to do this,” Valte told Palace reporters. Pressed to give details, Valte made the usual excuse that she did not have much information. “But what we can confirm is that we are aware that there are such people who are exerting efforts to take advantage of the issue,” Valte stressed.

But as soon as the implications of her statements made in behalf of President Aquino were broadcast by the media, another Palace mouthpiece, Ricky Carandang, immediately denied any reported destabilization plots against the Aquino administration. Valte herself had to make the rounds of radio interviews to deny having confirmed destabilization threats, citing her statements were twisted in media.

Only a few days back, Valte was giving advice to her counterpart spokespersons in the military. “The fact remains that as spokespersons we are not policymakers... We are supposed to stick to what the policy is. It should be clear that as spokespersons of the government, we cannot give our personal opinion,” Valte lectured over state-run radio station Radyo ng Bayan.

Valte gave a piece of her mind in particular to Army Col. Antonio Parlade who was relieved from his post by President Aquino after expressing his personal opinion supporting calls to suspend the government’s ceasefire agreement with the MILF following the incident in Al-Barka, Basilan. Parlade’s comments came after President Aquino earlier dismissed calls for the suspension of the peace talks and proposals to declare an all-out war against the Moro rebels.

I could understand where Parlade was coming from. As a fellow Army officer, Parlade echoed the sentiments for their fallen comrades-in-arms. But he did cross the line when he expressed an opinion contrary to the stand already declared by his Commander-in-Chief. The relief of Parlade along with two other military officers after the Al-Barka incident became one of the issues in the demoralization talk in the AFP and consequently stirred rumors of destabilization plots.

Taking up the cudgels for P-Noy, Valte found herself talking too much for comfort about the destabilization plot rumors. She obviously spoke beyond what she was authorized to touch on. Valte should perhaps take tips from Parlade on how official military spokesmen handle destabilization rumors. The shoe is now on the other foot! 

The foot-in-mouth disease afflicting Palace spokespersons is so infectious. While reiterating President Aquino’s rejection of calls for “all-out war” against the MILF, Carandang told his former ANC Network that the AFP was merely conducting regular law enforcement functions in the air strikes in Zamboanga Sibugay. If that were so, why were the air strikes conducted by the Philippine Air Force and not by the Philippine National Police? 

Anyway, these slips of the tongue are nothing new among official spokespersons who tend to second-guess and at times, talk more intelligently than their principals. But the problem is such serious slips become grievous errors that official spokespersons consequently create a public relations crisis no matter unintended it may be.

Take the recent case involving Department of National Defense official spokesperson Undersecretary Zosimo Paredes who was asked about an incident when a Philippine Navy patrol ship scared away last Oct. 18 a Chinese fishing vessel while towing 20 or so dinghies at Recto Bank in the disputed West Philippine Sea. The Navy patrol ship nearly rammed the Chinese fishing vessel due to a steering problem. Queried if the Philippine Navy “apologized” to the Chinese embassy over the incident, Paredes confirmed it matter-of-factly.

As soon as Paredes made this claim to the media that day, no less than DFA Secretary Alberto del Rosario immediately issued an official denial: “No apologies were necessary and none was given.” So where did Paredes get his information? The next day, a red-faced Paredes made the lame excuse that he was merely making a “diplomatic tact,” whatever it meant. Paredes got lucky; he just got a slap on the wrist.

Official spokespersons talking out of synch from official pronouncements and declarations by our national leaders, as I have pointed out earlier, must take extra care when they talk about sensitive matters like our country’s national security interests. It behooves all official government spokespersons to be consistent with presidential policy statements of how P-Noy intends to resolve this with other claimant countries like China.

When things go wrong, don’t make the situation any worse than it is. This ought to be the constant reminder to the official spokespersons, especially those working in the Palace. More often than not, official spokespersons in the government become public relations nightmares themselves.

Instead of doing a troubleshooter’s job, bungle-prone spokespersons instead create more problems. When they shoot their mouths off, they get their principals into more troubles. It’s a common infectious disease that plagues official government spokespersons when they become mouthpieces on the loose. Smart-talking heads, anyone?