EDITORIAL - Hit or miss policies

What is Malacañang saying? First, a spokesman said a coup attempt may be afoot. The same spokesman later took the statement back, saying no such plot exists. But before the day was over, the spokesman returned with a new spin  Arroyo forces are plotting against President Aquino.

If you still wonder why more and more Filipinos have started having second thoughts about the Aquino government, there is your answer. The thing speaks for itself. All the flip-flopping and guessing is a symptom of a rudderless ship of state.

By now it should be clear to Aquino that his presidency is not getting the kind of lift or traction it needs to move forward. Now, there could be a variety of reasons for that, not the least of which is the image he projects of being indecisive. 

But the one thing that stands out is his lack of effective messaging. The three-headed messaging facility he has is unwieldy. Throw in two more mouthpieces who, instead of specializing in controlling fires, stoke them into uncontrollable conflagrations, and you have chaos.

Presidential communicators are no different from corporate public relations specialists. Their main preoccupations are image projection and protection, and cultivation and maintenance of healthy relations. It is never one without the other.

Presidential communicators are at the apex of the profession’s pecking order. Not even highly-paid PR specialists from multi-billion-dollar blue chip companies possess the exacting obligation that presidential spokesmen have to steer their principals safely through controversy.

Companies can dig deep into their huge arsenals when fighting PR brush fires. And most often they succeed because public demand for goods and services are very specific. Often, the mere replacement of an item or an out-of-court settlement can quash a complaint.

Not so with presidential spokesmen. Get it wrong and the entire presidency suffers, often until forever. Expectations of a national leader are simply too high to relegate to the hands of incompetents who, when not muddling issues, would rather pick fights than win over friends.

Public accountability should extend to presidential spokesmen. Using guerrilla tactics in the name of the presidency destroys the respectability of that office. Never start a fire you cannot control. Nevertheless, once you do and lose it, don’t pin the blame on somebody else.