Lacson can avoid Roxas fiasco

It is too early to pass judgment on rehabilitation czar Panfilo Lacson. A few days into the job does not suffice to draw any conclusions from, never mind if his having absolutely no training or experience makes it very tempting to do so.

In fairness to Lacson, he did hit the ground running, visiting some of the most devastated areas in Eastern Visayas. And while there is a great sense of urgency in bringing the situation back to normal as soon as possible after supertyphoon Yolanda struck, Lacson does need to feel the lay of the land.

At this point, the best thing for Lacson to do is speak as little as he can, while doing as much as he can and as quickly as he can. There will be plenty of time to talk later. Maybe he can schedule regular press conferences to keep the public abreast of his progress. But that should be it.

For it is difficult to telegraph one's punches, especially over a matter that requires as much precision as rebuilding not just physical structures but human hopes as well. This is one time that Lacson cannot afford to be misunderstood.

Such is the danger that I noted on reading a newspaper account of Lacson's inspection trip to Eastern Visayas. Lacson was reported to have said that he wants to promptly start an adoption system wherein the private sector can adopt certain communities.

Lacson was quoted as saying he wants to tap the vaunted Filipino "Bayanihan" spirit to bring in the private sector into helping rebuild the typhoon-ravaged areas. As seemingly innocent and innocuous Lacson's statement may have been, I cannot help but feel dismayed and disappointed by it.

Why? Because Lacson is talking about the private sector, that's why. I see no problem, of course, in the private sector coming in to help. In fact, the private sector is very much welcome to do so, as in fact it has already been doing, often without the public knowing.

But Lacson was not placed in such a high position -- with Cabinet rank, in fact -- to talk Bayanihan with the private sector. He was recruited precisely to coordinate the government's massive rehabilitation effort for which billions upon billions of pesos have been earmarked for spending.

The first sound bytes one would like to hear from Lacson are in fact his first clear plans on how to shepherd such a huge budget so that it can be put to the best use as possible. Indeed, the reason Lacson got the job was his reputation in the Senate as never having monkeyed with public funds.

Again, the private sector is very much welcome to pitch in, as are any and all foreign governments who have initially helped in the relief and have committed to continue on with the rehabilitation. But for now, what Lacson should be talking about is not engaging anyone in any bayanihan, in spirit or otherwise.

The government has a clear mandate and commitment to rehabilitate the nation. Whether or not the private sector or even foreign governments help, the government cannot escape the responsibility of taking the lead in rehabilitation.

That is precisely what Lacson should be talking about. Lacson should be talking about how many billions he will need to spend here and there, on this and that, and for how long. Talking of something else, especially about seeking help when one has tens of billions at his disposal, can very easily be misunderstood.

And that is something we do not want to derail the great task of rehabilitation at hand. That is something we do not want to mess up our minds, especially considering that, aside from his present job, Lacson has a long-standing longing to be president.

Yolanda, for all the devastation it has brought the country, is not entirely without its uses. For Lacson at least, it has given him the platform from which he can launch another bid to be president, a platform that, unfortunately, did not present the same opportunity for another seeker of the presidency -- Mar Roxas.

Roxas saw in Yolanda an opportunity to be in the limelight but grossly miscalculated her strength. Positioning himself in Tacloban before the storm so he can hit the ground running after, what greeted him instead was a devastation unheard of anywhere and simply too much for the breeches of any one man.

Unable to do anything about the destruction, Roxas started blaming local officials to draw attention away from his helplessness. The fallout as the whole world now knows it, thanks to the magic of social media and the Internet, destroyed the presidential chances of Roxas but which Lacson can draw valuable lessons from.