Resignations

Being a former congressman and senator, and having filed a bill to end the abuse of the impoundment of “savings” in executive offices, President Aquino surely knew exactly what he was doing when he gave the green light for the Disbursement Acceleration Program (DAP).

Budget Secretary Florencio Abad might have drawn up the details of the DAP, which earns him the tag as its architect, but P–Noy knew the main issues involved and went ahead with it. The President probably felt the DAP didn’t need a more thorough vetting by his legal team, instead presenting the program to Palace lawyers as a done deal.

And if P-Noy knew what he was doing, he can’t let Abad take the fall for a flawed policy. Already Abad faces a criminal complaint for plunder in connection with the DAP. The President may face similar charges once he reverts to being Citizen Noynoy at the end of his term in 2016.

On the other hand, Abad can do his boss and BFF a big favor by submitting an irrevocable resignation.

Corazon Aquino once famously advised Fidel Ramos that there’s life after the presidency. If she could say this about the nation’s most powerful office, surely Abad can say the same about his post as budget secretary.

Abad’s resignation won’t necessarily mean that the Palace is wrong in arguing that DAP served useful purposes and filled a need, given the circumstances when P-Noy assumed power.

Instead Abad’s resignation would be an acknowledgment that the executive is bowing to a ruling of the Supreme Court that an executive act was unconstitutional.

The DAP can be presented as a mistake.

But even if it might have been an honest mistake, someone made the mistake, and it can’t be the President. Someone must go to ease the pressure on the Chief Executive, who must stay on and govern for another two years.

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The hiss from the snake pit is that certain SC justices in fact sent word that they might consider upholding the DAP – if P-Noy would let go of Abad.

When senators outed the DAP as the administration’s reward for the removal of Renato Corona as chief justice, lawyers told me that the DAP would be struck down if it ever reached the Supreme Court. Sure enough, not just one but several cases were filed with the SC, challenging the constitutionality of the program.

The administration lobbied mightily to uphold the validity of the DAP, hoping it would not become a casualty of the scandal over the Priority Development Assistance Fund (PDAF) or congressional pork barrel.

An accomplished lawyer was reportedly dispatched as a Palace emissary to Senior SC Associate Justice Antonio Carpio, who is reputed to be the de facto chief justice.

Among other things, a possible probe of about P1 billion in special allowances received by justices and judges was reportedly brought up in the talks. Certain SC members felt it was a subtle blackmail, which might have accounted for that unanimous vote against key portions of the DAP.

In what some legal quarters saw as an indication of desperation on the part of the administration, the Palace also tapped retired SC Justice Vicente Mendoza to serve as co-counsel of Solicitor General Francis Jardeleza in defending the DAP, reportedly in hopes that the SC justices would not be able to say no to the respected constitutionalist.

Still no deal.

The SC ruling on the DAP has led certain quarters to rejoice that an unwitting legacy of the second Aquino presidency is the creation of a truly independent Supreme Court.

* * *

P-Noy is expected to explain the DAP in detail to the people tonight, reinforcing his government’s defense that in this case, the end truly justified the means and there was good faith from Day One.

But the fate of Abad will cast a shadow over P-Noy’s explanations, which will reportedly include certain development projects implemented through DAP.

P-Noy did not enjoy a honeymoon period with the press, but people have always been willing to give the only son of Cory and Ninoy Aquino the benefit of the doubt when he slipped or when he shielded erring officials.

This was fine when things were going well on the economic front. But four years into his term, people can see that the good news is benefiting only the usual .001 percent of the population. Filipinos are still leaving the country in droves because investment grade has not translated into enough job-generating investments. Worse for P-Noy, these days prices of the most basic food items are soaring.

Two days after the government announced that it was flooding Metro Manila with Ilocos garlic, it was still being retailed at P400 to P500 per kilo.

Prices are easing. Yesterday native garlic was being retailed at P260 per kilo in Divisoria’s bargain center. Large Taiwan garlic was down to just P80 per kilo – a reasonable price, considering how bland it is.

The price plunge indicates that the problem was due to hoarding. You don’t grow and harvest enough garlic overnight to flood the market.

As for red onions, I’m not sure if we have smugglers to thank for the recent price plunge from P110 to P140 per kilo to just P50 as of yesterday in Divisoria. Still priced high were native shallots or sibuyas Tagalog at P100 per kilo and ginger at P160 per kilo.

Rice prices have not gone down, even if Interior Secretary Mar Roxas is encroaching on agricultural turf in search of a photo op and carrying a sack of rice on his shoulder.

When gut issues aren’t being addressed, people set the bar higher for exemplary behavior among members of an administration that touts the straight path. People have less patience with a President who is seen to be protecting friends.

That announcement last Friday by P-Noy, made in one of his occasional Cabinet meetings, struck many as a zarzuela.

Abad said P-Noy gave him no choice but to stay on. But an official whose heart is into quitting doesn’t need anyone’s permission to resign irrevocably.

Courtesy resignations have always been sneered at in this country. You either want to quit or you don’t. You either take a bullet for your boss or you hide under his coat.

Taking this bullet won’t kill you, Butch.