Between a rock and a hard place

As I watched and listened to the pronouncements of the Presidential Assistant on Rehabilitation during the anniversary of Typhoon Yolanda, I could not help but feel sorry for Ping Lacson. How else would you feel for someone in a hopeless situation where your job paints you out to be the person in charge, even dubs you as the rehabilitation Czar, but in reality is an empty and powerless office made glorious by the claim that it is a cabinet position, when in fact it is nothing more than a coordinating body. Ascribing to it nonexistent powers is the sure recipe for utter failure.

I call it a hopeless situation because as a political appointee and mere coordinator he has no persuasive power over legitimate Cabinet members who control real departments of the executive branch. Unless there is something in it for them or unless the President personally barks out the order, Ping Lacson will have to take a number if he wants real Cabinet members to act. As a mere political appointee, he is under the thumb of his former colleagues in Congress both pro and anti and is constantly reminded by younger politicians like Mayor Alfred Romualdez that local officials are elected by the people, which I suppose is like saying they are more legitimate than mere political appointees.

Yes, Ping Lacson is caught between a rock and a hard place. The “Rock” in his situation are the people in Malacañang beginning with President Noynoy Aquino, Mar Roxas, Dinky Soliman, Babes Singson and Jun Abaya etc., all of whom have been burned and pilloried in the many ruins of Typhoon Yolanda. As a result, these people have no love lost for Tacloban’s political and social leaders and have the motivation of sloths to fast track the rehabilitation of the most damaged and affected population of the region. For the ignorant among us, Tacloban is a highly urbanized city probably comparable to Mandaluyong and certainly bigger than San Juan, and to put it in the same level as the tiny towns of Guiuan or Palo is like comparing Camp Crame to Subic.

Ping’s “hard place” is that of someone wanting to serve, needing to be in the public eye to preserve and promote his political future, but grossly lacking in patience, discernment and wisdom. It is a hard place to be when you’ve spent all your life in a system where commands are either given or followed, never questioned, never challenged. It is a hard place to be where the system is not working, leadership is unclear, and the mission or missions are always mixed up with political emotions or bad blood. From the academy to the Senate, Ping Lacson was always in a predictable environment, but today he is trapped in the maze created by supposed allies in the P-Noy Misadministration who monitor his moves, neutralizes his forward movement and pits him against foes he should not be fighting with and can’t win against because they are not his enemies but the people he is supposed to serve or at the very least help.

Come to think of it, whoever had the bright idea of wooing Ping Lacson or orchestrating his entrapment to become the rehab Czar actually hit two birds with one stone. First they’ve set him up to fail and knowing his personality they obviously knew that Ping Lacson would be the perfect candidate to pit against the Romualdez family particularly the thorn in the side of Aquino and Roxas named Alfred Romualdez. As we have seen, Ping and Alfred have taken pot shots at each other doing neither of them any good while providing entertainment and satisfaction for both their political enemies.

The tragedy in all of this is that the victims of Typhoon Yolanda, the Philippine government, relief agencies and the Filipino people as a whole are suffering or paying the price. For as long as Lacson is the Rehab Czar, he won’t get the kind of support he feels is necessary because that might make him a hero and eventually make him better than a dark horse for president in 2016. For as long as Lacson feels obligated to defend what many have called a non-existent rehabilitation program because he is the Czar, Lacson will always be like a pit bull in the pit, squaring off with Romualdez or any critic, much like in a dogfight. The problem is both of them get wounded while the operators enjoy the fight and score big.

As a survivor of the academy, EDSA 1 and 2, the Senate, Ping Lacson has enough experience and should realize that he needs to step on the brakes instead of putting his foot in his mouth picking fights with critics. He can either let go of this “bone” or turn it around to his advantage by re-evaluating his role, his goals and whom to align with. Lacson needs to think what is good for the people and what’s good for Lacson. From what I’ve personally known and experienced with Ping Lacson, he is able to wipe the slate clean, get past differences and start fresh and better. This is what he needs to do. If that means making peace and working with your perceived enemies, then so be it if it gets the job done and makes you look good in the end because at the moment he is certainly not going anywhere except downhill.

If Lacson chooses to be an old dog unable to turn things around, then it would be better for the people of Tacloban, Samar and Leyte to build back on their own, raise up new and real leaders and show that the Warays can build new and not just build back. You already know what is not getting done. All you have to do is: “JUST DO IT.”

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