Who's in, who's out?

Days after President Estrada announced that he was getting rid of his one-peso-a-year advisers, the nation still doesn't know who has been fired. The Chief Executive earlier said about 25 of his advisers, consultants and assistants without line functions have lost the right to use business cards and stationery bearing the seal of the Office of the President. Since Saturday when he made this announcement, journalists have been trying to find out who exactly have lost their jobs. And until yesterday, no one at Malacañang seemed to have a clear idea.

Presidential Spokesman Fernando Barican said all they have is a list of presidential advisers and assistants who receive regular salaries and work daily in an office. Barican said the Office of the Executive Secretary may have a complete list. "Little President" Ronaldo Zamora, however, said he has no such list. And neither does Presidential Management Staff chief Leonora de Jesus, who admitted yesterday that not all the presidential advisers getting a token P1 a year had been fired. Only the President knows who his advisers are, and no law requires him to identify these people who report directly to him, De Jesus explained. She said only the "calling card" advisers have been fired while the "legitimate ones" have been retained.

So what constitutes legitimacy in this government? The President has nine advisers with Cabinet rank led by National Security Adviser Alexander Aguirre. He also has eight assistants for regional concerns, all of whom are keeping their jobs. Twenty-seven others, including the President's chief of protocol and personal secretaries as well as the First Lady's chief of staff are designated as presidential assistants with the rank of Cabinet undersecretary, so they are also keeping their jobs.

This leaves us with nine advisers and 22 consultants with no Cabinet portfolio. Except for adviser Tai Ying Liu and consultant for "special concerns" Sau Fong Go, however, all the advisers and consultants have specific areas of concern, including one for cattle and carabao development. Does this mean all of them are retained? What about those with overlapping functions, such as the consultants on Chinese affairs, overseas Chinese investors and China affairs? Are they "legitimate" or of the "calling card" variety? Are these the people without public accountability referred to by resigned Finance Secretary Edgardo Espiritu? Does the President have other advisers, consultants and assistants we don't know about?

The President's announcement last Saturday was received with hearty applause and relieved laughter. Before the applause turns into boos, Malacañang should clarify what the President has announced and prove that he means business.