Time for reforms
The Armed Forces chief of staff says this administration can't be de-stabilized. Meanwhile, fortune tellers are predicting a good Year of the Golden Dragon for President Estrada. So the President can now forget all those alleged destabilization attempts and concentrate on steering the country toward prosperity. It's good for the nation and, why not, good for his poll ratings.
For starters, he can start stream-lining the offices that handle his paperwork. When you're no hands-on executive, you need a highly efficient support staff -- one that does not get you in trouble for granting pardons to controversial prisoners, one that goes over your speeches to make sure you won't deny your statements the next day. To achieve this degree of professionalism, the President will have to end the Malacañang turf wars that are among the causes of his troubles. In profes-sionalizing his team, he must not be swayed by friendships, political debts or tears.
In line with this, the President can complete his long-delayed govern-ment revamp. A piecemeal shake-up will not achieve the sort of impact he is hoping for, and may simply reinforce perceptions that he is an indecisive leader. There are still a number of deadwoods in his admi-nistration. No need to wait for March or April, when results of the first-quarter surveys come out, or he may be accused of relying too much on popularity polls in decision-making.
Then he can tell some of his supporters that payback time has come and gone -- and this time he should mean it. While he's at it, he can also tell some of his relatives and loved ones to stop trying to parlay their ties to him into money-making ventures. Again, this time he should mean it. It might help if he points out that if he goes down, they all go down with him.
Even if he believes there are groups spreading disinformation to sow public disaffection and destabilize his government, there are still many people willing to give the President a chance to make good his promises and do well for the country. But first he must show a willingness to change and undertake drastic reforms.
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