Trials and tribulations

The recent appearance of President Benigno C. Aquino III at the Senate was largely unremarkable. Some expected him to say the buck stopped at his desk for the failure of diligence, the meetings that his officials could not seem to remember and the haste in the approval of the Dengvaxia project in the twilight (or midnight) of the administration. He invoked good faith and good intentions. That was that.

Fault finders are likely to appeal to the doctrine of qualified political agency to draw President Aquino into the dragnet. After all, decisions of his alter ego executive officials are, unless countermanded or reversed by him, presumed to be his own. This construct is an adjunct to the fiction of a single executive, one who needed a bureaucracy to assist him in executing all the law. In layman’s terms, its simply command responsibility.

Thus, battlelines are being drawn on both sides of yet another esoteric governance issue which has joined the debate. In the context of public leadership, where exactly should the buck stop? How much weight is given to good faith, good intentions, presumptions of regularity when decisions go horribly wrong?

The people’s interest in understanding how something this giant could have happened will remain understandably high. And, until the last of the almost 800,000 valiant but clueless test patients is brought under the State’s monitoring eye, we will be skeptical. It is now up to the investigations of the political departments to unravel the mystery and to determine fault.

Hit or miss? Many believe that, even in this day and age, under the most ideal situations, vaccines are still iffy propositions. To the uninitiated, like myself, a huge leap of faith is still required to understand and accept that you need to be injected with the virus to save yourself from the same.

But no leader is ever gifted with the benefit of crystal ball prognostications. There is always the risk of mistake in every choice made and in every recommendation forwarded as basis. Indeed, if a leader were to be held accountable even for good faith decisions based on expert opinion, then am sure we would fast run out of volunteers.

Rising body count. It’s no longer just the snowballing number of nanlaban and vigilante victims getting noticed. It’s also the army of President’s men being shown the door. Latest casualties are: Vice Admiral Ronald Mercado, chief of the Philippine Navy; Elba Cruz of the Development Academy of the Philippines; Terry Ridon of the Presidential Commission on the Urban Poor. On this same day, Dec. 23 of 2016, we were already at 92 officials fired. We are also reading about the Energy Regulatory Commission officials suspended by the Ombudsman and the house cleaning at the Philippine Charity Sweepstakes Office triggered by the entry of the always exciting Sandra Cam.

On the bright side, the procession of discipline shows a very low tolerance for fault, in general. Were it not for the sacred cows that continue to stand out, this administration would go down in history as the first to really walk the talk. The downside? At the rate of this attrition, with the exception of a few stalwart members of the economic, education and social welfare teams, this administration would not be recognized as having the best and the brightest on board.

To the victor goes the spoils is not to be understood as the victor can spoil as it goes. It’s sad if the administration gets low marks as this is a self inflicted wound, given the availability of talent out there. Maybe it’s time to look beyond mere political eligibility? The decision to invite men like Efren Penaflorida (for the PCUP portfolio) based on merit alone is a good beginning.

Selfless love. My mom, Ma. Azucena “Marichu” Vera Perez Maceda turns 75 today. Society has celebrated her as Manay Ichu, one of Philippine Cinema’s foremost benefactors. She has been a convenor, supporter or leader of the vital institutions that work towards sustaining quality Filipino films.

She survived her baptism of fire when she was constrained (as eldest) to steer the family-owned Sampaguita Pictures when my grandfather, starmaker Doc Jose Perez suddenly left us. At a young 33 years, she embraced the challenge by producing quality movies that honored the legacy of her parents, Doc and Mama Nene Vera Perez and Grandparents, Mommy Dolores Vera and Senator Jose O. Vera. Among her memorable outputs are award winning classics Rubia Servios (with Lino Brocka) and Batch ‘81 (with Mike de Leon).

Her career as producer was abbreviated when she responded to the greater call to help the local industry, together with stalwarts President Joseph Erap Estrada, Fernando Poe Jr. and many others, from the threat of being marginalized by dominant foreign interests. She never looked back.

A veteran of electoral campaigns as wife and mother to two generations of public servants, she waged her own low profile but equally brutal campaigns to preserve her industry’s position and promote a workable balance in the relationship among all stakeholders. It has been a privilege and an unparelled learning opportunity to sit at ringside in these battles, witnessing her critical but largely thankless efforts on behalf of a volatile industry.

The toll on the family of the enormous time and effort Manay Ichu has devoted to this vocation? Nil. She managed all these on the sidelines as she was a wife, mother and grandmother first. She was 19 when she married my father Ernie; 20 when she gave birth to Manny; and, at 47, a grandmother to Beanie. And she has been extraordinary in all these roles.

We know that she has had her crosses to bear with the heaviest being those that were not her own. But she willingly and wordlessly carried them and eased the lowest moments. Through the challenges, struggles and pressures, she remained steadfast and true to the articles of her faith: always do your best; it matters not whether you win or lose, its how you play the game; do unto others as you would have them do unto you; love your family; be prayerful. Not only did this constancy sustain her and mold her into who she has become but it served as the anchor that moors her children and grandchildren to the high road and the straight path.

My brothers and I have been gifted with the colossal good fortune of being born to our mother. Happy Birthday Mom!

Maraming salamat po. In this season of thanks, we express to the management of the Philippine STAR and to all our loyal readers our gratitude for the honor and privilege to write in this space.