Austerity in the inaugural

It would have made a difference had President Noynoy Aquino stuck to electronic media alone and shared with the rest of the world his oath taking as the 15th President of the Republic simply via TV — minus all that fuss at the Quirino Grandstand last June 30.

Maybe the key people needed during the swearing in rites could have been just herded to the Heroes’ Hall inside the Palace for the event — with the cameras of all TV networks positioned around the venue capturing this very historic moment on television and the proceedings aired for the public to witness. After all, most homes own color TV nowadays, including those in squatter colonies.

Of course, the ceremonies were shown simulcast in all local channels just the same (ironically, just like during the Marcos years), but — really — they could have done away with that Quirino Grandstand pageantry.

Surely, that affair was modest and austere compared to Imelda Marcos’ Kasaysayan ng Lahi elephantine burlesque that preceded the inauguration of the Folk Arts Theater in July 1974. But the funds used for this recent outdoor inaugural could have been pumped elsewhere more practical by this forever bankrupt and deep-in-debt government. Whatever amount it was that was spent for the program may just have been a drop in the bucket in a congressman’s pork barrel, but that could have been used to build more homes for Gawad Kalinga and Habitat for Humanity Philippines.

The trouble is that this country so loves fiestas and there is a celebration for every occasion. Okay, so they wanted to share that historic moment with the people who love and supported Noynoy during the last Presidential race — and they, indeed, had the crowd who willingly went for that. Now call me a spoilsport and I am aware that I am going to get it, especially from Noynoy fanatics, but those expenses were unnecessary. That momentous event could have been shared with everyone simply through the magic of television, which not only comes much cheaper, but could also have leveled the playing field for all of us.

I don’t know how the crowd baking under the sun felt seeing those guests comfortably seated on the grandstand above them while they — who also supported Noynoy — had to sweat it out below elbow-to-elbow with a huge part of humanity that wasn’t blessed with fame, power and fortune.

 But going back to the money used for this inaugural. While I cannot describe the whole scenario as sinfully extravagant, it could have been even simpler and I still insist that every centavo counts in these very hard times. I am not whining over this government expenditure as a columnist of this paper, but as a taxpayer. Pelt me with stones if you don’t agree with me, but I still believe that a simple TV coverage would have been sufficient to document this historic moment and share it with the Filipino people.

For all that effort to mount that inaugural ceremony last week, I’ve forgotten mostly what Noynoy said in his speech, except for his crusade to ban wang-wangs (blaring sirens), which, though an irritant on the road, is basically still inconsequential when faced with the other problems of this nation.

What will forever be etched in my memory was when his mother, the late beloved President Corazon C. Aquino, stole a simple oath-taking ceremony at the Club Filipino at the peak of the first People Power revolution. Of course, the circumstances were different then since Marcos was still hanging on to his remaining hours in power that time. We still weren’t a hundred percent free (the situation was chaotic) and Cory had to be sworn in almost clandestinely. But I loved all that simplicity.

I wished this new government had observed austerity and led by example. While it is customary to have new clothes made for special occasions (and admittedly being sworn into Presidency isn’t something that happens every day — and especially not just to anybody), I would have saluted Noynoy had he worn a barong Tagalog he had already used before on some other occasion. Yes, I have a lot of respect for people who repeat their clothes and are proud of it — because that is most practical. And that would have been a good example to Filipinos who are so crazy about clothes that they sometimes have to play hide-and-seek with creditors and credit company agents.

I also have to say that the most fashionably dressed among us do not necessarily have the best manners. Did you see those V.I.P. guests yakking on the cell phone while the President of the land was delivering the speech of his life? To begin with, the whole event could have looked a bit more low-key had it not been for the moneyed set that turned the inaugural into a fashion show.

Staging that mini extravaganza of an inaugural, of course, opened the organizers and participants alike to a lot of flak and everyone is having a field day now criticizing and poking fun at their performances, social behavior and outfits — just like how Snow White (guess who?) managed to escape from Disneyland and found herself at the Quirino Grandstand.

So how do I rate the performances of the singers? Unfortunately, I missed Gary Valenciano’s number, but I agree with what everyone else said about how Charice Pempenco gave a correct, no-nonsense rendition of the Philippine national anthem. Christian Bautista shouldn’t be bothered anymore by comments about how he had to sing an English song in that affair where it was mandatory to have nationalism etched on the face of everyone. He had to fill in a gap in the show, did what he had to do and did it well. Being familiar with how live programs go, he was a lifesaver that time.

As for the other song numbers — enough of the bootlicking, please. Stop campaigning already. The guy already won.

But that’s all done with. Show over. I’m just airing what I felt watching the inaugural on TV and these are sentiments coming from somebody so frugal that I would get a hammer to pound an empty tube of toothpaste to squeeze the last drop. I do admit that I tend to go into extreme measures — although inarguably, we should already be doing some serious belt-tightening.

At this point it’s time to move on and I wish the people now running the Aquino administration all the best. As the new leader of this nation, I will give President Noynoy my respect and try to be a good and law-abiding citizen of this nation. He already won my admiration for deciding to use his own personal car to work instead of the official government vehicle assigned to him. Bravo to that.

 To Noynoy, just keep this country afloat and I am looking forward to improvements in the next six years. (Oh, tons of work to do.) Of course, that would be wonderful for the next administration. But accept the fate of your family that most of you were sent to this world to sacrifice for this country.

I pray that you’d succeed and when you do after your term is over — and if we can already afford it — weíd give you a grand send-off, fireworks and all. Good luck, Mr. President.