The judgment of Solomon

A month ago, a friend who has always been judicious, expressed his disappointment over some of P-Noy’s appointments for Cabinet, GA and GOCC positions. He insinuated that as usual, political accommodation and camaraderie seemed to be the primary criteria for the selection, and imposed cooperation from warring factions could spell disaster. He asked, why are P-Noy’s decisions “Solomonic”?

His comments were disquieting. “As usual” meant that there would be no real change forthcoming despite the promises. The appointees may not be the most qualified for the job. Worse, the reported squabbling between the Samar versus Balay lineups during the campaign has relocated to the Palace. The power struggle could render them inutile and impotent to do their jobs. These were all conjecture until the hostage situation, their baptism of fire, tested the hypothesis and proved it well founded.

The whole world witnessed the vacuum of crisis leadership during the 11-hour hostage drama. The malfunction analysis has been painfully long and detailed, but the resolutions to avert any possible repetition of the fiasco have yet to be made public. Clearly the stalemate in DILG prevented Secretary Jesse Robredo from taking the reins of command. After all, the Police was under Usec. Rico Puno. The Palace communications team was likewise stymied. Since the messaging and disseminating functions were divided between Sec. Ricky Carandang and Sec. Sonny Coloma, the task of managing Media in times of crisis was not in anyone’s job description. Ostensibly, even the police ranks also suffered from turf wars. The Special Action Force, that was highly trained to handle emergencies, was not called in to help. Evidently, the structural and functional ambiguity took its toll. Splitting authority and responsibility might temporarily allay internal strife but can paralyze management of cataclysmic events.

Describing this half and half power sharing as “Solomonic” is imprecise but maybe prophetic. King Solomon’s best-known quality was wisdom and good judgment. The young Solomon implored God to “Give Thy servant an understanding heart to judge Thy people and to know good and evil” [1 Kings 3:9]. And God answered “Since you have asked for this and not for long life or wealth for yourself, nor have asked for the death of your enemies but for discernment in administering justice, I will do what you have asked” [1 Kings 3:11-12]. And so the Hebrew Bible recounts that: “The whole world sought audience with Solomon to hear the wisdom God had put in his heart” [1 Kings 10:24]. 

The most famous account of his discernment was verified in the Judgment of Solomon. The story was about two women claiming to be the real mother of a surviving infant. One of the sleeping mothers had accidentally rolled over and crushed her newborn the previous night. Now the two mothers claim that the living child was their own. When Solomon suggested that the baby be divided in half, the true mother cried out that she would give up the infant to save his life. Solomon then declared the compassionate woman to be the true mother and gave the baby back to her.

Being Solomonic means using keen perception and sound judgment to   make difficult and firm decisions that could be unpopular. Conflict-avoidance by separating personalities and responsibilities is taking the easy way out. It quickly and inevitably muddles accountability and job performance. What possible objective metrics can be applied in assessing liability for the botched-up rescue of captives, when units that are meant to be singular are silo-ed between factions and no one knows where the buck stops or who should make the final call?

It does not generate confidence when the President is too apologetic and owns up to the blunders and non-action perpetrated by his befuddled Cabinet and the Keystone cops. Already the oppositionists and GMA devotees are making hay while the haze is thick, resurrecting qualms about competence, ability to lead and even the smiling countenance. The assault on P-Noy’s Facebook, suspicious for its rapid and relentless attacks, could be orchestrated by the rabid followers of failed Presidential candidates. Nonetheless some of the comments are valid and need to be addressed, not dismissed. The call for the resignations of all the Secretaries who were ineffective during the hostage drama by Cong. Edcel Lagman merits only a raised eyebrow for its cheek. Imagine the effrontery of moral righteousness displayed by an ex-radical, ex-Aksyon, ex-future Speaker turned rabid GMA apologist!

The script being constantly mouthed to media regarding the continuing struggle of the Samar versus Balay sides is that “there are no factions in the Palace”. It is so reminiscent of the famous Bush Sr. gaffe, “Read my lips: No new taxes!” Not only is it a blatant untruth, the denial insults the intelligence of the citizens who see the rivalry in play as obviously as the lies we used to hear from the past administration. But the saddest consequence of disclaimers is that it defers immediate solution and allows the problem to fester. It is the equivalent of burying your head in the sand until attrition eventually resolves the impasse. The only problem is, the wrong guy might outlast the right one.

The best part of the story of young Solomon’s wisdom was when he cleverly proposed to divide the babe between the two claimants. He foresaw that the real mother would endure the heartbreak to save her child. Maybe P-Noy is hoping that one of the feuding blocs will see that dividing the baby will kill it. And the one with the purer heart will be able to subsume his Ego for the sake of good governance. Or give up his own self-interest in order to save P-Noy’s administration from future fatality.

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