Duterte’s Halloween mask

In the moment of the Halloween celebration, at the rate President Rodrigo Duterte recycles his appointees after removing them from their previous posts, make them look like the fictional Frankenstein creature. This is based on a novel written by English author Mary Shelley that tells the story of Victor Frankenstein, a young scientist who creates a hideous, sapient creature in an unorthodox scientific experiment. 

In this parallelism, President Duterte creates and reinvents his presidential appointees who failed him in their original assigned post in government, and reappoints them to another position. 

A case in point is ex-Magdalo mutineer and erstwhile Marine Captain Nicanor Faeldon whom President Duterte first appointed as Customs commissioner. But after the P6.4-billion smuggled shabu got through Customs under his watch, the President removed him from the post and reappointed him as deputy administrator for operations at the Office of Civil Defense with a rank of Defense assistant secretary. When Bureau of Corrections chief Ronald “Bato” dela Rosa decided to run for the Senate in next year’s mid-term elections, the President reassigned Faeldon to take over the vacancy.

Barely going into the third year of his six-year term of office, President Duterte is now on his third Customs commissioner. The Chief Executive last week appointed retired Armed Forces chief of staff Rey Leonardo Guerrero in exasperation over the latest case of shabu smuggling that slipped out of the Bureau. Previously appointed as MARINA chief, Guerrero takes over from erstwhile Customs commissioner Isidro Lapeña.

By his own words, the President said he “promoted” Lapeña to Cabinet-ranked position as TESDA Director-General. First appointed as PDEA chief, Lapeña got “promoted” for the same reason his predecessor got booted out for big-time shabu smuggling at the Customs during his watch.

While they seem to be the most indispensable people as far as President Duterte sees these recycled appointees, they are not the only ones qualified to hold these positions in the Philippine government. If only President Duterte would be more trustful to throw a wider net, for sure he could find more qualified appointees, if not better replacements.

Don’t get me wrong. I have nothing against retired or former military and police officials being named to civilian posts after their uniformed career. I have covered many of these retired Generals named in civilian posts where they continued their excellent public service. But there are other ways to reward them for loyalty and service to the country.

In fact, the President brought along retiring soldiers and police officers during his state visit last month to Israel as a “reward” for their service. 

As President Duterte himself kept repeating, ex-police and military officers make good subordinates because they are mission-oriented and focused at delivering results in their job, order, mission or task. The President specifically appointed these former police and military officers with whom he worked with in the past when they were assigned to him while he was Davao City Mayor during their younger years.

Being a local government chief executive for almost two decades, President Duterte pointed out his movements were limited to Davao City. Thus, he cited, he does not know many people, business and society leaders and other personalities in and out of the government on national basis.

The limited choice of presidential appointees also draws from a favorite Chinese parable that the former Davao City Mayor most often mentions in his extemporaneous speeches. The parable tells about a Chinese man who brings along a lighted lamp on a broad daylight. When asked why he has a lighted lamp, he would reply: “I’m trying to look for an honest man.” 

So he relies mainly on nominees and recommendations being submitted and vetted by his trusted staff at Malacañang Palace headed by Executive Secretary Salvador Medialdea.   

Now 73 years old, President Duterte explained most of his colleagues are either too old like him or sickly, if not dead already.

Incidentally, the President himself is still being pestered with loose talks of his being purportedly sick based on the dark discoloration of his facial skin. The President has admitted being in “perpetual pain” because of a motorcycle mishap years ago, but stressed that he has no serious ailment. He also has a “bad case of Barrett” disease he developed through years of alcohol drinking and cigarette smoking.

The “sick” rumors erupted for the nth time when he embarked on his state visits to Israel and Jordan last Sept. 2. President Duterte retorted in jest that it would be better if he undergoes surgery in Israel. Presidential spokesman Harry Roque chimed and dismissed the rumor as “misinformation in aid of election” by one party-list congressman as he insisted that the President is healthy as a bull.

However, later that month President Duterte admitted before a gathering of doctors in Cebu that he underwent endoscopy and colonoscopy. But Malacañang explained it was just a “routine” checkup and is not a cause for worry.

Endoscopy is a nonsurgical procedure to examine a person’s digestive track while colonoscopy checks if there are abnormalities in the large intestine and rectum.

On Oct. 4, the President underwent the same procedures at the Cardinal Santos Medical Center in Greenhills, San Juan City sparking the latest “sick” rumors. The Chief Executive later explained he sought confirmatory tests on polyp growths discovered by the first tests. Fortunately, he told media, the second tests turned negative of any cancerous growth.

Roque who was obviously kept in the dark about the second medical tests vehemently denied to media when the latest “sick” rumor leaked out. Sadly for Roque, it was his credibility that met the unexpected death. Roque did not get reappointed. So off he threw his hat in the Senate race next year.

Meanwhile, President Duterte is now pointing to his derma treatment as behind his graying face. Well and good because he will not need any Halloween mask.