Twice Shy
Twice shy
Updated 07:30am (Mla time) Sept 10, 2004
Inquirer News Service
Editor's Note: Published on page A14 of the September 10, 2004 issue of the Philippine Daily Inquirer
ONCE burned, twice shy, as the saying goes. President Gloria Macapagal-Arroyo may have announced her intention to get tough. She may even be serious about not being held hostage by vested interests. The fact is, however, that we've all heard this before, and no one is falling over himself expecting anything to really change.
The President shouldn't be surprised if her attempts at talking tough are received with skepticism. She is about the only President we have had who has deliberately resisted the urge to make grand statements and attempt rhetoric that soars. Thus, she cannot expect the country to leap to its feet in rapture the moment she tries to sound grand.
The truth is, even if the President had a penchant for rhetoric, the country is past confusing rhetorical flourishes for real achievements. We have all experienced too many grand visions being spun in speeches while the reality of daily life only gets worse. The country wants to see results; it wants to see action, not hear words. It certainly knows better than to take any politician, including the President, at face value.
When the President speaks against vested interests, first of all, she must consider how much she is identified with those interests. In the public mind, she is as much wedded to those interests as she herself claims to be married to the nation. Her husband himself, represents the oldest, most enduring vested interest of all, the landed oligarchy. Her political allies themselves represent all the vested interests that have plagued our country: the commercial elite, the various factions of our traditional political dynasties, the families of warlords. It is safe to say that under her administration, the country has failed to witness a sustained period when Ms Arroyo turned her back on vested interests and opted for a grander, braver, approach to politics.
Her deliberate avoidance of rhetoric has been matched by her willful avoidance of political risk when pragmatic accommodation can gain her support. She has dared far less than she has demonstrated as wanting, by making backroom deals and doling out patronage. Hers is not an innovative administration in the political sense; it is a political operator's paradise, with all the built-in cynicism and corrupt and corrupting tendencies this implies.
To top it off, the President has shown that when presented with a choice, the crooked road is more to her liking than the straight path. She would rather deal with the power players, the bosses and fixers than the people who want the system fixed. (Just look at many of her Cabinet appointments or Malacanang's stout defense of the pork barrel.) Whenever the low ground has presented itself, she opts to take it instead of trying to maintain the high ground in her political conduct. (Consider her state visit to China with her whole family in tow, including "apos" who are much too young to appreciate anything they saw there, much less the significance of the event.)
This, then, is why the public's response to her latest vow to not be held hostage by vested interests has been underwhelming. Tough words followed by tough action are not what she has come to be known for. While she retains the grudging respect and even admiration of many, for her personal discipline and keen mind, she cannot aspire--not yet and not soon-to be considered a crusading reformer.
It is simply too alien a concept for the people to buy. And it is certainly not something a population now used to being let down will cheer and applaud with any conviction.
It may be that the President has had a genuine change of heart. She may be sincere. But she is on probation. She cannot, and should not, expect any credit until the public sees those vested interests taking a body blow, one by one. We want to see tax cheats being made to pay what they owe. We want public contracts negotiated with the public, and not private, interests in mind. We would like to see the landed give way to programs aimed at social reform. We want environmental and other laws applied fairly and not selectively. We want an end to exceptions, exemptions, special considerations.
By we, we mean the people. The same people who have heard the President's statement and greeted it with a deafening silence.
Updated 07:30am (Mla time) Sept 10, 2004
Inquirer News Service
Editor's Note: Published on page A14 of the September 10, 2004 issue of the Philippine Daily Inquirer
ONCE burned, twice shy, as the saying goes. President Gloria Macapagal-Arroyo may have announced her intention to get tough. She may even be serious about not being held hostage by vested interests. The fact is, however, that we've all heard this before, and no one is falling over himself expecting anything to really change.
The President shouldn't be surprised if her attempts at talking tough are received with skepticism. She is about the only President we have had who has deliberately resisted the urge to make grand statements and attempt rhetoric that soars. Thus, she cannot expect the country to leap to its feet in rapture the moment she tries to sound grand.
The truth is, even if the President had a penchant for rhetoric, the country is past confusing rhetorical flourishes for real achievements. We have all experienced too many grand visions being spun in speeches while the reality of daily life only gets worse. The country wants to see results; it wants to see action, not hear words. It certainly knows better than to take any politician, including the President, at face value.
When the President speaks against vested interests, first of all, she must consider how much she is identified with those interests. In the public mind, she is as much wedded to those interests as she herself claims to be married to the nation. Her husband himself, represents the oldest, most enduring vested interest of all, the landed oligarchy. Her political allies themselves represent all the vested interests that have plagued our country: the commercial elite, the various factions of our traditional political dynasties, the families of warlords. It is safe to say that under her administration, the country has failed to witness a sustained period when Ms Arroyo turned her back on vested interests and opted for a grander, braver, approach to politics.
Her deliberate avoidance of rhetoric has been matched by her willful avoidance of political risk when pragmatic accommodation can gain her support. She has dared far less than she has demonstrated as wanting, by making backroom deals and doling out patronage. Hers is not an innovative administration in the political sense; it is a political operator's paradise, with all the built-in cynicism and corrupt and corrupting tendencies this implies.
To top it off, the President has shown that when presented with a choice, the crooked road is more to her liking than the straight path. She would rather deal with the power players, the bosses and fixers than the people who want the system fixed. (Just look at many of her Cabinet appointments or Malacanang's stout defense of the pork barrel.) Whenever the low ground has presented itself, she opts to take it instead of trying to maintain the high ground in her political conduct. (Consider her state visit to China with her whole family in tow, including "apos" who are much too young to appreciate anything they saw there, much less the significance of the event.)
This, then, is why the public's response to her latest vow to not be held hostage by vested interests has been underwhelming. Tough words followed by tough action are not what she has come to be known for. While she retains the grudging respect and even admiration of many, for her personal discipline and keen mind, she cannot aspire--not yet and not soon-to be considered a crusading reformer.
It is simply too alien a concept for the people to buy. And it is certainly not something a population now used to being let down will cheer and applaud with any conviction.
It may be that the President has had a genuine change of heart. She may be sincere. But she is on probation. She cannot, and should not, expect any credit until the public sees those vested interests taking a body blow, one by one. We want to see tax cheats being made to pay what they owe. We want public contracts negotiated with the public, and not private, interests in mind. We would like to see the landed give way to programs aimed at social reform. We want environmental and other laws applied fairly and not selectively. We want an end to exceptions, exemptions, special considerations.
By we, we mean the people. The same people who have heard the President's statement and greeted it with a deafening silence.
posted by Dante at 10:30 AM
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