Rev up the Revamp

It’s a shake-up.

Someone asked me why the President is shaking up his Cabinet? Well, that’s what I would do if I can’t find a favorite shirt. (Where did that black Che Guevarra shirt go?)

Maybe, it’s because of this Arnel Ignacio allegedly anomalous P 1.4 billion land deal. (Very few people would remember that way before he was appointed as Executive Director Admin. V of the Overseas Workers Welfare Administration, he was a prime time TV host with daily and nightly shows.) Maybe, it’s because of the election results, especially in the Senate. (I told you my hangover isn’t over yet.) It could be because 42% of the senatorial candidates under the Alyansa para sa Bagong Pilipinas didn’t make it to the top 12. That is quite unimpressive for the endorsed party or coalition of the incumbent President who should have the advantage of current position and hold on the government. This could even be the first time that something like this has happened in Philippine politics. Remarkably, the candidates who did not make it included former senators who had been in government in lengthy periods of time, who had not lost an election before. Whoa! They slipped all the way down, giving way for candidates closely associated to the President’s opponents or those not allied with him. Inversely, the Alyansa only got 58% of the winning candidates. If that were a test in class, that would be a score of 79 when a 95 to 100 should be the expected rating. In a way, that’s the administration’s score from the Filipino voters. Furthermore, the winning Alyansa candidates were not really BBM boys as much as Bong Go and Bato dela Rosa are to former President Duterte, or Bam Aquino and Kiko Pangilinan are rooted to the Kakampink bloc. I don’t think the President could count on the senators-elect as much as Trump could count on Republicans.

I heard a political analyst say that the winning senators-elect represent the social issues that Filipinos are most concerned of: Bong Go to health, Bam Aquino to education, Erwin Tulfo to social welfare, Bato dela Rosa to peace and order, and Kiko Pangilinan to food security. I beg to disagree. Bong Go got the Duterte support and those from the recipients of his Malasakit program. Aquino and Pangilinan got the support of Dilawan, Kakampink and all others who would not go for either BBM or Duterte. Tulfo got the support of the Filipinos who had the propensity towards the tough guy stand, much like the former President. Bato dela Rosa got the Duterte vote, especially from the disgruntled DDS. If we include Rodante Marcoleta, it’s not really because of cheaper power bills. I think it’s because of the support of a religious group. Imee Marcos spiked in popularity after being endorsed by VP Sarah Duterte.

Among the winning 12, 33% could be considered solid Duterte supporters. They would join Senators Padilla and Cayetano which would make them 26% of the 23 (because Sonny Angara was appointed as DepEd Secretary and presumably would be reinstated). On the other side of the aisle, there would be a 22% who would be solid anti-Duterte. This doesn’t mean that they support BBM. The remaining52% could go either way, but most of them have historically gone the Duterte route. The 26% Duterte support could blow up to 65%. Hey, that’s about two-thirds of 23. With the approval survey results, VP Sarah Duterte, despite her utilization of intelligence funds, could easily get the votes to win as President.

Wait a minute. Where is President BBM in that picture?

We have to give the President some credit. Other presidents would have stuck and did stick with his people, no matter what controversy may come. (Remember when DOH Secretary Duque stayed in position through the times when we were not sure whether they were still doing it right?) Here we have a President who is able to apologize for any mistake done by his administration. He’s willing to reach out his hand to opponents who attack him, to invite unity. He’s open to adjust and realign his people to appropriate the entries from the comments and suggestions box. Other politicians would retaliate against opponents who attack. Other presidents would have been stubborn and stick to their guns, and would not give a… what happens in the social landscape. Other presidents would have spat expletives left and right. Oh wait; it’s not some “presidents”. That should be some “president” (which is singular). BBM brings decency and gentlemanly demeanor in the halls of Malacanang. If one’s decent with words, he will be decent with works.

““Whoever can be trusted with very little can also be trusted with much, and whoever is dishonest with very little will also be dishonest with much.” - Luke 16:10