So Ping Lacson, the former super cop-turned senator-turned private citizen has finally accepted a new role under the administration of President Aquino: That of a rehabilitation czar who will oversee reconstruction in the regions that super typhoon “Yolanda” devastated last month. But what would he bring to the table? Didn’t he himself express initial hesitation in accepting his new post? According to Ping, when Noynoy asked him if he could be in charge of rehabilitation efforts, he did not immediately accept the offer and asked for time to think about it as it was not the area of his expertise. Of course we all know that law enforcement is his forte and maybe we can add to that the art of evading law enforcers. Cibac Representative Sherwin Tugna, an ally of the administration insinuated Noynoy might have erred in appointing Ping to lead the rehabilitation of the areas devastated by Yolanda saying it would have been better if someone from Eastern Visayas had been appointed for the job, as obviously, someone from the area would just know what to prioritize in reconstructing the region. But this is not the first time Noynoy had appointed an outsider to lead a particular area much to the chagring and discomfort of the people he is supposed to lead. Had he not appointed Francis Tolentino, a former mayor of Tagaytay, a good 59 kilometers away from Metro Manila to head the Metro Manila Development Authority? And what has Tolentino brought to the people of Metro Manila? More experiments on traffic. Just imagine if you’re coming from the corner of Timog Avenue and Quezon Avenue and you just want to drop by Centris which is located at the corner of Edsa. The genius that he is, Tolentino closed the u-turn slot under the flyover bridge at the corner of Edsa and Quezon Avenue, thus you have to go all the way to the u-turn slot under the flyover bridge at the corner of Edsa and Timog before you can proceed to your destination. That is the benefit we get in having an outsider appointed to lead us. He just could care less for all our miseries. Now, going back to Ping, what exactly can he bring to the people of Eastern Visayas? What the people there need is someone who can lead them to rehabilitate and restore in their region back to normalcy and not necessarily a cop who lays claim to the title of anti-corruption fighter (Just why do they have to use this line all over again?). Ping says he would make sure he would bring to justice all those who would be found misusing the fund intended for Yolanda’s victims (He doesn’t have to go far. He only has to ask Dinky). But if that’s his priority agenda, he doesn’t deserve the title of Rehab Czar. Maybe he needs to lead the Commission on Audit. But then, he is no accountant. Or maybe he needs to lead the Ombudsman or the Sandiganbayan. But again, I don’t think he is qualified for those positions. The point is, while the pronouncement of Ping warning all those who intends to abuse raid the funds intended for Yolanda victims is laudable, there are enough measures and institutions in place to look after that particular area. What Eastern Visayas needs now is someone who will lead the region to normalcy the soonest possible time. And I believe that there are people in Noynoy’s own Cabinet who could assume that role having the opportunity to assume a similar role during the time of the late Cory Aquino when Pinatubo devastated Central Luzon in 1990. And I just can’t understand why Noynoy has been ignoring them, delegating the role to someone who hasn’t even experienced a simple flooding incident. So why Ping? Because maybe of the fact that lately, Ping has been criticizing the Aquino administration and Noynoy can no longer take anymore of that. He is being besieged from all angles. So to pacify Ping, Noynoy has to take him in. He has to be appointed. Unfortunately, it comes at the expense of the people of Eastern Visayas. The Aquino administration has to use the Yolanda disaster just to appease a disgruntled ally. As one solon puts it, it appears that not even a calamity on the magnitude of Yolanda can demolish the culture of political patronage.
Posted on: Tue, 03 Dec 2013 11:07:29 +0000
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