What Vidal needs to tell the public

"The problem here is failure to communicate."

-- From the 1967 prison drama film "Cool Hand Luke"'

RICARDO Cardinal Vidal can't be said to be unfamiliar with how media works. During his 29-year term (1982-2011) as Cebu archbishop, priests and bishops were briefed on media practices: remember how he talked about dealing with ambush interviews? He knew what to say and what not to say, when a spokesman would speak and when he himself should talk.

There were controversies when he headed the Archdiocese but none involved him in a situation as confusing as the present flap over his PNoyresign pronouncements.

In both instances, he didn't write the document; he read it. Last Oct. 1, opening the assembly of National Transformation Council (NTC) in Cebu, he read an earlier Lipa Declaration which demanded that PNoy resign. He told participants to discuss it further. Media attributed the demand to Vidal who later corrected the error.

Last Feb. 13, reading another NTC-prepared statement, he made the same call, saying PNoy's quitting has become more "urgent and imperative." When reporters asked if he categorically wanted the president out, he said "it's there in the first sentence." But the following day, a spokesperson denied that it was Vidal's sentiment.

Whom to blame

Vidal himself needs to tell his public what's going on here: whether he believes PNoy should step down and what precisely are the cardinal's ties with NTC. And maybe stop what's getting to be a serial occurrence: his being mistaken for a political mouthpiece.

There's an apparent "failure to communicate." Sadly, those exploiting it are not solely to blame.