Capability not a monopoly of a few

Like in a game of musical chairs, Eduardo Año was appointed secretary of interior and local government right upon his retirement as chief of staff of the armed forces. That Año will have to sit out a full year before he can actually assume his new government position in accordance with the law is small consolation for the fact that this country just cannot seem to function on the strength of fresh new blood. We keep on recycling old talent.

This is not meant to question the capability of Año, or any other government official past or present who at one time or another has been shunted from one post to another. It is pretty certain that having been appointed and then capably served in one position, any official can also serve just as capably in some other position in the government.

But the Philippines is a country of a hundred and ten million people. It has one of the youngest, educated, and skilled populations in the whole world, thereby possessing one of its most dynamic pools of talent anyone can find anywhere. In contrast, there are just a few dozen senior executive positions that require filling up every change of administration and in the course of its tenure.

So why cannot other just as talented potentials be given the chance to serve their government? Not exactly to replace or fix what is not broken but perhaps to exceed and do even better. Those who have served and served well, like Año, should be given the chance to retire and enjoy the fruits of his years of unstinted service to his country while he still can.

Besides, nobody is indispensable. It is not all up to a few individuals -this business of running the government. Again there is a wealth of talent out there just waiting for their chance to be tapped and harnessed. Great ideas come from a multiplicity of sources. This country should not be stymied in its march to a better future simply because we want to stick to what is familiar and comfortable.

Of course it is understandable for the president to surround himself with officials he can trust, especially in these times when he thinks he is the subject of ouster plots. But as he himself has said so many times, governance is never about him. He himself expressed many times a willingness to step down. So why the premium on trust over and above competence, a commodity that is never the monopoly of any one man? The president should test the capabilities of his own countrymen.