Antidote to an unraveling presidency
transfered him to BuCor. And the President was totally in the dark, or so he claims; were it not for the public outrage that ensued because of inclusion in the GCTA of the rapist/ murderer and convicted heinous felon, former Calauan, Laguna mayor Antonio Sanchez. Now comes the expose that the ” at the penitentiary virtually runs the prisons with drugs galore, ”tilapia” brought in by prison guards for the prisoners’ entertainment and sex for pay; and money exchanging hands for hospital stay privileges; not to mention prisoners as assassins for hire. And these happened even during the stint of his protégé, Bato de la Rosa, now an honorable senator incongruously participating in the Senate hearing/ investigation of the same anomalies.
In short, he is being played for a fool by his own trusted people — “This is painful to a President with a humongous ego. The whole Department of Justice and the Malacañang praetorian guard were criminally clueless ( — making the President one, too.
This recounting of the BuCor/
tion of the goings-on in this administration to emphasize the magnitude of the corruption and criminal activities of his own people which is kept from the Deegong’s awareness by his own coterie. And these all add up to the symptoms leading towards the growing perception of the unraveling of the presidency. He is not in control!
Pathway for rectification
For most of us, outsiders looking in, DU30 is alone in the proverbial high seat of the presidency — not constricted by the majesty of the post nor the immensity of the responsibilities, but subjugated by
possessing a rough and dominating personality with some degree of volatility intimidates people around him and brooks no criticism. What is needed perhaps is a foil to that kind of deviant personality.
A rough model comes to mind in Whipple’s, (refer to my columns of Sept. 18, 2019, “The clueless President and Palace cordon sanitaire” and “Part 3,
Oct. 12, 2017). Ronald Reagan, one of America’s successful presidents had a “troika” in place — James Baker 3rd, Edward Meese and Mike Deaver. Adapting this model to the current Malacañang realities could work, retaining the current Executive Secretary/Chief of Staff (COS) Salvador Medialdea as the considering his years of close intimate personal relationship with the Deegong thus, his preeminence within the coterie. PRRD simply needs to balance the troika with two real professional managers deeply selected from among astute political insiders with extensive experience in the high echelons of government from past administrations — former Cabinet Secretaries or business tycoons — patriotic enough to serve the remaining three years of DU30’s regime.
Such a prototype would also permanently replace Sen. Bong Go who acted as PRRD’s excellent “(never a COS) for more than a decade, freeing him to do his exalted senatorial duties he was voted for. These three could divide among themselves the enor
supervise formulation of domestic policies, national security council and cabinet meetings while… handling paperwork, speechwriting and [Malacañang] staff; and more importantly control information to and from the president and the execution of policies.” The ‘troika’ is the “dispenser of the president’s time, the most valuable asset in presidential governance.” Collectively, it could stand up to the President while acting as a heat shield, lightning arrester and a safety valve for reining in his impulses.
Palace troika
This could work with one caveat and core to PRRD’s transformation: he must empower these three alter egos to assume the prearranged functions. The Deegong needs to understand at this critical juncture that he must leave a legacy behind – always a bane and boon for an outgoing leader. I paraphrase the conclusion in my Oct. 12, 2017 article with what the author Whipple said, quoting another writer: “…maybe that’s the strength of presidents like Ronald Reagan — who don’t think they’re the smartest person around.” The most successful leaders “are those that are secure enough to surround themselves with extremely strongwilled, talented people.”
The troika can help the Deegong run the Palace making him not only a president for all but be truly “presidential.”