In the pilot episode of the BBM podcast on May 19, I find quite disturbing President Ferdinand Marcos Jr.’s statement that several appointed government officials were told to just resign to avoid being charged.
“Sa nakaraang dalawang taon, three years, basta’t may report kami na validated, tanggal ‘yan. Hindi na namin ina-announce pero tanggal ‘yan, kadalasan.”
(In the past two, three years, when we get a validated report, they’re removed. We don’t announce it but they’re removed, most of the time.)
He went on to say: “Marami na. Marami na talagang … pero hindi na namin pinag-uusapan kasi gulo na naman, eh. Basta umalis ka na; kung hindi kakasuhan ka namin. Ikukulong kita. Umalis ka na lang.”
(Several, [there are] many of them … but we don’t talk about it because it will be a mess again. Just leave; if you won’t, we will file a case. I will send you to jail. You better just leave.)
It raises a lot of questions. Who were those officials? What mistakes did they commit? What were the validated reports about? Why did he just let them leave government service without holding them accountable? Why set aside transparency and shield those officials? Why were they not charged?
Did the list include his former executive secretary, Victor Rodriguez, who also served as his spokesperson and general campaign manager of Partido Federal ng Pilipinas in his 2022 presidential run?
Rodriguez was embroiled in a sugar importation fiasco during the early months of the Marcos presidency, leading to his resignation, just more than two months into his position in Malacañang. Rodriguez, who has crossed over to the Duterte camp and lost in the May 12 senatorial race, had said he wanted to spend more time with his family.
Was resigned transportation secretary Jaime Bautista among them? Bautista, 68, stepped down last February “to give attention to [his] health.” He was replaced by Vince Dizon, 50, who has so far been proactive in identifying and finding solutions to the perennial problems affecting commuters.
The initial batch of the much ballyhooed Cabinet revamp is far from satisfactory, with the retention of key officials who should take responsibility for the transfer of P89.9 billion of unused state subsidies from the Philippine Health Insurance Corp. (PhilHealth) to the national treasury, which has ignited a storm of controversy, as well as the approval of bastardized annual budget programs laden with questionable items and acceding to more questionable congressional insertions.
Marcos seemed to have a clear grasp of the outcome of the May 12 midterm elections, when the administration managed to win only five of the contested 12 seats. It anticipated that it would get eight to nine seats, based on pre-election preference surveys.
The president said: “Para sa akin, I have two conclusions dito sa eleksyon. Una, nagsawa na ang Pilipino sa pulitika. Sawang-sawa na sa pulitika. Ang mensahe, sa amin lahat — hindi lamang sa akin, kung hindi sa aming lahat — tama na ‘yung pamumulitika ninyo at kami naman ang asikasuhin Ninyo.”
(I have two conclusions from this election. First, the people are tired of politics. [They’re] so fed up with politics. The message, to all of us — not only to me, but to all of us — enough of politicking and take care of our needs.)
“Tama rin naman, eh. Iyan naman talaga ang dapat nating ginagawa. Kaya mabuti, o tapos na ‘yung eleksyon, tama na ‘yung pulitika. Tama na ‘yung pulitika, magtrabaho — gawin na natin lahat ng kailangang gawin.”
(They’re right. That’s really what we should be doing, It’s good that the election is over, enough of politics. Enough of politics, let’s work — let’s do everything we have to do.)
“Iyong pangalawa, disappointed ang tao sa serbisyo ng gobyerno. Hindi nila nararamdaman at masyadong mabagal ang galaw nang pagbubuo ng mga project na hindi pa nila maramdaman.”
(Second, the people are disappointed in government services. They don’t feel, and the implementation of projects are too slow that they don’t feel yet.)
Well, Dizon’s appointment seems to show positive results insofar as easing commuters’ woes is concerned.
Moving forward, the president needs to take more drastic action against erring or non-performing officials, not only those in the Cabinet but even in lower-level agencies and regulatory entities, particularly those involved in frontline government services.
Mr. President, you are correct in saying that it cannot be business as usual. You can be respected and feared at the same time if you do what needs to be done, no matter who gets hurt, for the benefit of the greater majority.
“Pero alam mo, siguro dapat nga talaga maging mas mabagsik talaga dahil wala, eh. Eh kailangan talagang maging mas efficient ang ano — mas mabilis ang pagdating [ng serbisyo],” he said in the podcast.
(But you know, maybe I should really be fierce because we really have to be more efficient — for faster delivery of services.)
Do what you say and just do what must be done! Good governance is making sure that government institutions manage resources and deliver services in a way that prioritizes the rule of law, respects human rights and minimizes corruption. Always be guided by the standards of transparency and public accountability.
Let’s see how he would address the glaring abuses in the allocations of the national government budget in the last three years, which he tolerated and even proudly declared as reflective of his administration’s policy of prudent spending.
The views in this column are those of the author and do not necessarily reflect the views of VERA Files.
This column also appeared in The Manila Times.
