Counterpoint
By Alvin Capino
Manila Standard Today
By Alvin Capino
Manila Standard Today
The statement of newly appointed Department of Interior and Local Government Secretary Manuel Roxas II that he has big “tsinelas” to fill is good news story copy but not exactly accurate.
What is true is that his predecessor, the late Secretary Jesse Robredo, was given “tsinelas” powers when he was still heading DILG.
Unlike Roxas who enjoys the full support of the President, Robredo’s powers were clipped. The support he got from President Benigno Aquino III was less than total.
Robredo was given only an “acting” appointment and it was only on June 13, 2011 that he was given an ad interim appointment and his name submitted for Commission on Appointments confirmation.
In contrast, Roxas’ appointment will be submitted immediately. He has been assured that it would be approved at the shortest possible time.
President Aquino himself admitted that he had reservations about Robredo. He explained: “There are various reasons kung bakit acting. In the case of Jesse, we had some differences during the campaign as to style. We want to make sure we can really work with each other well. It does no good to get him through the whole process of the CA only at the end of the day to find out that there might be difficulties in our working style, among others, our core philosophy, so we did agree na acting na muna.”
Robredo not only had “tsinelas” powers but worse he appears to have only one tsinelas. The control of the Interior part of the department, i.e. the Philippine National Police, the Bureau of Fire Protection and the Bureau of Jail Management, was not given to him. Rather, that power was wielded by Undersecretary for Peace and Order Rico Puno who is a close friend of the President and has direct lines of communications with him.
It was clear that Puno was in charge of the PNP during the bloody Luneta hostage-taking incident on August 23, 2010. The incident served to highlight the fact that Robredo was out of the loop as far as effective control of the police was concerned since it appeared that Puno was getting direct instructions from the President during the incident.
Roxas will not have the problem that Robredo had. He has taken over the DILG not with “tsinelas” powers but with steel-toed boots.
Roxas made this clear when he announced that he would undertake a sweeping revamp of the department.
Unsurprisingly, the first to get the boot from Roxas was Puno. In doing so, Roxas sent a clear and unmistakable message that he would not share powers with anybody—not even with the close friend of the President who once bragged about the confidence the President had in him.
According to news reports, Puno will get a key position in the Department of Agriculture.
This prospect must be disconcerting to Agriculture Secretary Proceso Alcala and even to the senator who is rumored to be the putative Presidential Adviser on Agriculture. If Puno goes to the DA, the possibility is that he will create his own independent fiefdom within the department.
Unlike the late Robredo, Roxas enjoys the full and total trust of President Aquino. He has given Roxas a free hand in reorganizing the DILG.
“We are giving Mar the freedom to choose his own people, including the heads of agencies under the DILG,” according to Pres. Aquino.
Other political parties are leery about the takeover of Roxas over the powerful DILG which has control not only of local governments but also of the police in the light of the coming election campaign for the May 13, 2013 elections.
DILG plays a pivotal role in elections and the LP—with no less than the president of the party itself in full control of the department—has the potential to influence the elections results.
For LP’s political rivals, the statements of LP party leaders that the DILG should be headed by a member of the party now sound portentous especially if you consider it together with the statement of an LP congressman that the appointment would give the ruling party “a big boost.”
San Juan Rep. JV Ejercito agreed and observed that the appointment of Roxas to the DILG “is obviously for strengthening of the LP’s position in the coming 2013 and 2016 elections.”
President Aquino himself has addressed this concern of the other parties when he stressed that Roxas’ “primary function is to advance the country’s interest over the party’s interest.”
Roxas clearly is getting all the support from President Aquino that Robredo did not get. Unlike Robredo, Roxas will have no excuse if he fails.
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