By Amado P. Macasaet
There are no Rasputins when there are no weak minds. The Czarina of Russia was completely under the spell of Rasputin because she could not discern motives of her people. Many, if not most of them, were sincere.
But she would not listen to any of them. Her mind was Rasputin. He thought for her because her mind was weak.
Rasputin was effectively ruling for the Czarina but he did not have any responsibility.
The Czarina reigned but her duties and responsibilities to Russia were left completely to Rasputin. That was her downfall.
Rasputin and the Czarina were both weak of minds. Anybody who abuses the trust of his king and makes him believe he is doing it for the country is a mentally challenged person. The victims of Rasputin were even more so. They had no capacity to discern there are three sides to any question: the side of the Rasputins, the side of their wards and the correct side. A ruler under the complete spell of a Rasputin hardly thinks for himself/herself. That most critical part of governance was usurped or assigned to the Rasputins.
The rest of the advisers of the rulers were pawns who did not raise questions about dangerous or wrong decisions of the leader. The decisions were made by the Rasputin.
The advisers of the leader so loved their powerful or glamorous positions they were scared they would be dismissed if they insisted a decision made by the Rasputin in the name of the leader was questioned.
Worse, they would not deign resign and fight for what they believed was good for the country and its king.
Rasputins are not necessarily the smartest and most intelligent of men. But they possess the rare quality of being able to be in perpetual favor of the king by simply telling him what he wants to hear, not what is not pleasant but happens to be right.
We are not making a comparison between the Czarina and President Aquino.
Neither are we saying the closest advisers of the President such as Finance Secretary Cesar Purisima are Rasputins.
We are trying to point out what is already widely known. The President is his own best adviser on matters of national importance. Our favorite example is his continued refusal to give permits to new mining operations in the belief that open pit mining poisons the environment.
As we always claim, the logic is flawed. How can new open pit mining poison the environment when those who are suspected to violate environmental laws are not given an opportunity to comply or violate?
The law says a suspect is presumed innocent until guilt is proved. New mining companies are not even suspects. The President would not allow them to be involved in what could be suspicious acts.
Here lies the weakness of mind of the Presidential advisers like the secretary of the environment and natural resources. He would not insist the President could be wrong in denying permits to new mining companies.
Neither would he lend proof to the mindset of the President that open pit mining harms the environment.
The reason for this indifference is the adviser is scared he could be fired on the spot if he insists the President is wrong. He would not argue the President’s mistake harms the country.
Secretary Ramon Paje would not even threaten the President with resignation. He knows the Chief Executive has fired people on the spot for disagreeing with him.
Paje loves his job and the glory that goes with it, but he does not love his country.
The stupidity of it all is a mining committee frequently comes up with ideas on rate of taxes on mining. What is the government going to tax when the President does not allow a new mine to operate?
The case of Cesar Purisima, secretary of finance, is remarkably different. He would not conduct a full dress investigation of separate reports of two international market research firms that Mighty Corp. is massively cheating on excise tax on cigarettes by not declaring all of its production for tax purposes.
He refuses to act probably because the President would not ask him to. Purisima is so close to the President’s heart, not necessarily to his mind.
Apart from proven competence in management and finance having been managing director of SGV, the largest audit-management firm in the whole of Southeast Asia, Purisima stood his ground in the unsuccessful
attempt of the Hyatt 10 to paralyze the Arroyo administration with mass resignation. He was Mrs. Arroyo’s secretary of finance.
The other Cabinet members who swore to leave the Arroyo Cabinet included Dinky Soliman, secretary of social welfare and development. That is how they got their rewards in the time of Aquino.
Soliman did not do so well in handling the crisis of death, hunger and utter hopelessness of victims of killer Typhoon Yolanda.
Has anybody heard the President dressing down Mrs. Soliman for alleged failure to do her job well in the typhoon-devastated areas? I am hard of hearing. I did not hear a word.
Has Purisima acted on the findings of alleged tax fraud committed by Mighty Corp.? He has not. He knows the President would not order him to.
Does the President have a mind to get rid of PNP chief Allan Purisima, for his inability to curb the involvement of police officers in crimes such as hold-ups?
We have no other purpose in detailing all these except the feeling of having the duty to point out that the President can be wrong. A president can be abused by his most trusted advisers.
On the hand, there are advisers who would not fight for what they think is right by quitting the Cabinet when they are rebuffed by the President.
This is a story of abuse and fear.
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