Gauging people’s throb thru government sensors

By CHITO DELA TORRE
June 14, 2010

Except for Kris Aquino’s June 10 start of her personal reach-out sorties to the people in the Philippine archipelago, starting with assistance items linked to the education of the youth in Tarlac – which one television network rather jokingly described as an acting out by a “first lady”, people in such critically poor areas as the  towns and barrios that comprise the biggest portion of the territory of the Warays have yet to hear what the incoming Aquino administration will be doing to bring the government literally closest to the  people.

Of course, President-elect Benigno Simeon “Noynoy” Cojuangco Aquino III has several times been featured in tv news reports as opening his government to the poor masses so that he and his bureaucracy could readily and easily extend them public service, meaning, give them what they need – medicines or medical attention, some cash for transportation or other personal emergency needs, and, very especially, ears that will listen and hands that will act on the people’s complaints particularly against harassment or an abuse by any government officer or employee especially in the law enforcement bureaucracy.  That is why, Noynoy prefers to “live” outside of Malacañang, in a house which can publicly attend to all those seeking the immediate help of a Father of the Republic of the Philippines.

That may not be enough.  Thus, Kris’ own initiatives may be able to fill in the gap.  That is most welcome.  Kris’ presence alone will be both inspiring and alleviating.  More heartening in this her gesture is her pronouncement that no cash from the government will be used, as she will be using her own resources and the resources of all others who will put in anything big or small that can allow her to carry out her self-proclaimed mission from day one to the last day of her elder brother’s 1,950 days in office as Chief Executive of the Philippine Government.  Maybe Kris will be ready to accept the offer of assistance (to Noynoy’s governance) that the quondam cinematic president, Erap Estrada, reportedly extended even as he was preparing his congratulatory message for the president-elect and while he was on vacation in London.

To Noynoy, however, offers like those of Kris and Erap may not at all be too easy to accept, even if they will come handily and in clean plates.  Shortly after two days of reporting the election results showing him to be on the far lead to the presidency, Noynoy started receiving signals via the men and women working around him closely and tightly that so and so individuals were “applying” for various government positions of extending other forms of assistance, but he found out for himself that it was not easy to handle those offers and applications.  Hence, a day after his proclamation of as the duly elected President of the Republic of the Philippines last June 8 by Senate President Juan Ponce Enrile and House Speaker Prospero Nograles at the joint session of the bicameral Congress, he was reported to have not yet even finalized his planned appointees for the Cabinet positions.  Noynoy seemed to have needed longer and deeper moments of studying options, qualifications and personal backgrounds of those whom he had in mind as the ideal persons who should work with him towards accomplishing his tasks and his campaign promises, vis-a-vis the almost insurmountable inundating problems being left by a terminating lies-laden-and-corruption-ridden 9-year Arroyo administration.

It’s good the Liberal Party stalwarts don’t distance from their chosen leader, but some of their pronouncements, particularly those made during the campaign period may be difficult to be tailored-fit to the upcoming Aquino administration’s immediacy options.  Hard-line LP leaders are taking extra care that the doors are shut down – just as they did early last April – to clones of Arroyo if only to frustrate tries to get her back to power thru the “backdoor”.  (In the call for the shutout to congressional candidates allied with Arroyo, LP senator Kiko Pangilinan exhorted voters:  “Let us prevent their return to power through the backdoor....”).  I share the LP’s sentiment that the upcoming Aquino administration should at the outset shield itself against opportunists and sweet-talking ladies and gentlemen about whose shenanigans, often those at the regional, provincial, city and municipal levels are more knowledgeable and familiar.

There may likely be paradigm shifts, particularly when beginning anew to handle the government’s departments, bureaus and other agencies, including the programs and projects that had been bannered by them.  I suppose the think tank men and women of Noynoy are experts in these and on those, and that as such, they are almost ready to put them in their proper places.  Noynoy was right when he told the media minutes after his hands were raised in his proclamation as the duly elected president, that his administration’s immediate courses of action will definitely include information gathering and collection of documents particularly in offices that have been suspected to have become workplaces of corruption, and then studying and determining at once what appropriate criminal and administrative cases to pursue.  Of course, here we can already assume safely that Kris would have no hand; she herself hasn’t given us inkling on that.

The people’s opinions and reactions, apart from complaints and expressions of needs, may need to be taken stock of and appreciated.  Often, actually, they involve simple monitoring, observation, note-taking, and reviewing, because, often, they are not expressed as openly as expected – most often, they are made known only among and to friends – but, yes, they are an important public pulse barometer and therefore a significant ingredient in public management that must be considered, especially when making decisions or adopting courses of action. Past administrations had been employing informal surveys along this line.  During the time of then Information secretary Francisco “Kit” Tatad who would become senator in the post-EDSA People Power years, there used to be “OAB” (opinions, attitudes, and beliefs) surveys – not because martial law required it but because the pre-martial law years found out that they were necessary tools in governance, particularly in a government’s effort to make the government “close” (and later, “closer”) to the people.  Private media also employ them because OABs provide avenues for sensing news developments.  The government’s intelligence units also gather them to enable them to study “tips” and their meanings in relation to scenario building.