Finally, Some Good News

Wednesday, 01 September 2010 00:00

Written by Tony La Viña

Note: This online column will appear regularly. For its title, Dean Tony acknowledges Malcolm Gladwell who, in his book The Tipping Point, defined "connectors" as people who "link us up with the world"; they are those who have a special gift for bringing the world together. Connectors are essential for social change to happen and Dean Tony would like the institutions he works with to have that role.

Once again, the Philippines find itself at the epicenter of moral indignation and outrage over the mishandling by the Philippine police of the hostage-taking crisis. The terrible backlash on our national pride, on our OFWs in Hong Kong and on our relations with the Hong Kong/China government sent the fledgling Aquino administration scrambling for remedial measures to at least assuage the collective anger. This outrage on the part of the Chinese/Hong Kong nationals is understandable since it really touches a raw nerve to find your compatriots mercilessly killed in a foreign land; most especially in this case where the only reason of the victims for visiting the country was to savor the hospitality of the Filipinos.

But against this bad situation, after days of what from the outside seemed to be paralysis and confusion, President Aquino has made some commendable moves that will hopefully help us move forward.

First, the appointment of Secretary Leila de Lima, known for her competence and professionalism, as head of the investigating committee bodes well for an impartial and speedy investigation; including a reassurance that there will be no cover up in the on–going investigation.

Second, the admission by the President that DILG Secretary Robredo was out of the loop in the management of the crisis situation demonstrates a sincere effort to humbly admit lapses in which not many presidents would be ready and willing to do.

There are still tasks that need to be done. In my humble opinion, as a governance and legal expert, the current arrangement in the DILG is both bad governance and potentially illegal. If the President is really keen on actively supervising the PNP directly, he should appoint a presidential assistant on police matters and not retain a setup where a Secretary does not have control of his own Undersecretaries and an institution (PNP) which he is accountable for. That assistant should work with Secretary Robredo and not directly with the Police hierarchy.

Another urgent priority, as I have written elsewhere, is to revamp the communications setup in the Palace to avoid the maddening situation where different officials make different, if not conflicting, official statements. As always, but especially in crisis, Malacanang should speak, not in discordant and confusing voices, but with one voice.

But I am satisfied with the recent moves of the President, are you?

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