The following is the post of Leo Alejandrino in his Heneralunacy blog. I am reproducing it in full because critical thinking means that we should not discount what the opposition is saying.
In the absence of a credible opposition in the legislative, the burden of fiscalizing falls on the 31M Filipinos who elected Marcos-Duterte to office. The Marcos administration is not off to a good start despite the opinion of the majority that it is. There is much to be desired about the specific direction it is going in and this is reinforced by the fact that up to now, the President himself can’t get his own house in order.
In a post entitled So Soon, So Soon a few weeks ago I wrote about the travails of our new President so early in the Administration and the existential struggle among the many power factions for the division of spoils and command of the President’s ear. As it turns out the unraveling happened sooner than expected.
Last weekend the Executive Secretary (ES) Atty. Vic Rodriguez, the erstwhile advisor and campaign spokesperson of BBM, resigned from his office citing family reasons specifically “to witness first hand his young family grow”. After numerous years at the right hand of the now President Almighty, Atty. Rodriquez suddenly realized the importance of family and raising kids in the right values.
Vic Rodriguez is reportedly to be replaced by retired SC Chief Justice Lucas Bersamin, one of nine Justices who voted in favor of allowing ex-President Ferdinand Marcos to be buried in the Libingan ng mga Bayani. Justice Bersamin is 73 years old which brings new meaning to the term “injecting new blood” in Government. He joins a number of his peers in the geriatrically challenged Cabinet.
While accepting Atty. Vic’s resignation, in a simultaneous about face the President appointed him as his Chief of Staff sowing confusion in an already muddy affair. The move was reportedly against the advise of Presidential Legal Counsel, Juan Ponce Enrile, who if anything has the wisdom of age. It also ran counter to BBM’s announced intention to streamline his office. JPE felt the mandate of this newly created position was already covered by the Office of the Executive Secretary, the Presidential Management Staff, the Special Assistant to the President (Anton Lagdameo) and the Chief Presidential Legal Counsel (JPE). The incoming ES Bersamin presumably also wanted to know how responsibilities and authority will be shared with the first-of-its-kind PCS since they are almost identical. In the end a compromise was reached where Atty. Vic would have an office and a title but his job description would be curtailed under clear parameters defined by JPE. How this plays out in practice is another matter.
The timing of Atty. Vic’s resignation was propitious coming as it did shortly before the President flew to address the U.N. assembly in New York. This will allow for the noise to dial down before the President returns to answer questions. To his credit BBM responded quickly to mounting opposition to Atty. Vic’s stay in power. Other leaders would have dug in suggesting BBM is listening.
There are varying interpretations to the ES’ resignation but all agree on two things: One, Atty. Vic at 48 did not resign to mentor his kids to become upstanding citizens and, two, that unlike Paul he did not in 79 days have an epiphany on the road to Damascus.
The majority opinion is that Atty. Vic overplayed his hand in defining his office, in crowding out others in the appointment even of second level Government positions and in speaking by the authority of the President. In this matter he could have taken a false clue from his boss who can at times be laid back; to take matter into his hands while forgetting it takes a village to govern. As a result he offended the many power blocs around Malacanang including supporters of the First Lady, Sen. Imee, political and financial donors and the social friends of the President.
It did not help that Atty. Vic seemingly botched some of his assignments. The Senate findings on the recent sugar mess concluded Atty. Vic “was not entirely blameless” in the fiasco. There were rumors of Php 100 million changing hands for key Government positions. There was the appointment and recall of Cristopher Pastrana as General Manager of the Philippines Ports Authority after revelations of possible conflict of interest. One major religious group allegedly complained of not having its slate of recommendees accepted. Key invitations to BBM’s Inaugural were mishandled. There were unconfirmed allegations of numerous foreign bank accounts being opened with new found money. Sen. Imee ranted on national television of the “snake(s)” in the Palace and how he/they were undermining the reputation of her brother. The long knives in the Palace were unhappy with the growing influence of the ES particularly in the appointment of heads of key regulatory agencies where the bread is buttered.
Others believe Atty. Vic’s resignation is just a zarzuela where he would step down as ES but would assume the newly created position of PCS. The ES would take care of official business while the PCS would delve in the Twilight Zone where the real business of governing is done. The office of the Presidential Chief of Staff could in some ways be more powerful than that of the ES as it allows its occupant to roam freely the corridors of power unharnessed by the scrutiny of media, the public and the Legislature. The position carries a Cabinet rank but need not pass Congress’ Committee on Appointments.
It is unclear therefore whether the resignation of Atty. Rodriguez is a phyrric victory for his opponents. There are parallels in the Duterte Administration where ES Medialdea was officially the gate keeper to the President but Bong Go was the de facto presidential chief of staff getting involved where the real power lay. This parsing of duties and responsibilities is possibly more efficient but in fact will lead to confusion and deniability as fingers are pointed in a charade of “he said, she said”. We saw this in the SRA chaos where respected civil servants were thrown under the bus to save those truly at fault. Now more than ever the President will be hardpressed to attract the best and the brightest to Government. Already some recent appointees are reportedly expressing their desire to opt out as soon as the new Government settles in. There are still unfilled vacancies in key positions like Health.
It is debatable whether we have seen the last of Atty. Vic who for everything that is said has many shared experiences with the President and knows, figuratively of course, where, if any, are the bodies buried. As in all struggles power is defined not by one’s office but by the personalities of the parties, one’s closeness to the President and the political strength of those arrayed against you. There are various power blocs in Malacanang not all of whom are in concert with each other but following the dictum that the enemy of your enemy is your friend the various factions united in their opposition to Atty. Vic. Perhaps the latter can reconstitute his alliances but this seems difficult since the forces most adamantly against him are allegedly the President’s family and powerful political contributors. The PCS could still trade on the basis of his calling card but having been called out once there is less room to maneuver.
Which leads us to the question on everybody’s lips namely who will occupy the vacuum created by the exit of Atty. Vic or whether, in fact, there is any vacuum at all.
Competing power blocs in an administration is not uncommon. But it falls on the President to keep these blocs under HIS control and not the other way around. That is the true mettle of leadership.
Most of the world’s leaders are in London for the funeral of Queen Elizabeth II. BBM will not be able to meet with them at the UNGA in New York which leaves one wondering why did he still push through with the New York trip when he could’ve opted to go to London instead if his goal was to hobnob with leaders who are attending the Queen’s funeral.
Being in New York this week is the most inopportune time as the US Federal Reserve Open Market Committee will be meeting on September 20, to decide on another interest rate hike as the US continues to battle inflation.
What’s sure is there will be another 75 basis point rate hike but this could go up to a full point, which means another Peso depreciation against the Dollar. There is going to be a bit of turmoil in the financial markets this week as Europe grapples with the issue of inflation and the Russia-Ukraine war.
Stanley Druckenmiller was the former head of George Soros’ investment fund when they shorted the British pound and made $1.5B in one month doing so. The following is what he said about the state of the global financial markets today.
“The response after the global financial crisis to disinflation was zero rates, and a lot of money printing, quantitative easing. That created an asset bubble in everything,” he said.
Central bank officials around the world are now moving away from the near-zero interest rates and quantitative easing—a policy of buying mortgage-backed securities and government bonds in hopes of spurring lending and investment—that have bolstered financial assets over the past few decades.
“They’re like reformed smokers,” Druckenmiller said. “They’ve gone from printing a bunch of money, like driving a Porsche at 200 miles an hour, to not only taking the foot off the gas, but just slamming the brakes on.”
So buckle up. We’re going to be in for a wild ride beginning with the last quarter of 2022 up to god knows when.
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