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THE latest Cabinet meeting took longer than usual
because many members were absent or late. When President Gloria
Arroyo entered the Cabinet room, only Presidential Management
Staff Secretary Cerge Remonde was in his place. Where’s everybody?
the usually-prompt President asked.
Ma’am, most of the secretaries
texted they will come late because they are not using their cars or
service vehicles, Remonde replied.
Why would they do that?
Ma’am, remember you asked the
Cabinet to adopt a nationwide energy-serving program for the public?
You also ordered the secretaries to observe power conservation in
their departments.
So?
So Executive Secretary Ed Ermita
met with the Cabinet and relayed to them your instructions. At the
same time, Ed challenged them to set personal examples to inspire
the people.
And where is Secretary Ermita?
He took the LRT train from his
neighborhood to the Palace. He left his house at 6 am this morning.
Is that right? It’s almost 10
am. What is taking him so long?
Secretary Ermita does not know
how to use the LRT fare card. He took 60 minutes before he could
board his train.
And where is the Vice President?
VP de Castro is riding a bike to
get here. Same thing with Secretary Bunye.
They know how to bike?
Yes. Except that in the case of
Mr. Noli, he is riding piggyback with his wife. She’s the expert
at biking.
Is everyone taking public
transport?
Yes. Secretary Raul Gonzalez is
taking a jeepney. Secretary Apostol said he prefers a bus.
Isn’t this taking things to
extreme? Won’t the people suddenly say we are overacting?
Ma’am, the TV channels showed
Sen. Pia Cayetano biking from her house to her Senate office. ABS-CBN
showed Mayor Fred Lim walking from his condo on Roxas Blvd. to City
Hall. Former Speaker Joe de Venecia arrived at the House in a golf
cart.
Well, okay. But this is the first
time Palace officials would be using public transport, wouldn’t
it?
No, ma’am. Remember the former
chief of the Presidential Anti-Graft Commission you transferred to
the Philippine Postal Authority? He took jeepneys and buses all the
time.
Yes, I remember
what’s-his-name?
Former Education Secretary O.D.
Corpus was also a motorcycle rider.
The palace log reported Trade
Secretary Peter Favila was the first to arrive. He greeted the
President cheerfully.
Why, you are an early bird, the
President exclaimed.
Ma’am, I used my SUV as usual.
You did not use public transport
like the others?
I have to be mobile, ma’am. I
attend many meetings. I cannot afford to be late.
Shame on you. Riding in luxury
while your fellow secretaries are suffering. Remonde could not
suppress a snicker.
And you, Cerge, the President
asked, how come you’re the first man here?
Ma’am, I slept in my office
last night.
A different June 12
JUNE 12 is not your usual
Independence Day. First, Thursday will be a working day. Schools and
government offices are open. It’s
business as usual.
The nonworking public holiday is
Monday, June 9. There won’t be flag raising and speeches on Monday
but housewives will use it to do extra laundry and the men for a
special round of drinks.
But wait a minute. The
presidential palace announced June 12 would take an extra color.
There will be wreath laying and ceremonial speeches, yes, but in
addition, each major department will announce a new public service
or carry out a
new project “to honor the sacrifices of our heroes, not by words
alone but through deeds that give flesh to their vision.”
For example, Agriculture
Secretary Arturo Yap will lead a FIELDS (fertilizer, irrigation,
loans, dryers, seeds) caravan from Malolos, Bulacan, to San Isidro,
Nueva Ecija.
The Presidential Antipoverty
Commission will distribute conditional cash transfer cards in Pugad
Lawin, Quezon City. The Department of Environment and Natural
Resources will plant trees at Mt. Makiling and fish at the Laguna
Lake.
We imagine that the other
departments will announce more dramatic breakthroughs on June 12 to
honor our heroes and to keep long-made promises.
For example, the Department of
Transportation and Communications could open the NAIA Terminal 3 and
allow the landing or takeoff of a jumbo passenger aircraft.
The Commission on Elections might
put on display its latest electronic voting machines and announce it
is ready, at last, to automate national elections after the ARMM
polls.
The Department of Finance
announces it is supporting Sen. Mar Roxas’s proposal to suspend
the zero value-added tax (VAT) on oil to help the people survive
rising oil and food price hikes.
The Housing and Urban Development
Coordinating Council, in cooperation with the private sector, might
inaugurate, not a low-cost housing project, but a new
condominium-building program for overseas Filipino workers (OFWs).
A new affordable condotel for
Cabinet officials, lawmakers and judges could be the next project of
the Metropolitan Manila Development Authority (MMDA).
And wouldn’t it be great
if the President announces she is turning her back on the
Church’s natural-birth family planning program for a more
responsible and eclectic population policy?
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