Pattern of incompetence

THE current inability of the Department of Foreign Affairs to keep up with the demand for new or renewed passports is only the latest embarrassing addition to a record of basic incompetence within the Aquino Administration. It is also further warning that “continuing Aquino’s reforms” should be the exact opposite of the broad policy objective the next president should have.

The first sign of trouble, though few remember it now, was very early in President Aquino’s reign, when the MRT system ran out of plastic tickets. At the time, there were still vestiges of adequate process control in the commuter rail service’s management, and so the problem turned out to be only a mildly-amusing glitch – the MRT was forced to use its stock of old tickets, which were emblazoned with the image and name of former President Arroyo, something the then-new Aquino Administration found only slightly less mortifying than arriving at the office and suddenly realizing they’d forgotten to put on their pants.