A4
Opinion
FRIDAY, DECEMBER 15, 2017
mst.daydesk@gmail.com
Adelle Chua, Editor
EDITORIAL
‘Unlimited peace’
T
HE effectiveness of martial law in Mindanao can only be gauged if relative peace is achieved on the island and its economy progresses as fast as the rest of the whole nation. Investors are shunning Mindanao because of lawlessness and the lack of peace and order that do not guarantee the safety of workers and executives alike, and ensure a return on investments. Without capital from businessmen, Mind-
anao is unable to create jobs fast enough to address the unemployment on the island. And with no jobs around, some of the population have grown restive while others joined a rebellion that they believe could change the status quo.
Congress may have perceived Mindanao’s dilemma. In a joint session, Congress on Wednesday granted President Rodrigo Duterte’s wish to extend martial law in Mindanao for another year to enable him to put an end to threats of terrorism and allow the rebuilding and rehabilitation of the region. Malacañang welcomed Congress’ decision and quickly downplayed fears that
the move was a prelude to a declaration of martial law in the entire Philippines. Executive Secretary Salvador Medialdea told the joint session of Congress that Malacañang did not seek an unlimited martial law. What the government wants, he says, is “unlimited peace.” “In sum, the factual basis that compelled the President to declare martial law and suspend the privilege of the writ of habeas
corpus in Mindanao, as affirmed by the Congress and validated by the Supreme Court, continues to exist,” Medialdea said. Quelling the Muslim rebellion and neutralizing terrorists that include Abu Sayyaf Group in Basilan, Sulu and Tawi-Tawi and other Islamist militants should be the immediate results of martial law imposition in the south. The government is now vested with
powers to go after rebellious forces and terrorists without much legal impediments with the suspension of the privilege of the writ of habeas corpus. With peace hopefully restored in Mindanao and the element of uncertainty much reduced, business should flourish in the region. Job and other economic opportunities will eventually quiet the discontent in the troubled island.
When Trump’s electoral magic fades By Jonathan Bernstein
What good faith, Boss? LOWDOWN
JOJO A. ROBLES NOYNOY Aquino said he acted in good faith. And besides, he explained, nobody ever told him that what he was doing was wrong. These are the two “defenses” that Aquino seem to be preparing against charges that his administration endangered more than 800,000 children when he implemented a hastily-prepared vaccination program to combat the dengue virus. Good faith is always presumed in a government program, based primarily on the principle that no sane officialdom will act against the interest of the people. The same presumption of good faith got Noynoy and
his budget officials off the hook in the Disbursement Acceleration Program, which was first declared illegal by the Supreme Court but which later allowed the defense in a second, companion ruling. President Rodrigo Duterte himself cited the presumption of good faith in official actions of everyone in government, speaking about the Dengvaxia scandal earlier this week. But many media outlets were only too willing to play down the fact that Duterte emphasized, as well, that he will await the results of the various investigations being conducted by both Congress and the Executive before acting on the matter. In other words, Aquino, in his appearance before the Senate yesterday, once again asked the public to allow him the presumption
of good faith. But he neglected to mention why his government’s indecent and unprecedented haste in implementing the P3.5-billion Dengvaxia immunization
Aquino was really the worst kind of despot: The unthinking, unfeeling, unaccepting of responsibility kind.
program—from the approval of the campaign to the allocation of the required funds to the strange method
of implementing the rollout—destroys his plea to be given that benefit which he seeks. To recap, it took Aquino and his health and budget officials only a year to devise an immunization program that had not yet been cleared for implementation on such a massive scale. He met suspiciously with officials of Dengvaxia maker Sanofi several times, disregarded warnings by reputable international and local public health groups, skirted budgetary processes by realigning funds for the program from a specifically earmarked fund to a government hospital and rolled out the massive program during that very tight period from late 2015 to right before he stepped down in the middle of last year. I’m not saying that Aqui-
no did not have the best of intentions when he and his officials dreamed up the campaign. All I’m saying is that his government’s actions nullified his excuses that he was only thinking of the welfare of his “bosses” when he short-circuited a system intended to prevent such hasty decision-making—especially in a matter like the Dengvaxia rollout, where his haste may waste many lives. *** As for nobody telling him that he was doing anything wrong, that is still Aquino’s fault. If he had not developed a culture where his officials were so afraid of opposing him while he was president, Noynoy would have heard the opposition to his Dengvaxia program – and it would certainly have given him pause.
There certainly was opposition enough, and from very credible, apolitical sources. But the World Health Organization and the various local public health specialists who advised caution before the rollout never had a chance. If Noynoy had not always been so sure that he was right even if he had only heard one side, he would have encouraged critics like the Department of Health’s own Formulary Executive Council that wanted to—and which had every right to—overrule the Food and Drug Administration on Dengvaxia. But the FEC, unfortunately, was ignored by Health Secretary Janette Garin, the official tasked by Aquino to implement the program, damn the torpedoes.
THE day after Alabama, Donald Trump is now the president in the most danger of losing renomination since Jimmy Carter in 1979. He’s in this position despite campaigning against Roy Moore in the Republican primary, correctly saying that Moore would be a bad general election candidate. Then, the scandal that engulfed Moore after his nomination left Trump with no good choices. One can argue Trump made the decision that was best for his party and even his presidency. But obviously none of it worked, and that fact alone will cause his party to start asking existential questions. How many Republicans in Congress and elsewhere are wondering this morning just how bad November 2018 is going to be? How many are asking the same question about November 2020? And is there anything they can do about it? Look at the state of Trump’s presidency. His unpopularity stands at record levels at this point in an administration. Women accusing him of sexual assault and harassment have launched a new push against him. Republicans who have witnessed several indictments can’t possibly agree with Trump that the Russia investigation is hogwash. I’d be surprised if very many of them believe Trump’s denials of what the women are saying about him, either. One of the major assets of any new president is the belief that he has some sort of electoral magic. Trump, who shocked the world with his 2016 victory, had more than most. It’s surely dissipated by now. What else? His White House, never particularly functional at the best of times, is already losing deputy national security advisor Dina Powell in the new year, and it’s likely she won’t be the only one. We don’t know how long White House Chief of Staff John Kelly will last. Over in the executive branch, rumors still have Secretary of State Rex Tillerson about to leave, and
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