Members of the Union of Foreign Service Officers said they would have to work three times harder with the reported retention of Alberto Romulo as foreign secretary.
In a text message, UNIFORS said, “First faux pas of P Noy. We need to work triple time to make up for such an incompetent secretary of foreign affairs.”
Highlights of Inquirer’s report on retention of Romulo:
-Romulo said Aquino did not give a time limit to his tenure in the DFA. The statement of Ed Malaya, FDA spokesman, talked of six years.
– Liberal Party faction in the Aquino camp recommended former Trade Secretary Johnny Santos, who was also former president and CEO of Nestle Philippines. (I understand after Santos had said “Yes”, it was taken back and he was offered the position of ambassador to the U.S. Santos has not said “yes” to the second offer.)
– The Aquino sisters, specifically Maria Elena “Ballsy” Cruz, who has been helping out the search committee, stood up for Romulo.
Romulo is the first of Gloria Arroyo’s cabinet member that Aquino has retained. It’s not known whether there would be more.
Unifors has earlier issued statements asking President-elect Benigno Aquino Jr. not to retain Romulo citing his incompetence.
Unifors said, “The real struggle has just begun.
“We have to protect the man (Aquino) from himself. Hail to P Noy. Hail to the Filipino people. They deserve our service. Let us pray.”
ABS-CBN reported that Romulo himself who announced his re-appointment to the Department of Foreign Affairs on Sunday.
He said he will work under the Aquino administration despite being an appointee of President Arroyo. He declined to compare President Arroyo and Aquino, but he gave his vote of confidence to the incoming administration’s programs.
Romulo, a long-time family friend and supporter of the Aquinos, has been foreign affairs secretary of the Arroyo government since 2004. He had expressed his personal support for Aquino in the May 10 elections but did not resign and continued supporting and defending Arroyo in world fora.
Early this month, Romulo’s name was floated as among those being considered by Aquino in his Cabinet.
Romulo was former president Corazon Aquino’s budget minister before he ran and won a seat in the Senate in 1987.
Ed Malaya, Romulo’s spokesman said, : “The DFA family welcomes the re-appointment of Foreign Secretary Alberto G. Romulo by President-elect Benigno C. Aquino III, The DFA rank-and-file and countless officers have earleir called for the retention of Sdcretary Romulo at the Department’s helm, given his significant achievements in advancing Philippine national interests in the international community and in uplifting the welfare of the DFA personnel.
“In the next six years of the Aquino administration, the DFA is committed to redoubling its efforts in serving the nation and the Filipino people.”
Malaya’s statement sounds like the hollow boast of Gloria Arroyo about her government’s accomplishments.
No blood relations with the Aquinos but mas matindi ang konek ni Berto sa ala-ala ni Cory!
Faux pa talaga! Walanghiya si Romulo, ang garapal…takot mawalan ng delihensyang per diem! Hindi na lang sya bumitaw to spare Noy further embarrassments. Now, now…Binay is looking good when it comes to not accepting any cabinet posts kahit sabihin pa na ego lang.
I did not vote for Binay but his decision not to join Aquino’s cabinet and his letter were a class act.
we want change for the better,get this monkey out of the picture.
P-noy,pls. no so many mistakes like Tita Cory.
Agree ako dyan, Ellen…100% napabilib ako ni Binay.
Also, meron ng First Lady si Noy. Kris broke up with James with finality na raw. :))))!!!
alam mo naman yan mga career officers sa dfa bigyan lang ng assignment sa labas tumatahimik na. kaya wakang nangyayari dyan. kailan ba tutupad silang lahat sa rotation system ng assignments. marami ba sa kanila ang tumatanggi ng assignment kung bigyan sila before their time is due at kahit na meron silang malalaktawan?
mag pledge silang lahat na susunod sila sa rotation system bago sila ngumawngaw.
Pero hindi nga dapat ni retain si Romulo. clueless yun tao. balita ko iglesia (INK) ang lumakad ng retention niya, kahit one year lang daw.
yun oagtangi naman ni Binay ay dumating pagkatapos niyang sinabi na gusto niya yung dilg at hindi niya nakuha. Save face na lang yung ginawa niya
MB, look at the statement of Ed Malaya. He is speaking of six years.
Since Romulo is a proven incompetent and Aquino promised reforms and change, retaining Romulo for even a day diminishes his (Aquino) unproven leadership.
The new Aquino Administration will inherit a GMA’s recyled foreign policy with the retention of DFA Sec. Romulo. Parang status qou policy ang bagong gobierno. The same-pareho??? Nasaan ngayon ang pag-babago?
Question is, what’s so “special” with Romulo in the eyes of PNOY? And if it’s true na nilakad ng INC, akala ko ba walang hinihinging kapalit ang INC sa pag endorso nila sa mga kandidato, or am I just being naive. 😛
Martina’s comments posted in the succeeding article:
I wanted to post this on the previous thread, but it is already closed for comments, how come?
It is very disappointing that Romulo will be retained by the PNoy admin. Parang DFA is synanymous to Roumulos na, wala na bang iba?
Akala ko sa June 30 graduate na tayo sa pag atake sa gobyerno, kasi goodbye Gloria na, pero heto parang umpisa na naman, balik sa grade zero.
how disappointing. things havent changed. (family) friendships trump qualifications.
There is no tangible evidence of Romulo’s incompetence, just bad press, honestly, someone should have made a better move, like gather evidence, get affidavits, make a charge, etc., this habit of judging and sentencing someone by press has proven to be unproductive (no cases were filed) and whether the intent was good – is not right at all…its a double edged sword, it can be used for bad as well as good…so let somebody make a good case out of this follow through ubtil there’s closure.
Binay, we all know about his corruption, suddenly he’s a good guy? Come on people…he doesn’t deserve a cabinet position now and not in the near future.
He could have done Erap and everyone a favor by accepting an “anti-corruption” head position and go after Gloria and others, but no, even Erap pointed out that he himself was not given a cabinet position (as he belonged to a different party) but did very well on “anti-crime.” Erap has proven to be more of a man than Binay…
Unless anyone can prove, with affidavits, or anything at least resembling facts that what is being said ie choice of cabinet, etc, are based solely on friendships/family – we must not swallow hook, line, and sinker – we based our judgements on “tsismis?”
…Binay, the good guy all of a sudden? please…
28 June 2010
#5:
You are correct to say na mabigyan lang ng assignment aborad ok na sila. Totoo naman na hati ang UNIFORS e, half of them gains from whoever the appointed secretary is. but the other half are not. That’s the sad state of an employees and employers or master and servants relationships.
You win some, you lost some.
But still you have to admire the guts of bataclan for airing her side(is she alone or with the other half?), but to the others, they will hide their own sentiments as long as “NAKIKINABANG” sila. Tapos pag napa-alis or umalis na ang secretary sasabihin nila na kasama sila sa grupo.
I know this, because I know some of these UNIFORS who are ngangaw lang, pero pag dating sa bakbakan wala naman.
On the ther hand, why is the DFA retaining “LONG overdue ambassadors abroad, the answer, magaling SUMIPSIP.
Finally, I call on the block of bataclan to make true of their threat that they will stage a mass leave right away if romulo is retain. I CALL ON BATACLAN’S GROUP TO DO IT NOW NA!!!!!!!!!!
Why don’t these Unifors guys get the ball running and do something properly? Make a formal report, file a complaint, get an audience with Noynoy, etc., and get it over with?
A text message? Talo pa si koala boy nyan ah? I strongly believe that if they have something, they’ll do everybody a favor by going through the process.
We cannot perpetuate this bad practice of maligning anyone via the press, as we don’t know for sure what the intention is. We have been at this for so long already and have not been successful at it, maligning people and saying its press freedom, this could also be used on us you know.
In the same manner as we wanted due respect shown to Bangit on his way out, so should it be with Romulo, why the need for public humiliation? Let the new admin get settled first, and handle the situation discretely, properly, without making it look like a public bloodbath…there are better ways of handling these things…
We’re behaving like a wounded bull, charging blindly at whatever is being waved in front of us…calm down, calculate…and make the wiser move…if not moving immediately at all is the wiser, don’t…there are other more pressing priorities…
Addition……
And lastly, if romulo is retained by P-Noy, what can the UNIFORS do? NOTHING!!!!!!!
Perhaps, whatever the reason/s is/are for retaining romulo, the DFA should work behind P-Noy and accept the fact that he is retained for reasons known only to P-Noy, whether by affinity or what.
Isa pa, Kasi kayong mga UNIFORS ay takot kay romulo, he may not know at lot of things, just like you officers, you may also not know a lot of things, but if you can stan up infront of romulo and say your piece, then I salute you, kaso mo mo nga mga duwag nga.
prans
Tama si Jug. Hindi lang sa DFA ang ganitong ‘kalakaran’. Ewan ko ba. Naging bahagi na yata ng kulturang Pinoy ang maging utak talangka. Isa sa mga dahilan ng pag alis ko sa serbisyo ay ang talamak na siraan at bangayan ng mga namumuno. Everytime there’s an incoming Boss, magka-kanyang faction na yung mga hunyango. Maglalabas ng mga ‘white papers’, anonymous letters, open letters at kung ano-ano pang mga mapanirang kuwento laban sa mga magkakatunggaling interest groups. Ordinaryo yan sa PNP at AFP. Walang mistah-mistah diyan. Saksakan ng patalikod ang nangyayari. Ganun din yan sa ibang ahensiya ng gobyerno. Lalong mauubos ang buhok ni Aquino nito. 😛
Retaining some cabinet members from outgoing admin is good politics. It’s a sign of sound judgement and good leadership by being non-partisan. But those still depend entirely upon their competence and qualities that are deemed indispensible and irreplaceable in their field of expertise.
Retaining the incompetent, bumbling, two-timer and opportunist Romulo as DFA chief is one big slap to most of the people who voted for Noynoy. People hated Gloria and her cabal so much due to their corruption and incompetence and so his shouting for change that echoed all over enticed people to vote for him; but what changes can we expect if he keeps on recycling people from way back to his mother’s and Gloria’s puppies. Can’t he bring in some new and young and fresh faces in his government?
His lack of decisive and leadership skills is showing. As if he can’t decide on his own without consulting the Sister’s Inc. The sisters make a pledge during the campaign not to interfere in the government affairs, but it seems, not only they are the biggest and most influential lobbyist; they are the ones making appointments and decisions.
The way things are unfolding, the changed he promised and what we are seeing now is only on himself, from senator to president.
Re: Binay not accepting cabinet post. Let us wait and see and I will agree after 6 years kung walang tatanggaping pwesto si Binay.
Agree again kay juggernaut. Ang sa akin naman, yung edad ang issue kay Romulo.
Sa nangyayari yata ngayon, alam naman na hindi biro ang iniwang problema ni Arroyo pero ang tutok ng ibang tao ay ang mga mali agad gayung hindi pa nga nakaka upo si Aquino para magtrabaho bilang presidente.
Kapag bago ang president, kahit ayaw ko, I always give him time bago ako mag conclude kung may magandang mangyayari. Kung gustong sumuporta, bigyan naman ng chance maka diskarte si Aquino. Pero kung from the very start ay ayaw kay Aquino, wala talagang magagawa at puro mali ang titingnan.
Kahit sino naman ang maiaapoint, may kokontra, may aagree. Pero para sabihing faux pas agad ang pagkakapili kay Juan o Pedro, hindi ba naman premature ang conclusion.
#17/18/19
Pwaang mga tumpak ang inyong mga inilahad, katulad ng sabi ni henry, kaya sya umalis ay hindi nya nakaya ang kalakaran sa gobyerno, tama yun. Yung kay Jug naman ay tama rin.
By the way, tama ang sabi ni florry, hindi na kamag-anak inc., kundi sister inc na, hehehehehehehe……. kala ko ba hindi sila makikialam.
Ano ba itong si P-Noy, mama’s and sister’s boy?
Nagtatanong lang po.
prans
In the same manner as we wanted due respect shown to Bangit on his way out, so should it be with Romulo, why the need for public humiliation? Let the new admin get settled first, -Juggernaut.
we must not swallow hook, line, and sinker – we based our judgements on “tsismis?” -Jug
I don’t deal with tsismis, Jug.
From the very beginning , some of you here were saying, to refrain from commenting about Romulo’s retention because nothing is sure yet. I wrote about Romulo because I knew the behind the scenes on his retention. As journalists, we give the public information and commentaries from a vantage point.
Maybe you have other sources who give you different information. But please don’t say I deal with tsismis. I don’t parlay tsismis.
Public humiliation for Romulo? It’s Romulo who is humiliating himself with his insistence to impose on the public his incompetence. You should attend his press briefings, if you don’t want to believe what I’m writing about him.
I myself have been witness to his boo-boos in international conferences. We Filipino reporters were so embarrassed. One time he talked about an Asean Defense Force which is a No-No in Asean. His staff were shocked. Members of his staff would beg us not to write his answers because they were really off the wall.
And those staff members were some of those who signed the statement extolling Romulo’s accomplishments.
You can’t even say that Romulo is untested. He has proven his incompetence the past six years.
The best people who can attest to this are the stakeholders- one of them the foreign service officers. They have said their piece. Aquino did not listen.
There are more unflattering stories about Romulo which I chose not to write because that would really be humiliating.
Why don’t these Unifors guys get the ball running and do something properly? Make a formal report, file a complaint, get an audience with Noynoy, etc., and get it over with?- Juggernaut.
For your information, Unifors did this.
Now, Aquino made a decision. What’s the public going to do, applaud him?
Henry90, Jug,
Paano mo nga ipapaliwanag sa mga taong iyong nakakaharap ang kalakaran sa gobyerno kung nakikita nilang ang mga karaniwang tauahan lamang ang lumalapit sa kanila sa tuwing merong programang ipinatutupad ang mga nakakaataas? Paano nga nila paniniwalaan ang sinseridad ng namumuno kung sila ay nagkukulong lamang sa kanilang secured at malamig na opisina?
Makakaliwa, makakanan, lahat sila ay hangad ang makita at madama ang katapatan ng mga namumuno sa kanilang mga salita, utos at gawa. Lalong nakakaginhawa ng kanilang pakiramdam at nakakabawas ng dalahing bigat ng paghihirap ang maranasan ang pagdamay at pakikisalamuha ng mga pinunong kanilang pinagkatiwalaang mangunguna sa lahat ng pagbabago tungo sa pagkakaisa at katahimikan tungo sa pagsulong ng bansa.
Kailan kaya mangyayari ang ganito?
When I said Binay’s decision not to join Aquino’s cabinet and his letter were a class act, I did not refer to his person or his past records. It was from the point of view of media and public perception management.
When Binay realized he could not push his way to Aquino’s inner circle, he wrested the initiative and said he won’t accept any position na lang.
His letter was respectful to Aquino but it had sting:
Aquino fans may not like it but Binay scored points there.
I think Aquino fans should realize that the earlier Aquino realizes the weakness in his organization, the better for him to correct and improve on it.
I applaud outstanding acts. I said Leila de Lima as justice secretary is an inspired choice. Criticisms are not meant to pull down the subject.It should make him improve his team. Or he can just ignore it.
I did not vote for him. But I’m a taxpayer and I have a stake in this country.
Unifors showed a constructive attitude by saying “Let’s work three times harder because we have an incompetent secretary.”
That means, they are clear about their responsibility to the people.
They have accepted the reality that Aquino just continued what Gloria Arroyo’s legacy in the DFA. Rather than sulk, they said they will work harder to give the service the people needed. What could be more constructive than that?
Ellen,
Problema nga sa Pinoy walang kasiyahan at hindi marunong tumanggap ng matuwid na katwiran.
Nahalal na ang mamumuno sa bansa, naiproklama na. Subalit ang nagpapagulo ay ‘yung mga nanggugulong malalapit at gustong laging nakadikit sa bagong halal na pangulo.
Si Mar Roxas ang sinuportahan ko, ikinampanya sa mga kakilala, kaibigan, kamag-anak at kasamahan sa trabaho sa kabila ng pagkakaroon namin ng parehong fraternal affiliation ni Jojo Binay. Hindi man pinalad si Mar, tinanggap namin ‘yun at maluwag sa kaloobang itataguyod ang pagiging pangalawang pangulo ng hinalal.
Kakambal ng pagsulong ng bansa at pag-unlad ng kabuhayan ay ang pagkakaisa sa bawat hakbang. Meron na tayong LEGAL na pangulo at marapat lamang na siya ay suportahan bilang paggalang sa desisyon ng nakararaming ibinigay ang tiwala sa kanyang paggabay. Kasabay nito, ‘yung mga bubuyog sa kanyang paligid ay kanyang magiging pasya at hakbang. Naroroon ang mga tagabulong hindi upang sila ang pumapel sa responsibilidad ng pangulo kundi ipaalala lamang kung ano ang kanyang mga kakaharapin o nakakaligtaan.
Tapos na ang bangungot ng kasinungalingan kaya ‘yung mga pumalit ay huwag namang maging mas masahol pa sa lumisan.
Naglundagan na.
“… Kasabay nito, ‘yung mga bubuyog sa kanyang paligid ay huwag pangungunahan ang kanyang magiging pasya at hakbang.”
tama nga pala ang kasabihan sa atin..and perhaps human nature na rin…”it is not what you know but who you know”…salamat na lang at tapos na ako sa paghanap ng trabajo.. salamat na lang at dito ako sa USA..the great land of opportunities…yes I had a taste of discrimination..but I survived it…by simply being what I am and who I am and proved it…hindi ako yumaman pero it made me a better person..Thank you Lord!
Constructive criticism is good and necessary for one to know better and to do better…
You can only give constructive criticism if you are not dependent on the person’s graces. That’s why credible commentators can tell government officials the painful truth because their employment is not dependent on the approval of the person they are criticizing.
Those who see no evil-hear no evil-speak no evil are good for one’s ego but they are not good for governance.
Gloria Arroyo surrounded herself with yes-men. That’s why up to the end, she thought she was still doing great.
I hope it does not happen to P Noy.
BTW, I come to this blog to get information and opinion I usually don’t get from newspapers and TV shows. So far wala namang sablay. If there are mistakes, minor lang.
I would not be wasting time clicking onthis blog if I knew I would only get tsismis.
What I’m saying is that for Noynoy to decide properly, he has to have tangible evidence, something in black and white, with witnesses, etc., reports, sworn affidavits, anyone will agree that other than that its considered “hearsay.” Besides, I’m pretty sure he has thought about the impact of unceremoniously removing such a high level position, it has its effect on the international community.
I’m pretty sure he has studied all angles before making his decision. I don’t think its good policy to malign our bosses, if they can’t take it anymore, let them resign their posts but don’t drag the institution/organization’s name in the mud. I distinctly remember someone who from day one immediately started plotting against her boss, and she became president for 9 years…
Inorder for us not to repeat the mistakes from the past, let us deal with facts, not he said she said, or I heard from a friend of a friend, but evidence, documents, sworn witnesses, so that we can really effect some changes, remove, jail, the guilty ones…aren’t we tired of the mere sound bytes, making so much noise, whimpering and whining, its getting to be a tired old story…
Let someone make a case of incompetence against this guy, let him stake his job and reputation on it, if we want to be unbiased, look at the thing from all sides. Who are these Unifors people complaining, let them come out in the open and do so…
We must not fall into the bad habit of attacking people, maligning, and not give them the benefit of defending themselves…
…defend the absent, thats supposed to be the proactive way…
On tsismis, there are only two sides to an issue, the truth and the untruth (or tsismis).
Logically speaking, for decency’s sake, if it is proven, its the truth, if not – its not true…so what do we call it then? Anyway you look at it, its slander…unless proven true…we can just call it “smoke” then, and assume there’s fire…come on. I’m not a Noynoy fan, I didn’t like him to start with, but I had to make a stand. To me, decency and fair play demands us to make a stand and work for it, not abstain so we can take potshots at the chosen leader later on…
Besides, I’m pretty sure he has thought about the impact of unceremoniously removing such a high level position, it has its effect on the international community.-Jug
What would be the impact of not retaining an incompetent foreign affairs secretary who was the face of Arroyo in international fora the past six years; who defended Arroyo in the Hello Garci scandal, in the issue of extra-judicial killings and human rights violations?
Come on, Jug.
In fact, the question should be, what’s the impact of Aquino’s retention of Gloria Arroyo’s representative in his cabinet.
But it’s Aquino’s government.
He can do whatever he likes.
We are watching.We encourage good decisions; we criticize those that we see as faulty.
But in all these, I assure you, I know my facts before I comment.
I think Jug, you should go back to the archives to know more about Unifors and the stand they have taken in issues that affect the DFA.
They are not faceless. Reporters who cover the DFA know them.
I personally know many of them.I talk to them. The president, Vicky Bataclan, signs their statements. They have authorized Vicky to speak for them.
Romulo has harrassed Vicky, removed her from her position without cause.She is damn good foreign service officer which you cannot say of Alberto Romulo.
We have to prove his incompetence properly, following the process, otherwise the same bad practice of maligning people will continue, and it will affect even the good ones.
As for these Unifors employees who just maligned their boss in print, shame on them, they should give up their posts.
They obviously are not familiar with the Loyalty Pledge…
I don’t know Romulo, but I will not partake in a witch hunt of sorts…
Speaking from years of experience in hiring and firing people, it always pays to take your time to study the facts/evidence/etc. Incompetence is a very difficult thing to prove unless you have a set of performance standards. Do we have anything of the sort with the position in question? Or is the position dependent on the trust and confidence of the president? we have to be clear, its trust and confidence of the president and not the employees…
I believe, Romulo will be out sooner than everyone thinks, he’s too old already…and if I were in Noynoy’s place I will sack him because his staff demanded it, (I will sack the disgruntled staff first) I will take my time and give the guy a way out with dignity…
oops sorry, its supposed to be “I will not sack him because his staff demanded it…”
Romulo is not the DFA. The foreign service officers’ loyalty is to the Filipino people, not Romulo.
Why would those foreign service officers resign? Matutuwa lang si Romulo.
As Unifors said in their statement, “The struggle has just begun.”
You don’t know Romulo. I know him. I covered DFA.
In organizational dynamics there is no such thing as loyalty to the Filipino people…its the management group…these people have shown to be deviants and will have to be named, isolated, and treated as such…organizations have their own formal and informal norms…it doesn’t pay to malign your boss, you get out of the organization and damn to your heart’s content…I don’t believe they will be able to do their jobs well with a chip on their shoulders and constantly trying to catch their boss slip…
Whenever I think of Romulo as DFA top honcho, I think of the P2B GMA spent for travel. It’s because DFA, in one or another, paved the way for those travels abroad with Romulo among the large coterie of government officials who seemed to be continually unmindful of miseries at home. They’re those who spent our tax money with no tangible economic gains to speak of as reported in the papers.
anyone can say they are loyal to the Filipino people, Gloria says the same thing, but our actions speak louder than words…
They should have exerted this three times effort earlier, its not good practice to have your boss fired, you just do a damn good job enough to have the guy promoted out of your line of sight…
Alam naman dito na Aquino side ako, please Ms. Ellen huwag mo isasama sa Aquino fans, ha.
Anyway, there is something about this Romulo issue. Bakit sya na retain sa DFA?
1. Is it based on closeness to the Aquino family? Hindi naman siguro dahil very close din si Binay sa Aquino pero hindi naibigay ang DILG.
2. lalo namang hindi sa party line, dahil hindi LP member si Romulo.
3. Financial support during the campaign? No.
4. Marami pang iba tulad nung sa Unifors, question dun sa passport machine, loyalty kay GMA, most traveled SFA etc.
In spite of all these, bakit sya napili ni Aquino na sa tingin nya ay aangkop si Romulo sa mga programa ni Aquino? Isa sa ako sa naniniwala na maganda ang intention ni Aquino para sa bayan at sa sinasabi nya na alter ego nya ang mga cabinet members. Ang tanong pa rin, bakit nasama si Romulo?
kuya Oblak, it’s Ballsy Aquino Cruz who fought for Romulo, not Noynoy.
Sa lahat ng sinulat tungkol sa mga legacy daw na maiiwan ni gloria, ito ang swak na swak!
PGMA’s legacy? Making a country worth leaving
http://globalnation.inquirer.net/viewpoints/viewpoints/view/20100627-277834/PGMAs-legacy-Making-a-country-worth-leaving
If they really wanted to do the right thing, why don’t they all follow the Hyatt 10? Napahiya sila, they lost there jobs, but at least they retained their dignity and professionalism…
…don’t get me wrong, I’m not an Aquino fan (although I said idol before but thats because of the girls limked to him)…but he’s my president, I voted for him, I didn’t have this opportunity before as I was never still, so I will stand by him as the president. If you ask me, I will not be able to stay in the same room with the guy before I start disliking him, but thats a subjective thing…but as a citizen, now thats another story…
…we don’t have to liek our leaders, we just have to do a damn good job…
JB Santos could have been a good replacemnent for Romulo though, now thats a good boss, no he’s better, nope, the best…
From the Malaya column of retired diplomat Rey Arcilla:
Noynoy needn’t think about having a “honeymoon”, particularly with the media. He will have that honeymoon up to the end of his term so long as he sticks to his promises.
Sadly though, he already managed to break three of his promises in one fell swoop when he retained Romulo. One, his promise of change. Two, competence of his cabinet members as the primary qualification. And three, that he would not let his sisters or other relatives dictate upon him on affairs of state.
I feel sorry for Noynoy. I have it on good authority that if he’d had his druthers, he wouldn’t have retained Romulo against his better judgment.
That is why it took him so long to make up his mind.
But I feel sorry even more for his eldest sister Ballsy who reportedly stood up for Romulo. What does she know about foreign affairs? She obviously doesn’t realize the disservice she has done to her brother, the foreign service and the people in general.
Well, I guess they’ll find out soon enough.
We just survived two months of training, weekly eliminations, barely alive, with a permanent headache, living on gallons of coffee because of daily cramming medical mumbo jumbo in our puny brains…and he comes in the training room without much of an introduction and talks to each and every one of us, cracks jokes, asked us how we were, shared words of encouragement…now an entry level trainee doesn’t get to talk to the CEO everyday, thats shy it leaves a lasting impression…thats the JB Santos I remember…
Who knows, maybe Romulo will stay 3 to 6 months (even less) and turn his resignation for “health reasons” or something mundane? then it would be “win/win” for all concerned…we’ll just have to wait and see how this chapter unfolds, no need for this story to be a tragedy really…
As for honeymoon stage, everybody knows it has a time limit, and media is fickle…you may be today’s golden girl and the most hated tomorrow…
Ngi, Ms. Ellen, wala naman akong maintindihan sa sinasabi ni Ruffa Mae sa Abante item. Dun kasi sa star, ang binati ng happy birthday yung tatay, kaya akala ko yung tatay!! Baka naman tinuhog yung mag ama!!!
Asus, nagkabaliktad na yung No. 55 para pala yun dun sa kabila tungkol kay Kris. Sorry!
Ilipat mo na doon, Oblak.
Bad choice for DFA. Noy had a dialogue with DFA Staff, who enlightened him of the Incompetence of Romulo, and yet, here is “Tito Bert” still at the top of DFA. Mind you, “Tito Bert” is the only one who divulged to the media, immediately after getting out of 25 Times Street. All the others, opted for Noy to do the press release. This just goes to show that Tito Bert can not be controlled by Noy. Thank you very much Ballsy for getting this incompetent person head the DFA. I am already regretting what I have done…sigh…sigh…sigh…
I still have to see the campaign promise of Noy in selection of his “Alter Egos” to achieve his goal of better Philippines.
I don’t see anything here but one manager’s decision not top make a decision based on one of his department head’s “staff’s” feedback. Whats next is he has to find out for himself if what is being said is true, and counsel the department head in private, if he still errs, counsel again, and again, until he proves to be incorigible then he is advised to leave as much as possible amicably.
Please look at this issues on a “manager’s” point of view and not as kibitzers, the guy is running a government not a market place…sheeessh…
Na intriga lang ako sa sinasabi na yung nakakatandang kapatid ang nakipaglaban para ma retain si Romulo. May makakapag sabi ba maka confirm ng source? Ito lang ang nakalagay sa Inquirer:
“The delay in naming Romulo to be Aquino’s foreign secretary has been attributed by sources in the Aquino camp to an aggressive lobbying…”
Now, now folks. No need to fret. Romulo is not that bad. The yellow kingdom needs a joker. Romulo fits the bill to a T.