Overpromising

In the light of his experience in delivering P20-a-kilo (unsubsidized) rice, you'd think President Marcos would have learned the perils of overpromising.

- ANA MARIE PAMINTUAN

Following the election debacle of his Alyansa Senate bets and amid his sliding ratings, the President has acknowledged that the people are unhappy, that he feels our pain, and change is coming.

No more business as usual, he vowed, as he ordered his Cabinet members to submit courtesy resignations. Malacañang called it a "bold reset."

The promised Cabinet revamp was followed by orders from Malacañang for all heads of bureaus and other agencies as well as government corporations to turn in their "unqualified courtesy resignations."

This more sweeping move, however, was not announced with the same fanfare as the Cabinet revamp. It created the impression that it might have been an afterthought, in case Mr. Nice Guy BBM feels bad about his friends and backpedals on the bold reset in the Cabinet, but needs a fallback to show that he still means business.

Episode 3 of the reset, announced last Tuesday by retained Executive Secretary Lucas Bersamin, tended to support this theory. Sorry, Juan and Juana, third time wasn't the charm for those looking forward to boldness in the shakeup.

Instead nearly all Cabinet members have now been retained, except for the secretaries of environment, housing and foreign affairs (on hold until August), with the energy chief recycled to environment and the housing czar to Pasig River rehab.

Noteworthy was the replacement of the solicitor general. Four little known presidential advisers are out, but the immortal Juan Ponce Enrile remains as chief presidential legal adviser.