Praise releases

The big problem with our government, past and present, is the credibility gap between official pronouncements and execution.

- BOO CHANCO

They promise big but underwhelm on the implementation side. This is why people just tend to yawn and roll their eyes when our officials talk big. Like the P20-per-kilo rice, an aspiration only.

Unfortunately, our government is managed by praise releases. Administration after administration is driven by headlines. It seems the most important job of cabinet members is to brainstorm the next big idea that will project the administration to be moving ahead. They don't worry about execution, knowing people will forget anyway.

Take the Maharlika Fund, for example. After almost two years, nothing! Not a peso invested. Yet they have already taken the funds of DBP (P25 billion) and LBP (P50 billion) that could have been more productively lent to local industry. We can be sure those funds, meant for investment, are now being dissipated to pay the huge salaries and perks of big shot bureaucrats.

Everything looks good on paper. Having spent a good part of my career in the praise release industry, I know how the system works. It has grown worse through the years. When I was starting out, my mentor in the industry, the late Tony de Joya, used to remind me that PR is not just press releases but performance reporting. He explains that nothing disappoints the public faster than well-written praise releases that raise expectations but fail to deliver.