Bold reset

SKETCHES

- ANA MARIE PAMINTUAN

Since the Alyansa election debacle, there had been speculation about a possible Cabinet revamp. President Marcos' public statements in recent days fanned the speculation. First when he told an Alyansa gathering that the midterm election results could have been better. And second when he announced that performance audits and changes are in the offing to improve basic services and overall governance.

Sure enough, BBM told all Cabinet-rank officials yesterday to submit courtesy resignations. They include Solicitor General Menardo Guevarra, Metropolitan Manila Development Authority Chairman Romando Artes, Special Assistant for Investment and Economic Affairs Frederick Go and presidential advisers such as Larry Gadon for poverty alleviation.

Malacañang said a "bold reset" is needed to meet people's expectations, with the government "sharper, faster and fully focused on the people's most pressing needs."

Making heads roll for poor performance may also be Marcos' way of instilling fear rather than earning respect —a prospect that he raised in a recent podcast interview.

More than the message of political reconciliation, whose acceptance unsurprisingly hinges on several impossible conditions, the theme of that podcast chat was to show that BBM felt Filipinos' pain.

Perhaps more accurately, he has been pained by the outcome of the midterm elections — traditionally seen as a referendum on the sitting administration. The midterm poll results were the worst for an administration slate since the scandal-plagued presidency of Gloria Macapagal Arroyo.