Underlings

FIRST PERSON

- ALEX MAGNO

His offer of reconciliation with the Duterte camp was a non-starter. Unsupported by any substantial concession, President BBM's offer was totally ignored.

Meanwhile, the May 12 vote count brought out more embarrassing details. The Local Absentee Vote (LAV), mainly reflecting the political sentiments of police and military personnel, showed a landslide for the pro-Duterte PDP-Laban. All 10 of its senatorial candidates won. Not a single candidate associated with the pro-administration Alyansa figured anywhere near the win-column. It was a total shut-out.

The number of voters involved here was small, to be sure. But the outcome was dramatic. Our uniformed personnel are generally disenchanted with the administration. That is never a good sign.

Anxious to demonstrate reforms in his administration were forthcoming in the face of dramatically waning public support, BBM pulled another rabbit out of the hat. He asked all his appointees to submit their courtesy resignation. Still, there was no dancing in the streets.

By doing this, BBM converted a problem (diminishing legitimacy) into a predicament (quickly rebuilding an effective governance team).

There was another, less disruptive, way to rid his team of ineffectual members: weed them out one-by-one. Each case of termination carefully justified. Each replacement appropriately introduced to the public.

But taking the less disruptive course will not produce the drama BBM wants to create. He wanted to convey the image of a presidency reborn. He wanted the shock and awe of an administrative bloodbath.