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Friday, March 29, 2024

An early gaffe

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It was heartening, what Davao City Mayor Rodrigo Duterte said during his press conference Monday that he would not entertain endorsements from politicians in picking the members of his Cabinet. He would decide by himself, he assured the public.

We liked what we heard because it indicated Duterte was averse to the culture of payback and patronage.

Unfortunately, it did not take long for that pronouncement to go sour.

One of the first appointments announced by the presumptive President was that of Rep. Mark Villar as head of the Department of Public Works and Highways. Villar is the son of former Senate President and presidential candidate Manuel Villar and former Las Piñas congresswoman and now Senator Cynthia Villar.

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The young Villar said he had humbly accepted Duterte’s offer after consulting with his family. What other counsel could his parents have offered, we wonder.

The Villars head the Nacionalista Party which has formed what is called a “functional alliance” with the Duterte’s PDP-Laban. Duterte’s defeated running mate counted himself an NP member.

We find several issues with the choice of the young Villar to head the department that would implement the building of infrastructure—a crucial aspect of the next six years if we are to go by Duterte’s eight-point economic plan.

The Villars have made their fortune in the real estate and construction business—a glaring conflict of interest with an executive department that would make decisions and implement projects across the country. The conflict should have been immediately apparent to Villar and he need not have consulted his family anymore.

It is not as if he would be out of a job if he turned down the offer. He had just been reelected congressman of his district. In fact, by accepting the executive post, he would be betraying the confidence that his constituents gave him. What of his promises that he would champion their interests in the legislature? By saying yes, it was clear whose interests were paramount for Villar.

That a mix of seasoned and young executives would be given the opportunity to serve in the Duterte Cabinet is a good idea—but it presupposes that even the young officials would have sufficient achievements of their own outside of the shadow of their prominent parents. We have too often been let down by this kind of association.

The Villars, who were supportive of the Duterte campaign, this week joined the so-called coalition of change—a diplomatic way of characterizing an obviously flawed party system ruled by personal interest instead of ideology.

It appears, however, that “change” will be a word made trite in the next six years, much like “the straight path” was in the previous six years. As before, we need to keep our expectations low.

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