A DAY before his inauguration as the 15th President of the Republic of the Philippines, President-elect Benigno Simeon C. Aquino III named the nearly 30 the official members of his cabinet – “a mixture of old and new faces.”
“These are the people who I believe have committed to the philosophy that the problems in this country are solvable…have the energy and the commitment to sacrifice, to do the necessary things that will effectthe changes that people are aspiring for,” says Aquino about his Cabinet members.
Executive Secretary Paquito Ochoa, Presidential Management Staff Chief Julia Abad, Tourism Secretary Alberto Lim and Presidential Spokesman Edwin Lacierda are some of the new faces, while Budget Secretary Abad, Finance Secretary Cesar Purisima, Social Secretary Corazon Soliman, Presidential Adviser on Peace Process Teresita Deles, Foreign Affairs Secretary Alberto Romulo and Public Works Secretary Rogelio Singson are some of the old faces.
Aquino also said that many of the appointees had to make personal sacrifices by accepting their position in government, such as a substantial cut in their paychecks.
However, it’s too early for the new Cabinet officials to feel triumphant, according to Senator Miriam Santiago, as they have to pass the Commission of Appointments.
The majority of our civil servants are honest and patriotic men and women. What makes a department or government agency corrupt and wrong are the self-serving decisions of high-ranking officials. In choosing the members of his cabinet, Noynoy made it clear that in the course of uprooting corruption, his administration will be ruled by justice and evidence.
The Filipinos have seen their share of failed expectations — red tape, scandals and corruption — from past cabinet members. The installation of new and incoming administrations were met with shrugged shoulders. Many assume that life will never change for them. This has led the people to be apathetic and unsupportive of their leaders, forgetting that progress will never happen without unity and harmony.
Thomas Jefferson said, “All, too, will bear in mind this sacred principle, that though the will of the majority is in all cases to prevail, that will to be rightful must be reasonable; that the majority possess their equal rights, which equal law must protect, and to violate would be oppression. Let us then, fellow citizens, unite with one heart and one mind. Let us restore to social intercourse that harmony and affection without which liberty and even life itself are but dreary things.”
We believe that Noynoy can give the Filipinos a new hope – he now stands as a beacon of leadership for his administration. We pray that this new administration would keep the interests of the people at heart so that a fruitful relationship will take place in its proper course. (AJPress)
( www.asianjournal.com )
( Published June 30 in Asian Journal Los Angeles p. A6 )
