Raise Furor, Lose (More) Votes

SO, ALMOST everyone is outraged now.

As I scan local newspapers, a lot of people are in great disappointment and disgust over the recent visit of DILG Secretary Mar Roxas.

On what grounds? Protocol is the answer in unison.

But what about protocol? One may ask. Come on, guys… we need not be technical about the whole thing. But to dislodge the governor of a host province from a presidential seat would say it all.

Ooops, not all yet. Let me say that again: To dislodge the governor of a host province from a presidential seat AND have somebody take that place (beside a guest of honor – Sec. Roxas in this case) instead is not only a breach of protocol.

That was ill-advised. That was ill-driven.

And I could not blame Mayor Jerry Pelayo, president of the Pampanga Mayors League (PML) for issuing the threat that PML members will no longer attend DILG events in the future if Governor Lilia Pineda is not given her rightful place.

You see, Governor Pineda is such a mild-mannered and meek person that she does not mind breaches in protocol. She is not billing-conscious.

That happened to her already in Clark when she was made to take a seat in the crowd together with other local chief executives in one event where President Aquino was the guest of honor. I don’t recall her (as Governor) to have been made part of a reception line for the Chief Executive as is always the case for host local chief executives.

But did she raise a howl over it? Nope, not at all. That is just not in her humble character.

Analyzing what happened, Sec. Roxas might have been put in a quandary, in a dilemma and even in shame by his own staff when they did not advise him of the repercussions of a possible protocol breach.

The rest was history and former Governor Eddie Panlilio was made to sit next to him instead of Governor Pineda.

The now sacked priest-turned-politician is the standard bet of the Liberal Party (where Roxas is President on leave). He is trying to make a comeback against Pineda.

Analyzing things again, Pineda’s being echa fuera (along with Governors Vic Yap and Aurelio Umali of Tarlac and Nueva Ecija, respectively) was part of an early exposure, a free ride for Panlilio en route to the campaign via that DILG-sponsored event.

It was hard selling Panlilio.

We all know just how popular and how loved Governor Pineda is by her constituency. To go against her, especially in a gubernatorial race is an act in futility.

It is widely observed that come the 2013 elections, Panlilio may not be able to muster enough votes that will be even bigger than the number of people with medical needs that Governor Pineda has provided for. It is going to be a tall order for Panlilio even with the reality that he is in the President’s political party.

It is going to be tough for Panlilio even if he keeps on taking those free rides. And it is going to be a lot tougher if he keeps breaching protocol. Toughest even if he gets insensitive of the feelings of local leaders who are loyal to Pineda. Knowingly or not, if he raises furor this way, he loses the votes that he so badly needs.

And as observers would view it in another way, what happened at the DILG event was more of a delicadeza issue rather than protocol.

They asked some questions: what was Panlilio doing in the DILG event in the first place, moreso, why did he conveniently take Pineda’s seat even if he was asked to do so? Why was he so comfortable in that place of honor that was supposed to be given to Pineda being the host governor?