Wednesday, December 20, 2006 Wenceslao: Speculations By Bong O. Wenceslao Candid Thoughts
I WON'T blame some members of the Cebu and national organizing committees of the Asean summit if they feel bitter about the reaction of some sectors, including those in the media, to the postponement of the international gathering. I myself squirm everytime I hear people talk about the postponement like they were knowledgeable on the matter.
But the organizers’ bitterness should be diluted by their acceptance of reality. When you make decisions, like postponing a major undertaking, you should not expect reactions to be solely of the favorable kind. To believe that the postponement of the summit would get only positive reviews is to end up being frustrated, like they are now.
The summit was not only the most awaited event in Cebu this year but was also the one everybody was preparing for the most. Malacañang as well as concerned local government units in Cebu poured money and sweated it out for the summit, so too the private sector. For some of them, the postponement must have been difficult to accept.
Besides, the organizers should have known that their decision was very dependent on such a fickle entity as the weather. If the decision-making process was an honest one, then it was reached based on the belief that Seniang would be disruptive. Since the typhoon was weak, the organizers should have expected to get some flak.
As for speculations on the “real” reason for the postponement, these should not be pinned alone on the "irresponsibility" of some sectors, including the media. These were a result of people trying to make sense of the postponement in relation to the reason given.
Unfortunately for the organizers, the postponement happened a few days after five countries issued travel advisories that warned of terrorist hits during the summit. Also, bishops had announced then the launching of a protest action against the constituent assembly scheme of the House of Representatives.
The result: people who did not think a “weak” typhoon could postpone the summit picked either the terrorist threat or the political storm as the logical reason. To the organizers, that may be wrong, but how can they prevent people from formulating their own equation?
As for me, I don’t think the summit would have been postponed had Seniang not come. Without Seniang, government could not have used the terrorist threat or a political storm as reason to postpone the summit---it would have been a great shame. Either Seniang was the main reason for the postponement or it provided the excuse. Of course, I am just speculating.
