IT HAS been confirmed by no less than President Rodrigo Duterte himself that former President Fidel V. Ramos has resigned as special envoy to China.
Ramos was appointed by President Duterte to be the special envoy to China on the heels of the historic victory of the Philippines in the Arbitral Tribunal in The Hague which favors the Philippines in its maritime claims in July this year, after barely heating up his seat on the presidency.
Ramos then accepted the offer and traveled to Hong Kong to meet some Chinese representative for an "ice breaker."
Ramos resigned after Duterte arrived from his four-day visit in China where he was able to restore the tainted relationship of both countries after the maritime dispute in the South China Sea.
"The moment the President came back from China from a successful state visit, I resigned as special envoy to China because the officials have taken over," Ramos said.
There was absolutely nothing wrong with the resignation. What's wrong was the way people received the news, with netizens putting malice into the act, making it sound as if Ramos no longer want to have anything to do with the administration or Duterte being better off without Ramos.
What is apparent in the flurry of criticisms against the President and Ramos that this news generated is that for many Filipinos, delicadeza is indeed no longer top of mind; for indeed there is no longer any reason to stay on as special envoy after the officials have already taken over, that is how it should be and how it happened. We are not used to that.
For so many years, especially the last six years, officials appointed into positions hung on despite causing so much sufferings to the Filipino people. Their standard reply is that they serve at the pleasure of President Benigno Aquino III and only the president can tell them to leave.
Remember former Ninoy Aquino International Airport general manager Jose Angel Honrado, who blamed the plane passengers for the bullets found in their luggage and refused to take action on the problem? He stayed on till the end, unperturbed by the distress and the dissatisfaction of the public he was supposed to serve.
Remember Joseph Emilio Aguinaldo Abaya of the Department of Transportation and Communication who saw nothing wrong in the horrendous traffic in Metro Manila and the metro rails that forced Filipino commuters to suffer kilometer-long queues on the way to and from work every day? He too never resigned despite the distress and dissatisfaction of the public he was supposed to serve.
Then of course, there was the classic "Remember you are a Romualdez and the President is an Aquino" admonition of erstwhile Interior and Local Government Secretary Manuel Roxas to Tacloban Mayor Alfred Romualdez amid the devastation wreaked by typhoon Yolanda. Roxas, too, stayed on until he decided to mount his failed bid for the presidency.
Let us all remember that especially as public servants, you are there to serve the public. Once your task is done, then the honorable thing to do is leave. This is not about not wanting to serve, it is about overstaying your welcome. For what will you be doing when the work is already done? Just a few months ago, we had a word for that: Noynoying.
Today, we simply say, thank you and good-bye.