Gibo Teodoro giba ni (destroyed by) Ondoy

03 October 2009

Now I will write about one of the trusted men of the president no other than the Secretary of the Department of National Defense (DND) and the chief of the National Disaster Coordinating Council (NDCC) Gilbert Teodoro, Jr. who is comfortable with his moniker ‘Gibo.’

Before assuming the cabinet position he was a congressman of the first district of Tarlac for three consecutive terms from 1998-2007.

Seeing his performance as defense chief and as head of the coordinating council for disaster management and preparedness, the party committee of the newly merged Lakas-Kampi-CMD chose Gibo as the party’s standard bearer for the 2010 elections.

Of course, one cannot deny the fact that Gibo is articulate being educated from De La Salle University, University of the Philippines and Harvard Law School.

Many governors, district representatives, and mayors expressed support for Gibo’s candidacy although he’s a party hopper from the Nationalist People’s Coalition (NPC) of his uncle Danding Cojuangco to the newly merged Lakas-Kampi-CMD.

I am tempted to praise the defense chief and be amused by his credentials, educational attainment and family background – and if I write all the information in his resume, you would really be amazed if you do not see the lies behind every projected truth.

I feel like Gibo is being ‘Giba’ (wrecked) by the recent events that befell the country. He’s identified with the administration of Arroyo – an administration of human rights abuses, corruption, bad governance, scandals, unpopularity, war in the South, and other curses the government underwent in the past eight years. But other than such association, Gibo’s reputation has been questioned by the recent mess of the government’s disaster unpreparedness and inefficiency in responding to a natural calamity.

I should have titled this entry with “Gibo for president” but I am deeply troubled by the destruction that the typhoon Ondoy (Ketsana) brought to the country, and the human made disaster that NDCC contributed to the sufferings of hundreds of thousands of flood victims in Metro Manila and neighboring provinces.

First off, Teodoro’s use of NDCC fund for his infomercials proved his hunger for power and drive for public attention and visibility. Gibo said that he seeks the presidency and he’s determined to do everything including hopping from one party to another just to get what he want.

Such desire of one man commanding a government agency, of course, had serious repercussions that instead of buying rubber boats that could have helped save thousands of people stranded on their rooftops waiting for the flood waters to subside, Gibo used the money to pay for public television commercial spots to promote himself as the hero who could save the Philippines from a disaster. NDCC has become a disaster to Filipino taxpayers.

Second, no matter how House Speaker Prospero Nograles defends the actions of Gibo, he cannot evade the fact that the NDCC chief busies himself to project an appearance of busyness in the face of the disaster. The NDCC had the government funding in preparation for a coming disaster, but when disaster struck, the agency was caught in a quagmire of inefficiency in disaster management. Then, instead of owning up responsibility for the loss of life and property, the government blames Ondoy and global warming.

Gibo and his boss Gloria Arroyo kept on repeating or at least reciting before national television that typhoon Ondoy is worse than hurricane Katrina that ravaged New Orleans. Ondoy, they twitted, brought more rainwater than Katrina, and therefore the Philippine government should not be blamed by its inefficiency because the amount of rainfall that flooded the densely populated Metro Manila was overwhelming.

Third, yes Gibo is articulate and he says what he is supposed to say to defend the present administration – the failed administration that brought the entire country into severe political crises via failed coups, cheating in elections, scandals, failed memorandum with the Islamic minority in the South, expensive dinners, corruption, human rights abuses and many more.

If the only achievement of this administration is the economy, well then, thanks to the overseas Filipino workers. The president has successfully traded slaves to other countries in exchange for dollar remittances that help sustain the economy amidst global economic crisis. And if this is the economic policy that Teodoro is supporting, then his would be a continuation of the Arroyo administration.

I could not endure to have a country ran by a government that lacks foresight, and I could not endure six more years of Arroyo regime although Teodoro and his defenders emphasized that his administration would be distinctively his. Being articulate is not tantamount to having substance and sincerity; Teodoro is just like the masters of rhetoric who loved flowery words rather than substance during Socrates’ time.

I will not vote for an educated man according to what is written in his curriculum vitae, but I will vote for a candidate that demonstrates depth in understanding human life in all its complexities including the worth and dignity of a human person – not as an object to be governed but as an entity and being that lives and moves. I hope Teodoro will show the world his compassion and sincerity rather than his naked desire and hunger for power, and his educational attainments that proved wanting in the face of a humanitarian crisis.