Alleba Politics

I know that Gloria Macapagal-Arroyo is a busy person. After all, she is pretending to be the president of this country. But doesn’t she employ thousands of people to make sure she does her job right? I don’t think that Chief Presidential Legal Counsel Sergio Apostol’s defense that Arroyo didn’t know she pardoned a convicted killer of Ninoy Aquino is a valid one.

Either Arroyo is stupid, or those under her are simply not doing their jobs properly. Of course there are people under her who read the pardon even before it reached her office. Of course there are officials who are not totally dumb and ignorant of the inclusion of Pablo Martinez in the list. I would like to think that somebody, at least one person, knew that Martinez was in that list. Else, it would mean that our beloved government officials whose salaries come from the people’s taxes are not doing their jobs.

And Arroyo? Well, ignorance of Martinez’s inclusion in the pardoned list is not an excuse. She signed the pardon. Ultimately, whether she was aware of it or not, she is the one responsible for it. Perhaps, next time, she should read or at least know the contents of whatever it is she is signing. After all as the “president” of the country, she is not merely representing herself or her interests, but those of the entire country.

Nonetheless, I don’t think that Martinez’s pardon is due to anybody’s ignorance or lack of knowledge. Rather, it was due to negligence. It might be Arroyo’s negligence or that of the people working for her. Either way, somebody is not doing his job properly.

Bookmark on del.icio.us

• Gross Negligence
• Are we Paying Officials not to Work?

Tags: gloria+macapagal-arroyo, ninoy+aquino