Cunning campaigning

Jay Valleser

PNOY did not get what he wanted. Congress passed an act increasing the salary of government employees without including men in uniform.  Just so the legend goes on that what the king wants the king gets, he signed and executive order. This salary increase has no clear source of funds.  It simply identified “savings” as to where the increases will come from.

Yet he did not sign an act of Congress giving old, grumpy SSS pensioners an increase despite a clear source of funds. The reason – SSS pension funds might dry up by 2029. Many SSS pensioners cannot vote due to some reasons even if they are still alive. The bottomline: the President does not care if no help is extended to “amoy lupa” pensioners.

Seeing his anointed limping even before the first round of the contest is done, he and his minions thought of an ingenious way to win the race even if it means crippling the whole government structure. But no one is complaining since everyone will get his own share and may factor in the victory of his anointed.

This is a cunning way of campaigning. Now government employees feel indebted to him. Now they may even think of voting for his anointed.

National agencies are now preparing their payrolls retroactive first month of the year.

Also, the budget office which is headed by some guy who is not “a bad” choice for the job is now preparing the necessary documents so that local government units will soon join in the buffet table before election day comes. The magic word that is equivalent to “open sesame” in the budget guideline is “subject to availability of funds.”

Local government units will look up to this five-word phrase in a different light than national agencies. Most often LGUs cannot afford to grant this increase. For the sake of reminding those memories that may have short-circuited due to the thrill of coming elections, the provincial government of Misamis Oriental  under the then governor Oscar Moreno did not or could not implement the increases then granted  few years back as it was “subject to availability of funds.” Moreno could not find the needed funds for the increase.

It was only when Gov. Bambi Emano took over the helm of the provincial capitol that salaries of provincial employees moved from the stagnation point.

It was a different view as far as the City Government of Cagayan de Oro is concerned. Under the then Mayor Donkoy Emano, the city had all the funds and the city employees enjoyed the different four stages of the salary increase.

The recent salary increase under PNoy is cunning campaigning.  All local government units without the necessary funds  to start the first round of increase have to do is write Malacanang for the needed funds. Those that will pledge to help his anointed will have no problem with the funds.

Those that will refuse to dance along with his party jingle will  be left with empty money bags.

Spineless sycophants even with two left feet will be forced to dance in order to get the votes of their employees and keep their executive suites.

“Most people demand the freedom of speech in order to make up for the freedom of thought which they avoid.”

(Jay Valleser is doing consultancy work for the Misamis Oriental capitol.)