Walk the talk

TWO weeks ago, we cited the leadership of Gov. Amado I. Espino III and Federation of Liga ng Barangay chairman Jinky Zaplan for their respective initiatives in the province providing impetus to the war on drugs.

For Gov. Espino’s policy requiring capitol employees to take the drug tests, the PNP leadership acknowledged the impact and presented him a plaque of appreciation.

Meanwhile, Board Member Zaplan’s filing of a resolution at the Sangguniang Panlalawigan urging all barangay chairmen and members of the barangay council to take the drug tests, easily won accolade from all sectors.

That was the ‘talk’ part, actually the easy part in governance.  The ‘walk’ part is always the real test of political will in governance.

Gov. Espino should now address mayors, in the same manner that his father and predecessor had done, rallying them to the cause. Test of his political leadership is whether mayors will take kindly to a directive that they should take the drug tests as well. After he has taken the drug test to lead the way and all the towns already budgeted an amount for the campaign vs. illegal drugs.

In BM Zaplan’s case, she has yet to lead by example, by requiring all the barangay kapitans in her town, Sta. Barbara, to take the drug test.

Can they walk their talk and match the political will of President Duterte?

Obama fails

WHILE it may be true that President Duterte might have committed a diplomatic stinker, it was President Obama, however, who ended up the biggest loser arising from Mr. Duterte’s intemperate blunder.  Called by Mr. Duterte as a “son of a whore,” Obama reacted rather irrationally by canceling his scheduled meeting with the Philippine President in Laos on the sidelines of the Asean Summit meeting.  While Mr. Duterte has apologized for the slip inappropriately uttered in the heat of the moment, Obama should have taken the matter in stride and treated it as part of human frailty.  Had he done so, he would not have only stood 10 feet tall but, more importantly, reinforced his stature as the world’s No. 1 diplomat who is always deftly able to deflect even the most gross of tirades thrown his way.  As President of the most powerful nation in the world, Obama should, at all times, display a solid fabric of composure and poise.  By acting the way he did, Obama failed in that aspect.  Miserably.

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