ALL THREE branches of the government are ill with the cancer of ?palakasan.? This explains why mediocre but fortunate presidential appointees get juicy positions that they do not deserve in the first place. Whatever happened to the merit and fitness system of the civil service?

It has been set aside by the much-abused alibi: ?wide latitude of discretion of the appointing authority,? which in practice is used (read: abused) by the powers-that-be to exercise wild latitude of indiscretion. Add to this the ?management prerogative,? hence the resurgence of the hordes of appointees bloating the ranks of all government institutions even if their positions are not in the plantilla.

Question: Are the Department of Budget and Management, Civil Service Commission, Commission on Audit, Office of the President, Career Executive Service Board and other concerned agencies sleeping on the job?

Mind you, the Supreme Court has justified this many times. It?s therefore not surprising to see the bureaucracy in shambles as more bad eggs get hired and a number of the few good eggs get eaten up by this cancer. (If you can?t lick them, join them.)

The best example of a violator of the merit system and of a perpetrator of padrino or palakasan system is the current head of state herself. Look deeper into every government agency and you will find presidential appointees just roaming around their offices because they?re ?bata daw ni Ma?am o ni Sir!? Their positions are not plantilla-based; they do not even have civil service or career executive service eligibility.

How can we heed austerity calls in the face of widespread palakasan? There are so many government ?navies? just ?floating around? but receiving hefty salaries and allowances and traveling frequently here and abroad. These ?navies? are also provided with luxury service vehicles and given many other perks and privileges.
And there are the armies of consultants, temporary appointees, contractuals, confidential staffs, deputy undersecretaries and many others enjoying the same perks.

Pity the honest taxpayers.
?MARIANNE P DE LA CRUZ,
kawawapilipinas@yahoo.com