Gadon’s appointment: Incredibly smart or stupid?

President Marcos has appointed Lorenzo “Larry” Gadon as presidential adviser for poverty alleviation. This announcement has been instantaneously met with overwhelming public criticism that one is tempted to examine the alternative hypothesis that it may in fact be incredibly smart. Who knows, the consequences, in the proper context that has yet to unfold may prove this hypothesis right.

This appointment might be a “demand management” gambit. It staves off the lingering pressure from all of those people who supported the Marcos-Duterte UniTeam in last year’s elections many of whom lost and may be angling for appointments now that the one-year ban is over. The only way to dissipate the pressure is to make a sacrificial lamb of one who thinks himself most deserving, while the public thinks him most unqualified.

Of those who lost the Senate race, Mr. Marcos has already appointed Gibo Teodoro. Only Herbert Bautista, Harry Roque, and Gadon have not been appointed to government positions.

There may be other hopefuls. The field of expectations is uncharted but apparently wide. Other UniTeam supporters, like actress Elizabeth Oropesa, feel slighted that she has not been offered anything despite her years of support for Mr. Marcos.

How about former president Rodrigo Duterte who has declined to be drug czar under the Marcos administration, but seems to be keen on being an adviser, giving unsolicited advice on US-Philippines-China relations?

Already, the more Gadon defends his appointment, the more he incriminates himself. In a podcast interview by Christian Esguerra a few days ago, Gadon flared up when Esguerra mentioned the expected salary of a presidential adviser to be about P300,000. He defended his entitlement to this salary by saying he does not need it, announcing that he has so many cars and condominiums from his various directorships and consultancies. Alluding to his disbarment by the Supreme Court, he said he does not even need to be a lawyer because his earnings as one would be a pittance compared to his windfall earnings under his current business transactions and arrangements. Wait for my SALN, he tells his audience, and see how plentiful his assets are.

When Esguerra asked him about his approach and priorities in his new appointment, Gadon gave a most revealing answer. He said he cannot give a perspective on poverty alleviation yet because he is awaiting the executive order from Malacañang to define his functions. The President will give him explicit orders and all he has to do is “micromanage” the tasks assigned.

Well, that’s that. So profoundly put.

If Mr. Marcos really wanted to appoint Gadon and shield him from all the brickbats, he could have given him a title like “presidential adviser on the circular economy” or “presidential adviser on political diversity” and perhaps create a sufficiently obfuscated atmosphere to forestall public criticism.

In context, it’s not as if previous presidents did not have their share of controversial appointments. Gloria Macapagal Arroyo appointed Mike Defensor as environment secretary. Critics said the appointment prioritized political loyalty over technical expertise and experience. This appointment was short-lived: only from 2004 to 2005.

President Benigno Aquino III appointed Maria Lourdes Sereno as associate justice in August 2010 and chief justice in August 2012, hailed as the first woman head of a judicial branch in Southeast Asia. The appointment was somewhat unprecedented, but what was controversial was her removal by the Supreme Court via a quo warranto petition mounted by minions of the Duterte administration for her criticism of the war on drugs.

An outstanding case in Duterte’s time was the appointment of Perfecto Yasay Jr. as the foreign affairs secretary. Yasay’s appointment was opposed due to questions surrounding his citizenship status, leading to his rejection by the Commission on Appointments. The case of Gina Lopez was different. Her appointment as environment secretary was well received by the public but was sabotaged by members of Duterte’s own Cabinet.

So, what do we make of the Gadon move? Maybe Mr. Marcos is “sweetening the pot,” using this appalling appointment as a way to widen the field of prospective appointees to high government positions, especially those who are currently shy to cross over to the administration side. Maybe his Sona and new appointments will give us a hint.

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