MANILA, Philippines—Worse than a lame duck, a “zombie presidency” is what Filipinos can expect during the last 500 days of President Benigno Aquino III’s term as a result of the Mamasapano debacle, according to his former ally, Akbayan Rep. Walden Bello.
“What a wasted presidency! Destroyed by pigheadedness and blind loyalty to incompetent or corrupt subordinates,” Bello said, commenting on the political impact of the Philippine National Police board of inquiry report on the bungled Special Action Force (SAF) operation that cost the lives of 44 elite police commandos.
The board of inquiry found that it was President Aquino who gave the go-signal for the operation, called “Oplan Exodus,” and that he broke the PNP chain of command by allowing the suspended PNP chief, Alan Purisima, a personal friend, to handle it instead of the PNP officer in charge, Deputy Director General Leonardo Espina.
Bello, who severed ties with the majority coalition last week over what he considered a cover-up in the Mamasapano investigation, said the Aquino administration had been spiraling downward in the aftermath of the botched police operation.
“The high point of the administration was the passage of the reproductive health bill and the elections of May 2013. The beginning of the unraveling was when the President initially defended [the Priority Development Assistance Fund],” Bello said, referring to the defunct pork barrel system.
“The President entered negative territory with his stubborn defense of [the Disbursement Acceleration Program and Budget Secretary Florencio Abad], then went on a death spiral with Mamasapano,” he said.
“For the 500 plus days we will have a zombie presidency, I fear,” he added.
But Mr. Aquino’s allies in the House of Representatives quickly came to his defense.
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