They made me do it

In his latest article Conrado de Quiros in essence says that President Benigno "P.Noy" Aquino III is entitled to the excuse "they made me do it". Whether it be in appointing too many Abads to key government positions or any other appointment of a Kamaganak Inc henchman to a juicy post, to de Quiros, it is simply not the President's fault.

Bad idea, yes. But, if we are to follow de Quiros's "logic", it is not Noynoy's fault.

[...] the essence of public service is to never put your president in a bind or a position that opens him up to criticism, if not ridicule. The essence of public service is to protect the president at all times and not have the president protect you at all times. The essence of public service is to show delicadeza, fineness, a sense of propriety to not even want to get into public service if it will compromise your president. That is marrying for love and not for money.

And so, if we are to understand de Quiros's thinking, the onus -- the responsibility -- is, in essence, on the people to whom the President owes favours to, to refuse appointments.

The man de Quiros, true to form, puts up members of the inner circle of Kamaganak Inc as exemplars of this thinking he espouses...

The sisters have it, the cousins have it, even the in-laws have it: hiya. You can’t have a more competent head of government communications than Maria Montelibano, her competence amply displayed during the campaign when she ran P-Noy’s media bureau, turning his ratings around after they fell precipitously. But she is a cousin. And despite importuning from those who figure they can find a way around the proscription, she refuses any appointment, insisting that P-Noy’s government may not be tainted that way. Some people are just disenteng tao.

Guess again, gramps. At the end of the day, it is the President who makes the final choice and the final decision to execute an appointment he is entitled to make. Nothing can "make" him do things, nothing beyond his own personal weakness.