KAPURAL ang inyong imbing lingkod na nakahiligang panoorin ng apong Musa si Mickey Mouse— tampok bilang alila at aralan sa The Sorcerer’s Apprentice, sinubukan na gamitin ang kaalaman ng kanyang guro para gumaan ang kanyang mga takdang gawaing bahay… hindi nakayanan ang kapangyarihan, nataranta, muntik nang mauwi sa malagim na delubyo ang pagtatangka.

Gaya-gaya yata ang nakaluklok sa Malacañang naturang aralan o apprentice, aba’y on-the-job-training ang ginagawa… at mukhang gurong bihasa ang makakahalata sa mga diskarteng saliwa… kahit pa Tuwid na Daan ang isinangkalan para matuwa ang madla, purportedly the best of intentions pave the arrow-straight road to perdition.

Statecraft is a man-sized job, and pundits on the sidelines may likely ask the current Palace tenant, “Are you man enough or, with due apologies, are you another Walt Disney cartoon character?”

Wala naman pong sinasanto kaya lalong hindi kami humiling na santo ang maluklok sa trono upang ipagtabuyan at ilublob sa kalaboso ang mga itinuturing na demonyo… tulad ng Punong Mahistrado Renato Corona o ang nambulahaw ng “It’s the economy, student!”

Aba’y hindi pamamalakad ng bansa ang walang patumanggang sisi sa kung sinu-sino… harnessing the entire state machinery to pursue a consuming obsession to get even against real or imagined political adversaries only speaks of a mind bereft of the skills and competence to lead, much less govern.

Kahit pa nagbuhat ng sariling bangko ang Gloria Macapagal-Arroyo:         “Our country has just weathered with flying colors the worst planet-wide economic downturn since the Great Depression of 1930.

“As two-thirds of the world’s economies contracted, we were one of the few that managed positive growth,” aniya.

Tough act to follow, that one hell of economic brinkmanship she has done as a feat despite her feet of clay.

Nakalingat na nga ang paningin na nakatutok lang sa lintik lang ang walang ganti. Mula sa 7.9 porsiyento ang antas ng angat sa kabuhayan ng bansa nang lisanin ni GMA ang Malacañang nitong Hunyo 2010, laglag sa 3.2 porsiyento nitong third quarter of 2011… at hindi na magkamayaw ang mga taga-Palasyo kung paano tatapalan ng mas umaalagwa pang approval ratings survey ang lalo namang nalulugmok na kabuhayan ng bansa… but do you have to be popular to be a populist, student?

So there’s poverty to be licked like a festering wound, eh… why not throw down all the monies earmarked for the conditional cash transfer scheme…all the monies to buy off lawmakers to oust Corona plus the largesse for public transport sector fuel subsidy into buying bulk finished fuels (there’s growing tension in the Middle East that may likely blow in our faces… at baka sisihin na naman sina Corona at Arroyo) and selling at a profit… and using such profits for, say, easing our external debts?

We better retire that effete sound bite, “Kung walang corrupt, walang mahirap.”

We cannot ply any sane argument to the Messiah who dared to tell the faithful, “You shall always have the poor with you.”

Sure, dear, Gloria Macapagal-Arroyo may be as guilty as hell for such mounds upon mounds of excrement they’ve been shoveling at her… aah, that tack of overkill betrays the loser’s mindset… why, Americans have blasted a bomb for every square meter of the Vietnamese territory ensuring extirpation for the Vietcong… but they still lost the war, mwa-ha-ha-haw!

Then again, the stiff-necked erstwhile Numero Uno won’t be pronounced guilty for ineptness and incompetence in steering the ship of the nation.

So, how’s the economy, student?