It took a minor crisis, a protest rally of the homegrown church Iglesia Ni Cristo, to confirm what many had suspected for so long.
Presidential survey frontrunner Senator Grace Poe Llamanzares is raw and inexperienced and may not be ready for the Presidency, a position which involves leading the country through times of emergency and crisis, in good times and in bad.
In a video clip posted on youtube.com which ran for less than two minutes, the 47-year-old Senator groped for answers to reporters’ questions about her views on the INC protest rally against the administration.
At one point, she suggested that Justice Secretary Leila de Lima face the INC protesters to explain why her Department was investigating the charges of illegal detention, among others, filed by a former INC minister against the members of the church’s executive council called the Sanggunian.
Then towards the end of the “ambush” interview, she fumbled when she issued a statement which many interpreted as an attempt to get into the good graces of the politically influential church.
“Huwag rin nating mamaliitin ang importansiya ng relihiyon. Para sa akin, ang mga tao na yan ang dinidepensahan nila ay ang kanilang paniniwala. Nirerespeto natin yan at kailangan pangalagaan din ang kanilang mga karapatan,” she said.
That short interview left many observers asking: “How would she react and respond if as President, she is roused from sleep in the middle of the night and told that the Chinese Navy had occupied more islands in the West Philippine Sea or that the MILF, angered by the non-passage of the Bangsamoro Basic Law started attacking villages in Central Mindanao?
By making a public stand on an issue which she has no deep understanding of, the young Senator, who is positioning herself for a possible run for the Presidency in 2016, exposed a serious flaw in her leadership qualities – President Poe needs a phalanx of advisers beside her to tell her how to respond to an issue and how to react to a situation.
A President who needs a company of advisers before making a decision is the worst thing that could happen to the Philippines.
As the elections for the country’s next President draw near, Senator Poe’s handlers will have to work double time to recover from the massive blunder she committed in addressing the INC issue and prepare her for the tough grind of campaigning.
As things stand now, judging by the way Poe answered probing questions from reporters on one critical issue, a live Presidential Debate could be a nightmare for her handlers.
The Presidential Debate is just the first step in the series of the democratic processes of separating the chaff from the grain in the search for the country’s next leader.
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