Malacanang crumbling

These past few days we saw how Malacanang's spin meisters crumbled under pressure to tell the truth about Mrs. Arroyo's health condition. We see how communication channels seemed to have vanished inside the image machinery of Malacanang. One, the "leak" could not have happened if Malacanang maintained strong relations with the media. Those articles just show how weak Malacanang is in that department. Second, subsequent commentaries and jokes just show how amateurish Malacanang's PR handlers are handling the entire thing. And lastly, there seems to be miscommunication among government agencies. No unified message. And no one is brave enough to lead the charge or hold the baton.

This is simply an indication of a crumbling communication infrastructure, a trait shared by regimes about to fall flat on their faces.

One explanation seems to be a steady stream of resignations from Mrs. Arroyo's press team. Mrs. Arroyo is slowly being isolated. People close to her are leaving her and going to the private sector. Again, these are signs of the end of this regime.

It's really expected since Cerge Remonde is no communication expert. Yes, he's a former journalist but unlike former press undersecretary JoCab, he knows nothing about effective crisis and image strategies. Even Lorelei Fajardo seems inadequate and ineffective on her job.

Malacanang needs a plumber and fast. Otherwise, expect a further deterioration and eventual demise of this regime, sooner than later.

Palace admits Mrs. Arroyo had cysts in her breasts and groin

Let me first congratulate Palace spokesperson Cerge Remonde for admitting that indeed, doctors at the Asian Medical Hospital found cysts in Mrs. Gloria Macapagal-Arroyo's breasts and groin. Remonde admitted this much in a press conference today at the palace.

Remonde said that doctors found the cysts during an MRI or Magnetic Resonance Imaging procedure at the Asian Hospital.

When Mrs. Arroyo checked herself in the hospital, she underwent an MRI and found lumps in her breasts and groin. Asian Hospital, in a statement, said that these lumps or cysts were benign. A classmate of mine who works in the hospital said that the cysts were caused by leaking silicone breast implants. This confirms what Jarius Bondoc wrote that those implants were inserted into the breasts of Mrs. Arroyo in a breast augmentation procedure done in the late 80's.

What Mrs. Arroyo underwent was called breast reduction surgery. The lumps or cysts meanwhile, were taken out through laser surgery. The cysts found in her groin are scheduled for operation next week, according to sources in Malacanang.

That's the way to go. At last, Malacanang did the right thing in addressing issues such as this in the fastest way possible.