Marvelous mediocrity

This serves as an urgent warning, not a simple reminder.
The next time President Aquino decides to give his favorite car a check up, his handlers must make sure the Chief Executive is assisted by a professional, a licensed and tested expert.
This should ensure an honest assessment not only of the engine but of the total soundness of the presidential vehicle.
You might be wondering why this warning has to be made.
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We have no choice but to offer this humble suggestion after a dubious Malacañang stand on the showing of the Philippine contingent came out in the papers over the weekend.
Christine Avendaño reported that Malacañang “marveled at the national delegation’s performance in the 26th Southeast Asian Games in Indonesia.”
“We commend them for their noble performance,” presidential spokesperson Edwin Lacierda was quoted as saying during a press briefing.
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Lacierda took note that Team Philippines wound up sixth in the medal tally—“its worst finish since 1978, when the country first joined the regional Games.”
Maybe he meant 1977, when the regional meet was expanded from the Southeast Asian Peninsular Games (SEAP) into the Southeast Asian Games.
Lacierda was quick to explain that “the Palace did not think the country came up with a poor performance.”
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OK, sports may not be the President’s cup of tea, so it cannot, in this case, qualify as a favorite or choice vehicle.
However, it’s also Lacierda’s duty to watch what statements he needs to issue on behalf of his boss.
To those who may wonder why, here’s the honest truth.
That statement attributed to the Office of the President was begging for some sanity.
Actually, it first sounded like the presidential spokesperson was kidding.
But to sportswriters who sweated it out and groped hard in thick humidity for elusive results, crawling from one distant venue to another, that presidential statement also came as a slur.
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Taken in its context, those official words could only mean that what we had reported from Indonesia were all lies.
The reports were all official, honestly loud and clear.
The final results vividly showed why Team Philippines is now mired much deeper in the mud of mediocrity.
If the Office of the President has indeed adopted new standards for international sports competitions, well and fine.
There’s one big problem, though.
The debacle that defied diagnosis has also made the President sound like a big joke.
If not a debacle, then it must be none other than marvelous mediocrity.
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(HERE AGAIN: From Joseph Dumuk, retired national sports statistician who followed the PH decline from San Fernando City, La Union: “After the debacle in Indonesia where we got only 6.5 percent or 1 of every 15 golds at stake, what can we expect in PH sports? Excuses. Alibis. Finger-pointing. Continuation of leadership intramurals. Jockeying for places in the London bus. Alignments for POC election next year. Poor Filipino Athlete.”)