As a long-term admirer of Minister J. Conrado Benitez, I am irritated by the many well-meaning people whose inept attempts at praising Mr. Benitez merely makes him look venal, arrogant, or stupid.

A typical example of such ineptitude is the article described by Jose Marques (Malaya, Mar. 24) as a defense of Mr. Benitez. The article in question, written by Tony Calzado of the Ministry of Human Settlements (MHS), was an attempt to refute the allegation that Mr. Benitez, along with two other high MHS officials, had drawn P14.1 million in cash advances which have yet to be liquidated (Malaya, Mar. 19).

Mr. Calzado’s defense: it was only P2 million, not P14.1 million.

Instead of refuting the allegation, Calzado confirmed, on the basis of MHS records, that Mr. Benitez had in fact violated the principle that cash advances should be kept to a minimum and if made, should be liquidated as quickly as possible.

Such instances of public relations incompetence convince me that most of the criticisms against Mr. Benitez arise or persist because of the well-intentioned fumbling of Mr. Benitez’ underlings and other supporters.

Heaven preserve Mr. Benitez from such friends.

TERESA TORREFIEL