SEVERAL weeks ago, political circles were discussing the dehumanizing tongue-lashing suffered by the mild-mannered labor secretary Benny Laguesma. A senator, in the minority then but now part of the current Senate leadership, was furious at Laguesma over a tangential and local issue that, in the real world, was not part of the then-secretary’s concern: the implementation of the Tulong Panghanapbuhay sa Ating Disadvantaged/Displaced Workers (Tupad) program at the local government level.