“What is best for our country?”

That’s a direct quote from the “Declaration of candidacy for the presidential elections of 2022, Leni Robredo.”

“I made it clear: I am ready to give way and to help. If they succeeded, they also offered to join forces as candidates or as part of their administration. My reply: This is not about positions; this is not a mere transaction. The important thing is to unite – align principles, our shared dreams for the country, and the path we must take to achieve these.”

But let’s stop right there. And recall what I said to my Eastern European friends when the wife and I came the first time: Freedom and the free market are not about rules but principles. Translation: Candidate Robredo is starting on the right foot.

This posting then is to dissect if President Robredo will follow through.

Recall that at my old MNC-company, we were constantly doing leadership development because of the enormous challenge of doing business in over 200 countries and territories.

And remember the country manager who asked if I was firing him; he knew that I had fired managers – even on the spot. Leadership in a democracy is a crucial element in self-government – as in the commitment to personal responsibility and the egalitarian ethos.

In an earlier posting, I shared the wife’s reaction before Robredo filed her candidacy, “Do we need another Cory at this time?”

Consider: “I have known her for two decades, and she has always appeared to be extraordinarily poised, even under enormous stress – a trait she attributes to her fatalism. Now, however, her composure seems to mask a certain uneasiness. She recoils when I seek to steer the conversation toward the problems facing her presidency – as if an admission of troubles is a sign of weakness. But she is indeed beleaguered by daunting difficulties.” [“Cory Aquino’s Downhill Slide,” Stanley Karnow, The New York Times Magazine, 19th Aug 1990]

Let’s continue with Karnow: “Dissident army groups haunted Aquino, which have already tried six times to oust her. Not a week passes without fresh rumors of a new coup.

“For all her achievements, however, Aquino has lost the luster she enjoyed after toppling Marcos when the world exalted her as the devout housewife who had exorcised evil. Her approval ratings in the Philippines, once astronomic, have dropped to below 50 percent.

“Yet her critics sound sorrowful rather than angry, disappointed rather than hostile. ‘We like Cory personally, but nothing has changed,’ is a refrain I heard more and more in towns and villages. Though they hector her relentlessly, Manila’s flamboyant politicians and newspaper columnists temper their derision with deference.

“A noted commentator, Luis Beltran, said a few months ago, ‘She is sincere, moral and honest, but the presidency is obviously beyond her, beyond her capabilities, beyond her experience.’

“President Bush is reported to be distressed by Aquino’s lack of direction. ‘We’re committed to her, and we hope that she’ll muddle through,’ says a senior State Department official, ‘but she simply doesn’t know how to govern.’

“Armando Doronila, the editor of The Manila Chronicle, imputes Aquino’s ‘clumsy and arthritic reflexes’ to her unwillingness to exercise power. ‘Her vision of the presidency is that of a figurehead,’ he has written, contending that she operates on the theory that the political institutions she restored would ‘create their magic and dynamism.’

“Conspicuously absent from her approach is an imaginative vision for the country. John J. Carroll, an American Jesuit who has lived in the Philippines for many years, says, ‘She is not a conceptual thinker.’

Recall this quote from an earlier posting: “The next president must preside over Philippine Inc. by doggedly pursuing commercial success, innovation and be a paragon of good governance, not a culture of impunity.

“We need a leadership that can grasp that we are GDP-starved. The ‘leadership’ must synthesize and pull out what matters, given our instincts of the crab mentality.

“Education, health care, the 4Ps, MSMEs, among others, are all critical. 

“But we are GDP-starved — as in, we are oxygen-starved and need it first and foremost.

“Recall that the blog spoke to Mayor Isko, creating a task force comprised of Bill Gates, the CEO of Apple, the CEO of Samsung, and Warren Buffett.

“Why?

“Beg for foreign money and technology — and cover our deficits measured against our neighbors!

“That’s what Lee and Mahathir said to Deng – and even Vietnam followed suit.

“That is how our neighbors left us one after the other.

“And so, we need a quantum leap of $200 billion in GDP to leapfrog the economic output of these neighbors! 

“And give that much-needed oxygen boost to Juan de la Cruz.

“Can we shift paradigms, imagine the Philippines as Philippine Inc.?

“What’s the difference? In the private sector – especially in today’s highly competitive world where innovation is dizzying – the imperative of personal responsibility and the egalitarian ethos is pronounced. Translation: Rank has no privileges; miscreants pay the price.

“Even in the public sector, it happens. Think of now, former New York Governor Cuomo.

“Of course, Trump has been getting away with murder. But that’s another story. Translation: That’s why I have no respect for US politics – i.e., I visualized the future when the family transferred to New York. In other words, the 6th Jan insurrection in the Capitol was visible even as early as decades ago, if not earlier.

“How? Because Freedom and democracy are beyond merely winning – and beyond party, and it is about the common good, stupid!”

Let’s pause once more – and ponder.

“Robredo’s decision to run not as a Liberal Party standard-bearer but as an independent candidate, and her adoption of a new color, are important signals to voters who are tired of the prevailing (or festering) partisan divisions. It could also signify how serious she is in her quest to form a broad opposition alliance with other non-administration or anti-administration candidates, parties, and personalities.” [“Our search for new leaders,” Tonyo Cruz, Manila Bulletin, 9th Oct 2021]

That’s a welcome ring!

As the blog keeps stressing, “Freedom and democracy are beyond merely winning – and beyond party. It is about the common good, stupid!” [How does that apply to the Philippines?]

“Here’s where the science of ‘thinking’ comes into play. We are glossing over what’s at the heart of our caste system, the value of hierarchy and paternalism.

“The hierarchy must lead the war on poverty. Even Duterte said the same thing but differently, i.e., fight poverty via the war on drugs.

"Recall that there are two sides to an equation, and there is populism on one side and leadership on the other. And leadership is not one-dimensional even when it must demonstrate the ability to synthesize.

“We need a leadership that can grasp that we are GDP-starved. The ‘leadership’ must synthesize and pull out what matters, given our instincts of the crab mentality.”

Question: Will Leni Robredo not be another Cory?

How can she move her candidacy forward beyond that beautiful speech?

It appears she can synthesize – evidenced by a terse 15-minute declaration. Bravo!

But then, it’s worth repeating, “The next president must preside over Philippine Inc. by doggedly pursuing commercial success, innovation and be a paragon of good governance, not a culture of impunity.”

“Whoever is the next occupant of Malacañang will face enormous challenges. As highly respected NEDA chief Karl Chua said, it will take ten years for the economy of the Philippines to recover from the COVID-19 pandemic and return to pre-pandemic growth. While the economy is slowly recovering and will expand by up to five percent this year and up to nine percent next year as growth prospects remain promising – the losses will be felt up to the next 10 to 40 years, Secretary Karl warned.

“Our next president will need a good economic team to boost economic recovery efforts and navigate the challenges that the country will be facing in the coming years.

“For our part, we continue the work we have been doing with Finance Secretary Sonny Dominguez and the Department of Trade and Industry to attract American companies that are planning to relocate to the ASEAN region as part of their diversification efforts from China.” [“Enormous challenges face our next president,” Ambassador B. Romualdez, BABE’S EYE VIEW FROM WASHINGTON DC, The Philippine Star, 10th Oct 2021]

With due respect to the ambassador, given the enormity of the challenges we face, we can be more proactive in begging for foreign money and technology: “Recall that the blog spoke to Mayor Isko, creating a task force comprised of Bill Gates, the CEO of Apple, the CEO of Samsung, and Warren Buffett. Why? Beg for foreign money and technology — and cover our deficits measured against our neighbors!”

That will be the fastest route for Philippine Inc. to be a commercial success.

And that is why we cannot have Marcos or Duterte as president because they have no credibility to attract foreign money and technology.

But we, the people, must share the blame too because we can’t accept – despite being well into the 21st century – that foreign money and technology are not treason. If we still cannot wrap our heads around the magic behind the Asian Tigers, indeed, we are doomed as a people, economy, and nation.

“The next president must preside over Philippines Inc. by doggedly pursuing commercial success, innovation and be a paragon of good governance, not a culture of impunity.”

“And ‘innovation,’ as the blog has repeatedly stressed, borrows from the instincts of Steve Jobs. He defined creativity as simply connecting the dots. And that presupposes forward- and lateral thinking.”

Let’s come down to earth.

How can Leni Robredo power up her candidacy – and signal how she would lead and govern this regional laggard?

And assuming she becomes president, every government office must have this Robredo quote: “There was no room for ego or self-interest in this process. The presidency is an enormous responsibility, and deciding whether to run for president or not, can’t be based on ambition or outside prodding. When it comes to leadership, there should only be one consideration: What is best for our country?”

And she should be prepared to fire people on the spot if they cross her pledge.

In the meantime, she can line up a few critical events to demonstrate that she has synthesized the demands of the presidency.

For example, she will invite Transparency International for a live conference. What media will not cover that?

And then, she will reiterate her pledge: “We should all know by now: There is much hunger, suffering, and death because those in power have prioritized self-interest over the welfare of the Filipino. The lack of good governance lies at the root of our many problems, and this needs to end.”

“I invited you folks from Transparency International given your ‘mission is to stop corruption and promote transparency, accountability, and integrity at all levels and across all sectors of society.’

“We Filipinos are parochial and insular. We value hierarchy and paternalism and rely on political patronage and oligarchy that ours is a culture of impunity.

“We have three branches in the government. And we have the public sector and the private sector, too.

"But collectively, we can’t even keep pace with Vietnam, where the US military dropped the most bombs than all the wars combined.

“Where do we start. How can you help us?

“For example, how do we get public officials to commit to uprightness?

“What can we do with the Bureau of Customs and the Bureau of Internal Revenue? What can we do with the drug problem?

“What about corruption in the military? How do we preempt coups if we dig into sin within the ranks?

“I know you cannot solve all these problems. But please tell us what you need so that we can do our part.

“For example, should we ask media to cover your efforts so that daily they can report to the people how we are progressing?”

Do we get the drift?

That is leadership, not getting a firing squad to kill a drug dealer at the Luneta. Or killing mayors and young kids among those suspected in the drug network, if not tossing them out of a helicopter.

Let’s see how to wrap our heads around leadership.

Leadership is developed and nurtured in a democracy. Why and how? It comes back to its very nature of self-government – that demands personal responsibility and an egalitarian ethos.

Conversely, parochialism and insularity – because of the value of hierarchy and paternalism – breed tyranny.

Do we wonder why Rizal called us out for our submission to tyranny – i.e., that we love it?

Let’s get back to Robredo: She must follow up with another live conference. And this time with the economic managers, legislators, and economists.

And in front of the media, she will look them in the eye: “We cannot solve our problems with the same thinking we used when we created them. Learning and innovation go hand in hand, and the arrogance of success is to think that what you did yesterday will be sufficient for tomorrow. Think Philippine Inc., not the Philippine economy.

“In other words, we have been bragging about our manufacturing uptick and the 6%-7% GDP growth rate. We cannot solve our problems with the same thinking, and what we did yesterday will not be sufficient for tomorrow.

“And so, we need a quantum leap of $200 billion in GDP to leapfrog the economic output of these neighbors! 

“And give that much-needed oxygen boost to Juan de la Cruz.

“Can we shift paradigms, imagine the Philippines as Philippine Inc.?”

When she has done these two live conferences, she will connect with Bill Gates, the CEO of Apple, the CEO of Samsung, and Warren Buffett.

“The Philippines is now open for business. And my first question to you is: How can we get businesses the size of Samsung Vietnam and Apple AirPods Vietnam into the Philippines. What must we do and do fast?”

But that presupposes that she will put the right economic managers in her administration.

She will have a third live conference – with the current economic managers.

“Don’t expect me to recycle economic managers from the past. We are the laughingstock of the region. And for economists that are not present at this conference, I invite you to apply to my administration.

“You know what I want. I want what is best for our country.

“For example, why can’t our top eight companies deliver at least $60 billion to the economy? Yet, Samsung Vietnam, by its lonesome self, does it. And not to forget, our OFWs and the BPO industry deliver as much.

“Our top eight companies will not have credibility with Juan de la Cruz until they do so. In the meantime, they must do their homework.

"Also, our BPO industry must not mirror the rent-seeking character of oligarchy. The industry must move higher in the value chain for the Philippines to be globally competitive, including software development.

“What is the best for the country? We cannot keep dishing out our limited tax revenues and expect the Philippines to be the next Asian Tiger and put poverty in the rearview mirror.”

“I come from my province. We cannot get what we want even if I want to, without driving our national income aggressively.”

Question: What is best for our country?

If we cannot wrap our heads around that, Candidate Robredo and her team have lots of homework to do.

But the one thing they must immediately demonstrate is leadership – so that people do not think we are doing a rerun of the Marcos to Cory movie.

Gising bayan!