A bad national habit

Nowadays we are beginning to get a glimpse of people who intend to run for high political posts come 2010. They appear ready to lead and govern this country to greatness. On the one hand, some politicians posed as product endorsers on television and as advocates of pro-poor programs like cheap medicines, livelihood, and assistance to OFWs. On the other hand, there are also those well-meaning groups who package and advertise people as ethical leaders hoping that they will change our political landscape and our national life for the better. We are overwhelmed by the lofty-promises and sweetened assurances of these seemingly innocent and virtuous people that our country will be better off with their kind of ethical leadership. We are clueless if what they are saying is true or not. We should be cautious then. Politics after all had changed its meaning- it is no longer the art of governance but the art of not telling the truth. However, we will soon know the truth after election if indeed they are our sincere leaders who have the heart to truly care for us and this country.

Perhaps, equally important to consider aside from knowing the candidates for the 2010election is how to choose the best leaders. These days, we are going through tough times because we elected into office not the right kind of leaders. This is obviously becoming a bad national habit. Rather than working for our aspirations and hopes as a people, these elected leaders use their positions to enrich themselves and their supporters. We deserve this lot though. And true to the cliché- we deserve the kind of government we have.

When will we ever learn how to choose the right leaders to run the affairs of this country? When will we ever know how to cast a thoughtful vote and not a bought-vote? When will we discover that we have a reasoned conscience and God to deal with when we cast our votes?

At the very least what we need in this country are informed electorate. We can avoid an ineffectual government and forestall the influx of corrupt and shameless leaders when we vote intelligently and with conscience. Let me address this challenge to those who call for the moral force and ethical leadership of this country: help us voters prepare ourselves to choose the right leaders for this country. Help us have our voice be heard in the 2010 election. It’s about time that our voice be heard. We can change the fate of this country because we can vote wisely and rightly. Our national hero Dr. Jose Rizal eloquently echoed this sentiment when he said, “This people does not complain because it has no voice, it does not move because it is lethargic, and you say that it does not suffer because you haven’t seen how its heart bleeds. But some day you will see this, you will hear its complaints, and then woe unto those who found their strength on ignorance and fanaticism!”

Time to act against corrupt leaders. Where to start? How to start?

Harvey S. Keh - We need people like Harvey who can open our minds and give us a wake up call.

Keep it up

I think Bro. Eddie C. Villanueva is the person whom we are looking to be the next president of our country Philippines. He possesses the quality of a great leader. Further, Bro. Eddie is a God fearing man who always sought the applause of God rather than man. Besides, I believe that he just exist for God’s purpose, to save this country from demonic leaders and no one can buy his convictions and principles.

You are right about electing the right leader for our country but then you blew it all by citing Obama as an example of a leader who promised transparency in everything he does, and to eschew former lobbyists in positions at every level of the federal bureaucracy and yet his first big appointment to head the huge Health and Human Services department in Tom Daschle made $5m lobbying the healthcare professionals in the past 3 years, the very same group that he will regulate as head of HHS. He has since withdrew his appointment because he “forgot” to pay his taxes; same with 2 other high profile appointments. The lesson being: talk is cheap. We need a great leader, a transformational visionary. That person is somewhere amongst us but is yet to emerge - but not Obama-like.

I am not God-fearing but I wouldn’t do what the first gentleman of this country is doing. I think the first family goes to church regularly. They are religious.
The government needs not to be changed. It needs to be cleaned. What we need is a leader who will do that period. Then move us forward.

Why is the husband of the president so stupid? He is a hulking man, wealthy and educated. If he hasn’t done anything wrong why doesn’t he simply explain his side. And why does he allowed himself to be dragged in controversies. That is, if he hasn’t really done anything wrong. Is he as stupid as Mr Bean? I think this is a significant question.

I agree with your call for a righteous leader.

Let us call on Bro. Eddie to run for President in 2010!

i share your views about who or what kind of leader we should elect to govern our country. picking the right one will not be easy. certainly, he/she will not be among the traditional parties nor from the current pool of active politicians or from those who are now occupying these elective government posts. and the right one you will pick will have to need all the help he can get to improve his winnability. the young, like you, should make the difference. afterall, the future is yours.

We are the only country in the world w/ so many political parties & so many opposition candidates specifically for president. Just how can u let the righteous candidate win?

harvey,

“I have always believed that leadership skills can easily be learned… ” - response: I agree.
“but the character and principles of a leader whether good or bad cannot easily be changed” - response: Greediness and self decipline are the real culprit.

[...] Kind of Leader we need in 2010 Inquirer.net http://blogs. inquirer. net/philippineel ections/2009/ 02/16/the- kind-of-leader- we-need-for- 2010/ THE past weeks we have seen yet again another controversy involving the first family particularly [...]

All these talks about the kind of leaders we need at this time are not relevant. We are just blowing air out in the open.It ’s waste of our time.

How can you think that selecting a right leader is all it takes to solve all our problems given the interest group in the military that is calling the shot?

We still don’t get it.We continue to live in “Never Never Land”.

This is like talking about building a house thinking that we have the money for it assuming we won the lottery! Hellooooo!

Bro. Eddie for president? Let me ask you this:
Why do you think Moses had succeeded in freeing the slaves from bondage?

Being raised by the Pharaoh himself, Moses was an “insider” and therefore said king enabled him.

You can say the same thing to Obama who was already U.S. senator when he won the presidency. He is an “insider”.

Certainly, Lucifer was an “insider” because he was once an angel, when he seduced Adam & Eve to disobey, after which he got his own kingdom.

The same thing can’t be said of others being floated for president like Bro. Eddie.As long they are not an “insider”, they have no chance to win.

What am I trying to say here? I guess we want to put our collective efforts in a guy that got a chance to win.

The same principle you apply in business: PUT YOUR MONEY WITH THE GREATEST RETURN.

I apologize if I stated the obvious for many business practitioner.

Forget “God-fearing” - I’m sick and tired of politicians who railroad otherwise constructive legislature just because they’re trying to appease local self-serving local religious groups such as the CBCP, El Shaddai.

I’d rather have somebody up there who acts out of a genuine concern for their fellow citizens. In short, somebody who acts ouf of genuine compassion, not fear.

the kind o fleader we need is like obama. Change is what we need i recommend chiz. Enough of those trapos.Enough of gma so tired of hearing their excuses.How i wish i am jumper

A Pinoy President can never be a visionary if he or she wouldn’t know the real purpose behind the existence of the Philippines as a country in the first place.

one of the qualities maybe is……
a no non-sense implementor of established laws like in the person of Rudy Duterte of Davao and R. Hagedorn of Palawan plus a good vision for everybody in the person of Bayani Fernando..Take an example in Marikina…

The Leader We Need:

1) Has the Education of GMA
2) The Heart and Honesty of Cory
3) The Charm of ERAP
4) The Leadership of FVR
5) The Brains of Marcos

What we GOT the last 30 years…

1) The Honesty of Marcos
2) The Brains of Erap
3) The Charm of GMA
4) The Education of Cory
5) The Heart of FVR

We can discuss all the ideals of a good leader but at the end of the day, we need names that will personify all these.

I say Risa Hontiveros of Akbayan should be Senator come 2010!

I aGREE.. Let’s call Bro. Eddie Villanueva to run..

Harvey, I’m so glad we have a person like you who is so concern about the future of the Filipinos.I’m residing here in the USA & Me & my wife would like to retire in the Philippines.No place like home.I’ve been recieving good feedbacks about this MMDA Chairman Bayani Fernando.Billionaire but still would like to join govt. to serve.Inteligent,hardworking,honest w/ strong political will & a vissionary leader.I think he’s a gift from God that we filipinos should support.We’ve elected all types of leaders before, Still nothing has change.I’m now a grandpa of 3 and I,m worried about their future.Please help Bayani Fernando to become our next President.Thanks

In selecting a leader to be voted in the coming election, we must have some considerations to be knowledgeable.
First, we should not treat the traditional politicians as their advantage for them to be elected.
Second, we must not consider their early advertisement especially in the television as an advantage for us to vote them.

We must select a leader that was doing his/her work even there were no elections. Those works even without his/her mind will serves as his/her campaign already.

In other words, the deserving leader for us to vote dont need a campaign anymore because his/her works will tell the people that he/she deserves to be elected.

The President we need in 2010 is the one who will be able to earn and command the respect not only of the young voters. Securing the youth vote will be half the battle won. The other half of the battle is getting the middle class to vote in overwhelming numbers so as to cancel out the votes coming from the poorest segments, who happen to be the most active voters. Political machinery will bring the usual voters out. Integrity and trust will be the clarion call to action for the silent majority from the middle class, who all too often have let the traditional politicians win by default by opting not to vote. There’s one more detail. Most Filipino voters are not likely to vote for a President who does not have a First Lady, so there had better be a wedding soon in the months before the election.

Who, among the prospective presidentiables, has those characteristics? Or are we left with the option of having the choose the least evil among the evils?

When choosing the right leader for our country in 2010, we should not be swayed by survey results, the aggresive paid up PR campaigns of the candidates or the projects initiated by the candidates. We all know that surveys can be manipulated depending on who commisioned them. PR campaigns and endorsements in the media on the other hand are mostly far from the truth and are cosmetic. The number of projects initiated by a Congressman or a Senator should not be taken as credit to him. First of all it’s not his money but taxpayers’ money or simply the peoples’ money. Secondly, with the known SOP in fund disbursement in the pork barrel system, the project proponent had more likely gotten the commision and is therefore corrupt just like most of our politicians.
The proper approach therefore is to examine the track record of the candidate both in his private and government practice. We have a very active media in our country and it is very unlikely that any corrupt practice would go unreported. The candidate may not be convicted or charged but frequent linkages to allleged malpractices should be treated with caution.

In the end we should only consider candidates with clean records and I believe there are still some of them in the running.

There are two things a good leader must do. One is to strengthen the bureaucracy and two is to strengthen the political parties.

The first takes longer and require considerable investments on human capital.

The second can be done by legislation and can be easily measured by the parties financial statements just like any corporation.

To test the strength of the existing political parties, dont check the personalties and SLA of their officers check their financial statements.

What is really needed is for just people to focus on becoming wealthy and use their wealth to lobby against the greed running through our government’s veins. this may not sound good to others but money can both used for good or evil. unfortunately most of the people in government now are using their wealth to enrich themselves.

The leader we need is one who is trustworthy in a little as stated in the Bible…”One who is trustworthy in a little will be accounted over much.” Like what happened to the little city of Marikina. It was entrusted to a capable man some few years back and now it’s one of the most livable cities in the Philippines. Then the man was entrusted, following the end of his term in Marikina, a bigger responsibility, is now literally transforming/creating great changes in Metro Manila together with the other cities’ officials and private corporations’ executives.

You are right and I totally agree that we really need a righteous leader. But how could we elect one with the kind of electorate we currently have.

Somehow, educated people, the civil society must be united in educating first the electorate before advancing one’s group political agenda.

Not unless we educate the electorate, particularly the masses, current breed of political leaders will stay and the political situation worsen.

I don’t really know if there are people in government today that we can easily say can run our country effectively and efficiently given the current system of government in place. What we have is a syndicate that operates under the guise of public servants. It’s like the mafia, or a criminal syndicate. But at least criminal syndicates have crime in mind from the start. Our politicians act like angels before elections and are actually demons once elected. Still, I try not to lose hope. Maybe, just maybe, we will find people, leaders, who will actually make our lives a little better each day.

PJ Belmonte, you hit it right on the head of the nail when you wrote “what we have is a syndicate that operates under the guise of public servants”.

This is the interest group that hides behind the army’s “BIG GUNS” that is calling the shot.

Its members have enormous power, advanced lifestyles, unexplained wealth and a breathtaking level of impunity.

They are “slick” too because they make us think we have “PEOPLE POWER”.

REMEMBER THEY REPLACED TWO PRESIDENTS UNDER THE GUISE OF PEOPLE POWER. The reality is that they needed a million of us to protect them from their enemies from within.

Our government is not the true representative of our people.

Let us admit the fact that the Chinese has invaded us.

They squander, they plunder, and their sole objective is to make us poorer and subjugate us.

Why so many policemen in our midst and still increasing? The only logic behind these is to counter any nationalistic move to get our country back to us, the ethnic Filipinos.

The government of PGMA favors the unilateral takeover by China by allowing the TRAITORS to legalize the dominance to our sovereignty like what the Speaker of the House, Prospero Nograles resolution no. 737 to allow 100% ownership to our land.

Also, PGMA, being ANTI-FILIPINO by allowing a 100% capitalization of our mining industry. Her move was to provide China the much needed minerals, before the worldwide economic meltdown.

Just observe the make-up of all the Under Secretaries. They are all ethnic Chinese.

Look at our Commissioners and Generals, so many are ethnic Chinese.

In short, the ethnic Chinese has replace the Filipinos in ruling and managing all branches of the government.

If these is not an invasion by another country, what do you call it?

President OBAMAS words like Change, yes we can is righfully translated by President Erap, Barya ilagay sa lata, meaning save our Pesos and rightfully preserved President GMA, which is also fitted in the saying in the words one who is trusted in a little will be accounted over much, basically saying where she was originally a twinkle twinkle little star and rightfully turn into Superstar, the most strongest leader ever in the Philippines, whom she has effectively control all the divisions of laws in the land, from the Senate,Congress and the Judiciary, she has defended all her unproven anomalies, resulting of why she is still in Power.

Harvey,

Being a Filipino seeing the corruption, grinding poverty, the millions of OFW’s abroad hoping for pagbabago, hoping that somebody who is righteous, patriotic, visionary-real visionary, with integrity, someone who has a sense for justice, someone who believes in the Filipino, someone who will not betray the Filipino for the sake of silver, someone who has an ethical principle, faithful to his wife and family, compassionate for the plight of the poor and the weak, non- violent, no guns nor goons, someone who has a genuine heart to serve and not to be served.

It is hard to find among the all politicians today, there is nobody out there. However, I see Bro. Eddie Villanueva who possess the above mentioned characteristics we need to lead the Philippines in the fight for pagbabago. I am hoping that all Filipinos will arise again and muster all collective efforts to make him our next president.

Harvey,
Our political culture when created doesnt embodied ” accountability”, a simple word that is missing from the Filipinos political, social and economic life.
It is just normal for a politician to abuse power, steal public money and squander public trust without being held accountable for what he/she did, disappear from public eye and run again. Our country ranks along with India and other politically immatured countries where people thinks public office is a way of accumulating personal wealth.
What we need is a complete political and social renewal where every Filipinos will be taught on how to love his countryand install a strong leader where the love for the country is the main agenda.
“God bless our beloved Philippines”