Amidst deepening issues of government failures, incompetence, and scandals involving misconduct, corruption in most agencies of the government and with the recent scam, the infamous “tanim-bala" at Ninoy Aquino International Airport (NAIA), the Philippines once again earned a disheartening criticism among the nations of the world- ruining the dignity of every Filipino wanting to have at least a decent life.
Under these turbulent times, we are yearning for a leader who could provide us a clear direction and an assurance of a better future. Year after year, the people are always at the receiving end of government’s disorganized management and enormous incompetence. This is the norm for the past thirty years wherein meritocracy, competence and good ethical standard are set aside to cater political and quota- based appointments. And this will remain to be the case until a new brand of leadership fills in the governance vacuum and become a force of change.
The challenges of our time demand a new kind of leadership. We need nothing less than a revolutionary and a visionary capable of unsettling the corrupt and incompetent government leadership.
In the midst of government dysfunction, Bongbong Marcos seeks to restructure the current order of things, he offers a vision- a vision of a desirable future where every Filipino has a stake in. In his more than two decades of distinguished public service, Bongbong Marcos had acquired a huge amount of valuable leadership insights and experience coupled with a long string of accomplishments to his name. Exemplifying the qualities of a true statesman, he achieved most of them through competence even in the absence of self-promoting media exposure.
When EDSA happened in ’86, his family left Malacanang to avoid a dangerous clash between government forces and dissidents. He was firmly focused on coming home to pick up where he left off- to fulfill his mandate once more as an elected public servant that was briefly interrupted by the EDSA glitch. He willfully chose the inconveniences and dangers of a public servant’s life over the comforts of being a private citizen. Bongbong Marcos already decided early on that his lifetime will be dedicated to serving the people. While he was away for a short while, the vindictive nature of the succeeding regime forced Ilocandia to look after itself as the region received little or no attention at all from the government. The new government embarked on a series of selective and vindictive campaigns to alienate, disenfranchise, and isolate the segments of the population professing a continuing support for the Marcos leadership. This compelled the young Marcos to make a comeback knowing the great risks involved including a threat on his life and his family. The political odds were well placed against his favor, yet he returned to the country with a brave heart fueled by a renewed vision and purpose. He strongly believed then and still believes now that formidable challenges can be overcome with resilience, integrity, and competence in leadership.
As a leader-manager, he articulates his vision as seen in his relentless pursuit of excellence both as a chief executive, legislator and to some extent as an enlightened dispenser of justice. During the impeachment of former Chief Justice Renato Corona, senator-judge Bongbong Marcos exhibited extreme care and due diligence when ascertaining the facts of the impeachment case involving the then Chief Justice. He understood well the long-term implications of the trial and its dangerous precedence to similar cases for the years to come. After a thorough examination of the evidence presented, he stood his ground and judged the former Chief Justice not guilty. Like his father before him, Bongbong Marcos is a strong believer in the rule of law and constitutionalism.
In his capacity as chief executive, he demonstrated a penchant for meticulous development planning and implementation as manifested in his towering accomplishments as governor. By tapping into the creative resources at his disposal, he managed to turn Ilocos Norte into a prime example of what a competent, decisive, and development-oriented leader can achieve. Deprived of natural resources, the province emerged to become economically self-reliant and increasingly attractive to investments. In fact, more than any other province in the country, Bongbong Marcos had turned Ilocos Norte into a leading frontier in green technology and sustainable development under his watch. The now famous wind farms symbolize his firm resolve as a leader and the resilience of the Filipino people in the face of hardships. Not only that, he also cultivated leadership excellence by setting a paradigm of proactive and committed government. This led to Ilocos Norte into becoming the first fully ISO-certified province in the country. As a further testament to his statesmanship, his province is consistently one of the top ten high performing LGUs nationwide.
As a legislator, he manifested his strategic vision by authoring a significant number of laws and bills that strengthen the nation-building capacity of the government. For example, one of his landmark legislations in the lower house led to the creation of the National Youth Commission to facilitate the role of the youth in nation-building. His recent legislative accomplishments in the realm of governance also included the Sangguniang Kabataan (SK) reforms which aimed at establishing Youth Development Councils with additional provisions on enhancing accountability and transparency.
He also sought to restore the territorial integrity of the nation when he crafted the Archipelagic Baselines Law. Most recently, he struck down numerous unconstitutional provisions in the proposed Bangsamoro Basic Law (BBL) and submitted his draft substitute bill in its place. Not only did he uphold the rule of law, he also firmly acted in defending the sovereign interests of Filipino people. In recognition of his efforts to promote the rule of law, the Philippine Constitution Association (PHILCONSA) conferred on him the title, “Defender of the Constitution”.
When it comes to defending and promoting our national interests, the quality of diplomacy also becomes an indispensable leadership tool. As seen in the past thirty years, the quality of our diplomacy has gone from bad to worse. Our foreign policy lacks a clear strategic depth. It is incomprehensible how we allowed the incumbent government to suppress our cherished and well-founded legitimate sovereign claims over Sabah in exchange for expedient political tradeoffs as the Bangsamoro fiasco had shown. It is even more suspicious how and why Malaysia, an interested party, was even allowed to become the broker of negotiations between the government and the Moro Islamic Liberation Front despite the existence of our Sabah claims. Furthermore, the recklessness which the government demonstrated in handling the crisis in the West Philippine Sea contributed to the deterioration of our foreign relations with a regional power- China. Our troubled relations with China could have been averted or minimized, at least, with proper restraint and analysis of the situation.
Bongbong Marcos, on the other hand, learned the complex art of international diplomacy from his father. He gained a considerable amount of insights and practical experience through his countless encounters with various heads of state and governments under his father’s watch. The Marcos era was the highest point of our diplomatic engagement with the international community. Together with our neighbors, we set the foundations of the Association of Southeast Asian Nations (ASEAN) and the now-defunct Southeast Asian Treaty Organization (SEATO). Unlike today, we used to have the respect of powerful nations like People’s Republic of China (PRC) and the former Soviet Union (now Russia). Even before America’s establishment of official diplomatic ties with PRC, Marcos, along with his family and diplomatic entourage, personally led the way in forging formal bilateral relations with mainland China. At that time, the government had a clear set of foreign policy objectives matched by a team of foreign affairs experts.
In another note, his domestic achievements reveal an even greater capability as a nation-builder. Looking at the records, his legislative efforts are all geared towards the creation of mutually reinforcing sectors of a modernized national economy from agriculture to energy to infrastructure to education and so on. His works show a strategic depth in his leadership mindset- a rare commodity among the current breed of leaders.
In his nation-building platform, Bongbong Marcos advocates for optimizing the complementary roles of the state, citizens, the civil society, and the business sector in forging a modern nation-state capable of meeting the challenges of the 21st century.
Starting with restoring the people’s lost sense of national pride and unity, Bongbong Marcos calls for actualizing the goals of inclusive development where the majority could reap the benefits of the so-called economic miracle. Peace, unity, and progress could never be possible when the fundamental economic contradictions of our society remain unsolved. To do this, the government should provide the proper mechanisms for the equitable distribution of economic wealth via an efficient and accountable governance framework. This involves the streamlining of policies that attract the growth of local and foreign direct investments resulting to the growth of the job market. In line with the foregoing, restructuring an outdated tax policy could also partly alleviate the undesirable conditions of the majority by reducing the tax burden while improving a more efficient means of collecting taxes.
Bongbong Marcos recognizes that the moral decline of capitalism in a deeply divided world between the rich and the poor is unsustainable. Yet, we cannot deny the role that private enterprises play in nation-building. Large as well as micro, small, and medium-sized enterprises (MSMEs) should be given the opportunities to share the burden of development for they are engines of employment under an incentivizing and balanced policy framework. At the same time, the government should put in constructive regulations to make businesses more socially responsible and avoid regulatory capture by some powerful business interests.
The quest for development is a continuing struggle for many people. Our problems with insurgency, peace and order, rising crime rates, traffic woes, and brain drain of our human assets are a result of uneven development nationwide. The huge disparities in human development index (HDI) across different regions especially in Mindanao point to our continuing failure in governance. Insightful as he is, Bongbong Marcos emphasizes the need for an encompassing plan to direct the collective resources and energies of the people into a full-blown and integrated modernization effort. Drawing practical valuable lessons from Marshall Plan in post-war Europe and development efforts undertaken by our more successful Asian neighbors, Bongbong Marcos advocates for a large-scale development campaign by mobilizing massive resources in strengthening the pillars of the national economy.
As Bongbong Marcos puts it, a Marshall Plan of this enormous scale should be equally accompanied by a systemic restructuring- a constructive revolution founded on the principles of meritocracy and love of country. This means getting rid of short-sighted populist policies that only serve the short-term sentimental woes of the people. Development-oriented leadership requires a sublime insight into a long-term future even at a great political cost. To some extent, this type of leadership entails a great deal of sacrifice on the part of the leader and his people. This sacrifice involves revamping of values that are inconsistent with nation-building. Furthermore, a system change that he is calling for likewise includes the redrawing and redefining of existing governance structures to efficiently and effectively respond to the challenges of development from local to national level.
His long and valuable experience in the government reinforced by an unwavering love of country make Bongbong Marcos an effective change agent- our way forward towards peace, unity, and progress once more.
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