What I want on the next President

Most of us would tend to shun politics as a topic at this point in time on the ground that it is too early for 2010 presidential elections. For me, politics is always relevant at any given time. Whenever something goes wrong in the way this country is being run by the politicians, we always wish that the next President is somebody different and better.

Have you ever wished how our country should be run by the next President? We can only wish something can be done by the next President of this country to make a turn-around on the economy. For me, the best indicator that any President is running any country right is still the state of the economy. This is the best indicator that governance is doing well and politicians are doing their jobs right. All the other aspects of governance like politics, social and other macro-economic concerns are products and consequences of a strong and robust economy. Still one may argue that politics is not the only factor affecting any given economy. Right. But, politics - in terms of how the President behaves and responds to any given situation, is the most critical factor. And in most cases, the market responds correspondingly to major political decisions. When the President'a approval rating goes down, business confidence in terms of pouring in more investments goes the same way.

For this purpose, one might ask: can our country be really run like an economic enterprise? I can agree that we have presidentiables who are so ‘enterprising’, but the qualities of a social and economic entrepreneur being in them is another point. Besides, for an enterprise to succeed, sometimes it needs to sacrifice some department, make unpopular decisions, and run it on an iron hand if necessary.

The Philippines being the larger enterprise, so to speak, with a diverse sector of society each wanting to be given a fair share of the pie, will take a lot of political will to be able to run it like an enterprise. With the current crop of presidentiables and wannabe’s already starting to position themselves, political will is hardly a character displayed - a sorry deficit in most of them.

That for me is the main requirement for our next president. Anybody can have many credentials… and anyone can be an entrepreneur, yes even, a social entrepreneur. But not everybody can have enough courage to go against what is popular or is willing to forego personal status to implement what is necessary.

Doing what is necessary may be different from doing what is right on the basis of its being popular – and so, political will, more than a social entrepreneur, is the leadership quality I want on the next president. While economic know-how is a plus factor, the best quality of the next president is his/her character which is best exemplified in the so-called political will.

Let's start scrutinizing the personalities and track record of the presidentiables so we will know whom to vote for come 2010. For a guide, they are, in no particular order: Mar Roxas (LP), Manny Villar (NP), Noli de Castro (Lakas-KAMPI), Ping Lacson (Ind.), Jejomar Binay (?). I hope they are not the same birds trying to show different feathers; i hope they are not the same dogs trying to wear different collars!