Just when I thought I knew all the answers, Charlie Brown once quipped, they changed the question. After the series of SWS and Pulse Asia surveys have pointed to a predominant answer to the question as to who we will elect as the next President, a new question has emerged: Will there be credible elections on May 10?
Only the ineptitude of the Commission on Elections and its technology partner, Smartmatic, stands in the way of an imminent victory for Benigno ‘Noynoy’ Aquino III as the country’s next President.
In many respects, this has been a very unusual election season. We need to learn from the lessons we have gathered along the way so we may discern our priorities for moving on beyond May 10.
First, we can only rely on ourselves --- on the collective will of an enlightened citizenry --- to bring about real change. The death of former President Corazon Aquino evoked in our national psyche’ a deep yearning for a return to decency and integrity in government. This turned into a groundswell, an unprecedented clamor for her only son to take on the leadership of a people’s campaign.
Second, an election cannot be won on sheer preponderance of money and machinery. Our people are intelligent. They will not be deceived by puffery and fakery. They are willing to rally behind an honest, trustworthy and credible leader. In the end, truth and goodness still matter.
Third, we need to build stronger institutions for our democracy to flourish and for our government to succeed in fostering sustainable long-term growth for our people. Corruption thrives when the institutions tasked with enforcing accountability are weak. Institution-building begins with the quality of public officials that we elect, or are appointed to high office.
Contrary to her vow to establish a “strong Republic”, President Arroyo succeeded in undermining and weakening key government institutions by making these channels for patronage and corruption.
Recall the sensational scandals that rocked the country during her watch: ‘Hello Garci’, fertilizer scam, ZTE-NBN broadband deal. ‘Hello Garci’ underlines the weakness of the Comelec as the guardian and enforcer of credible elections. The quality of appointees to this constitutional body has been consistently below-par; how then can we expect superior performance? An integrated agricultural modernization program was undermined by the “downloading” of funds for fertilizer and other farm inputs to congressmen and local officials. The ZTE-NBN broadband deal began as a turnkey project and ended up as an overpriced loan agreement that had to be scuttled when Jun Lozada blew the whistle.
In her book, Economics of Integrity, Anna Bernasek cited the well-known Toyota practice of allowing first-line assembly workers to literally “blow the whistle”; they are authorized to push a button that will stop the entire assembly line when they notice a flaw or defect in the process.
Respect for people and belief in continuous improvement underpin this enduring philosophy of Toyota’s ascendancy to being the number one automaker in the world.
Beyond May 10, the volunteers who worked hard to elect a new President need to rededicate themselves to the task of rebuilding the nation. We need to make our elected leaders accountable. Public office is a public trust.
From a people’s campaign, we need to establish a people’s watch, a system of continuing surveillance and monitoring of government transactions. We may even need to institutionalize a system of whistle blowing.
I recall that in the early post-EDSA era, civil society groups fielded groups of volunteer students and young professionals to act as “mystery shoppers” or auditors while conducting real-world transactions with frontline agencies such as the LTO (for drivers’ license issuance and renewal and vehicle registration), post office (for mail), and city hall (for payment of realty taxes). They spotted opportunities for improving service and recognized the outstanding performers.
This is the kind of citizen vigilance that will bring about good governance. There is need to recognize and reward good performance. The overwhelming majority of government employees are dedicated and hard working. It is those who are vultures and opportunists that are appointed to high positions who make a “career” out of government service. Translation: they treat government office as a virtual milking cow for enriching themselves.
There was a short-lived campaign to conduct a “lifestyle check” among BIR and customs officials and some of those caught living beyond their means were reportedly prosecuted. But there are many more high-level and more powerful officials and political figures that continue to raid the public coffers with impunity.
And that is because the highest leader has spawned corruption and decadence in such proportions that have earned her this famous remark from a former President’s daughter: “You’re just a trying-hard, second-rate copycat of my father.”
Happily, we are looking at the prospect of a President who is a carrier of a legacy of honesty and integrity. His character has been forged in the anvil of struggle for nearly four decades: from his father’s arrest when he was only 12 years old to his emergence as a President-in-waiting at age 50.
In a Noynoy Aquino presidency, Filipinos can reasonably expect a no-nonsense, transparent and citizen-friendly government.
I caught a glimpse of how he relates with ordinary citizens last February 3, the last day of Congress’ regular session, when I was part of a staff that assisted in organizing a press conference for him at the Senate pressroom. He was running late for the start of the conference when a man in barong approached him and said, “Senator, you and your father have always been advocates of….”, as he pleaded his own case.
Noynoy Aquino listened to him intently, even as reporters were jostling to come nearer him and some of his handlers were getting impatient in getting him to start the press conference. This interface lasted for almost 10 minutes. Not once did he brush aside the man in front of him. He spoke to him calmly and softly, then gently begged to be excused.
I thought that this encounter spoke volumes about the qualities of the man who would be President. He has come into his own, purposefully learning the ropes and gaining maturity in the crucible of a difficult, uphill campaign.
By the way, that was also the day on which he learned that, according to Pulse Asia, his erstwhile formidable lead had shrunk to a statistical tie with his closest rival. He maintained his calm and exhibited equanimity and serenity. Two months later, he stood at the threshold of being President of the Philippines.
Readers are invited to visit sonnycoloma.blogspot.com or send their comments to sonnycoloma@gmail.com
