Why can’t we find a good and right leader for our country?
While it’s July 5 now in Manila, it is still July 4 in America and the July 4 fireworks is going to lit up in the skies of America in a few hours. Interestingly, a celebration of independence and more so for America’s founding fathers – the country’s leaders.
Quite honestly, I could not count how many leadership classes, seminars and conferences I have attended. During my business school days, we get bombarded with a lot of leadership talks. The school would invite speakers in different fields from the government sector, the medical field and even executives from Wall Street, which is always what business schools are looking for.
Photo Credits: Filipinos in Cleveland
In all of those leadership seminars and conferences I have attended, I always go back to the very question that is faced and commonly asked by every Filipino. Considering that we are a year away from selecting the new President of the Philippines, how come we could not seem to find the right leader for our country?
Election after election:
We just seem to put value on who is the popular figure. Does popularity equals leadership? Why do people think that popular figures are qualified for government posts? It would seem to me that the electorate is the problem. Would that be a fair assumption?
We, the Filipino electorate, seem too easy to bite on flowery rhetorics. Expectedly, they’d say what we want to hear on the campaign trail and we believe them. Is good campaign rhetorics equals competency? They do sound good to our ears. And so we continue to make wrong choices. Bad basis of decision. It would seem to me the more that the electorate is the problem. I’m not sounding fair no more. Am I starting to blame?
Some of us, seem to be way too shallow with those billboards. I’m talking about what Gloria (the Barrio Siete blogger) is talking about here, or similar billboarded up government projects. One politico comes up one square meter of road project and 12 hectares of billboard announcement and we easily buy that indeed they work for the betterment of our lives. Am I wrong? Am I right? Is the electorate the problem?
Yet we have had quite a number of outstanding leaders. Jose Rizal, Ramon Magsaysay, Ninoy Aquino and a host of other great Pinoy leaders. How come they all disappeared? Well, I’m not talking about literally na na-chugi na sila noh? Is it fair to assume that good governance is blatantly absent in the current landscape? You think?
Or maybe because we are just too timid to act which is why evils are like gremlins that even the kins are just as ugly as the old ones and we let them perpetuate. So is it really us the electorate? For we totally tolerate all these corruption, korak? We say in Bicol, mirisi! “That’s what you get!” Because we deserve what we have, because we don’t seem to care. Do we?
Yet even if we know in the back of our minds that we know the answer, why is it really that we seem to have a hard time finding a good leader for our country?
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Kasalanan talaga ng majority kasi THEY voted for the wrong person. Nadala sa chika, sa pera, at sa dalang artista.
I remember asking our laborers during the last election about their choice of senators and most of them cannot produce a decent answer.
I think people needs to be informed more for them to make better choices next time.
If we want them to choose the right ones, I think the ‘thinking voters’ should help them get informed too.
yun nga din ang isinisigaw namin ni teacher silver na dapat aral at informed ang boboto lalo na ang karaniwang Juan.
aywan ko dung bakit ang tao walang satisfaction at reklamo ng reklamo e kapag tinanong mo kung anu nirereklamo e di naman alam
naalala ko tuloy yung tungkol sa tax ata. may mga rallies about it pero yung mga nagrarally ay hindi naman sila yung profession na yun meaning hindi sila sakop ng tax na yun pero sila ang nagrereklamo about it. e bakit ba sila nagrereklamo e di naman sila kasali?? e paano sila yung binayaran.
nakakagago na minsan talaga.
naku, dencios, yang kakulangan ng information ng karaniwang juan, yan para sa akin ay failure of mass media. masyado kasing commercial ang interests ng radio and television, so sa halip na ma-inform at ma-educate ang taongbayan tungkol sa mga isyu e puro tsismis at entertainment ang inaatupag, para bang dinidistract na lang ang taongbayan…
angela,
maganda ang sinabi mo ki dencio! during election, puro artista ang harbat and if you’ve noticed that last few months, puro mga “hindi raw electioneering videos” yong mga nakikita naten rather “mother teresa epek” nang mga leche.
as far as mass media pesoses lang naman ang mga habol nang mga yan so they’re more interested sa kaban nila instead of educating the masses – and we always see them rally FOR the people pagdating nang election just like the recent headline nang mga CEOs and bigwigs of Manila companies para daw echebureche blah blah blah and i bet you, wala rin to.
educating the masses on election does not start during the election. it’s a process. and it certainly won’t work trhu broadcasting sa mismong araw nang pagboto.
ganun na ganun den sa barrio namen. ang hirap nang information. kahit na nga dito lang sa antipolo sa may lugar namen, ang basis nang opinion kung sinong me pakain. litsi.
Sang ayon ako kay Mel. I think voters need to be educated further on who to vote for. Challenge dito eh kung sino at papaano. Alam naman natin na majority ng voters natin ay yung mga kayang kayang bolahin ng mga pulitiko.
Ayaw mangyari ng mga politiko na maging intelligent and majority ng voters.
hik! lasheng na si ako… di ako makapag post ng sagot. bukas na lang sheguro. hik! hik!..
mukhang hindi ito yung pinupuntahan kong blog a, bat ganito iba na itsura
mars, masasanay ka rin sa mga kalye namen hehehe
sang-ayon ako sayo kapatid na dencios..at madalas yung mga kasapi sa rally kunwari nakikisigaw pero hindi naman nalalaman kung ano ang ipinaglalaban.. yun pala nabayaran para lamang sumama, dagdag bilang sa pangkat ng mga ralista…
@jeri
kampayyyy!
2005, ilang beses kung nakitang me mga nag-ra-rally sa morayta, espana patungong recto and all the time, pag me pulis ang mga nasa harap – BATA! nag-tanong ako, para daw di sila lusubin nang mga pulis. HUH?! and then tanungin mo yong mga kasama sa rally, mga tiga squatters. meron daw silang allowance. grrr! an tawa namen nun! i’m not against rally kaya lang kelangan, like you all say, alam nang mga ralista ang issue nila.
Dencios at Jeri,
Yan ang reality ng political rallies. Yung iba dyan e nakikisigaw lang, yung iba e para lang makakita ng politiko at artista, yung iba e bandwagoners lang pero over-all, wala naman silang totoong alam sa issue na nirarally nila.
Tama ang sinabi ni Cat dati na there are different types of people joining the rallies. Sad to know that most of the time,yung iba dyan e palabok o palamuti lang para magkaroon ng maraming numbers sa pagrarally. Or mga spectators or miron lang.
Hate to say this, but perhaps the true rally that this country had witnessed is the EDSA 1 rally – where there is a consensus and general awareness among the people to make a gathering there and take a stand. All of them know what is happening and all of them e talagang may pake sa issue.
there’s this group of bigwigs nang mga companies in the Philippines who banded together kaso they are focused naman on reporting and i don’t know kung gano ang impact nun to educate voters. ang problema kung gusto namang mag-pa educate nang mga botante dahil hawak naman na sa leeg masyado ang mga botante. i guess yan ang reason ba’t hindi sino-solve ang poverty.
karamihan naman sa mga sumasama sa ralista ay nagpapagamit lang sa mga pulitiko, hindi ko naman nilalahat..napipilitan sumama dahil nga may bayad, hinahakot sa isang lugar, nakumbinsi at sumama naman ang mga kolokoy kapalit ang kakatiting na pera at libreng pagkain…
ayun! para silang isinalang sa apoy.. sila ngayon ang nakikipag bunuan sa mga pulis na pilit binubuwag ang kanilang pangkat.. pinapalo ng batuta, binobombahan ng tubig.. mabuti hindi yung kay “malabanan” ang ginamit kundi nangamoy silang inidoro.
good question, reynz. i think we have to go to the root of the problem. it’s not just because the majority keep voting for the wrong people. it’s because the self-proclaimed leaders who run for elections are really quite mababaw about what they want for the country. mga walang vision at walang platform na naiiba sa platform ni gma ngayon at nina erap, fvr, at cory noon, na sakay na sakay full blast sa globalization at free trade kahit hindi ito angkop sa isang third world economy like ours. basket case of asia tuloy ang bagsak natin.
sa akin, ang solusyon will have to come from the youth talaga, but they, you guys and girls, have to do your homework, figure out what’s wrong and what’s right with our economic and foreign policies, and come up with an alternative program of government with a highly filipino bias, hindi yung bow na lang nang bow sa foreign demands, bahala na lang ang national interests. and then find leaders who will fight the good fight. the internet, used smartly, can be a great help in doing the research and coming to a consensus na hindi basta basta ma-i-ignore ng mga pulitiko.
my two cents’ worth, ika nga…
hi angela,
while reading your dos sentimos, i am reminded of globalization and pinoys propensity to ride the wave, yon ang uso eh and then our politikos make gaya like we have the same mentality like those in the west, like we have all the instrumentalities like those in the west. i’m not totally against globalization, nag contribute den sya with employment but there are things na dapat suriin nang mabuti instead of jumping fast. then again, sabi nga nang world bank, me mga posyento ang iba. i was looking more for some sort of cost-benefit, kaso it’s always cost sa mga tiga-barrio benefit sa foreign germs at pulitiko. na-alala ko tuloy ang mina sa rapu-rapu na sobrang problematic.
mizmo, reynz. ang problema pa, kahit meron diyang mga pulitikong merong good ideas about how to change the system, or kahit man lang to level the playing field, takot naman silang magsalita o mag-offer ng alternative platforms dahil tiyak titirahin at lalaitlaitin sila ng powers-that-be who of course dont want any changes to the status quo na nagpapayaman sa kanila, never mind the masses of poor people na wala na lang talagang pag-asang umasenso dahil yung supposed trickle-down effect ay hindi naman nangyayari.
i honestly believe na these highly credentialed pulitikos can solve poverty and/or start na bawasan and hirap sa pinas. what i don’t understand is that – tipong binigay na nila ang responsibility sa mga NGO’s and if you think about it, pag dating nang eleksyon, you’d see all of them like one of them, eat like them, think like them, make damet like them as if one one and the same sila and after the election, squatters will be squatters, balik sila sa porsyento. until such time that greed is eradicated in the minds of our pulitikos, selection by electorate will always be based on temporary lunas nang gutom or panandaliang kasiyahan
Angela,
Tama ka dun sa paggawa ng homework ng youth. Ika nga, hindi lang aasa sa conventional statements of a particular case chorva, but the youth should come out of the box and get to know more facts out there.
Kumbaga, wag magpasulsul sa iba dyan. Matutong alamin ang dapat alamin.
hi silver, swak na swak, wag magpasulsul, hindi porke’t sikat na pulitiko o public figure e dapat o puwedeng paniwalaan basta basta. politicians will say anything, promise anything, to get elected. tapos, wala na. nilalamon na ng sistema.
true! true! we’ve seen a lot of them! mula pa nung 1986 na tipong new blood coming in! new politicians – will clean the government chorva – nilinis nga gobyerno! nilimas pa! and most of them started out with all the right morals that ended up morphing into the system! mapapahiya si satanas
Maybe, just maybe we are at fault too. No, not you and me lang, kaloka yun ha, yung buong sambayananang Pilipino I mean. Collectively as a people and as a nation. We were brought up na ang nasa isip natin eh (buklant ng libro sa sibika at kultura at araling panlipunan) naging “under tayo ng Spain, ng Japs, ng Amerikano at kung sino sino pa in between… Kaya tuloy nawala ang tunay na identity natin. Lahat tayo kapag tinatanong, anong lahi mo? Sagot natin, half German- half shepherd, este, Half Chinese, half this half that, puro half. We don’t own it to ourselves na I am a Filipino. We are so proud when we say Mistiza kami, lahing Espanyol. Seldom do we hear people who say, Pilipino ako, 100% Pure blood.
We have to know who we really are, then what we, as a nation, as Filipinos want to BE. I think that’s a good start. And work hard to acheive that point kung ano ang gusto natin maging.
Just a thought.
hey monique, hold that thought! totoo ka, if there’s anywhere to begin, it’s with the usapin of “filipino identity”. kahit nuong nasa college pa ko, back in the late 60s pinaguusapan na iyan. agree ang academe na to get anywhere as a nation, first we have to know ourselves, our profile as a people, kilalanin natin ang sarili natin, or else how can we have a sense of what we are truly capable of as a nation?
i think ang naging problema noon was, sa mga survey nila most pinoys were at that stage nga na feeling half-this half-that, mental colony, ehek, colonial mentality pa rin… pero pero pero iba na ngayon, i would like to think a lot of that has changed, or is changing, slowly but surely. sinimulan ni ate guy, naging superstar kahit kulay indio, kulay pinoy, you don’t have to be maputi to be gifted and to become sikat…
and lately of course is the ofw influence, all the travelling and living in different cultures and climes i think has awakened in ofw’s a real sense, even if largely unarticulated, of the pinoy essence. what makes us different, how are we different from americans, saudi arabians, europeans, japanese, chinese… we have a new appreciation of pinoy strengths, and weaknesses, temperament, how our minds work, how maabilidad we can get, how sipag we can be and how tamad, how faithful and unfaithful…
but besides that of course we also have to know our history in some depth so we can understand our politics and why we have ended up a poor nation, deeply indebted to foreign powers, and why our doctors and nurses leave us, but the lawyers stay…
may nagsabi na sakin one time na it takes more than serving the country (na napakalawak ng sakop ng salitang serving) para daw matulungan ang sariling bayan but the thing is anu pa ba ang dapat na isakripisyo ng bawat isa sa atin?
anu pa ba ang dapat isakripisyo ng mga OFW/Domestic Helpers na nakakatulong ng malaki sa pinas thru remitances?
anu pa ba ang dapat isakripisyo ng mga Pinoy na tumatangkilik sa ating mga produkto tulad ng mga tshirt, bags etc.?
anu pa ba ang dapat isakripisyo ng mga guro, doktor, atbp na hindi umaalis ng bansa para makatulong tlaga sa ekonomiya, gayun din ang mga NGO’s na tumatawid pa ng bundok at ilog para makapagbigay service sa ating mga kababayan na malayo sa kabihasnan?
hanggang saan ba ang self sacrifice natin dapat talaga?
sabi nga ni mam monique:
We have to know who we really are, then what we, as a nation, as Filipinos want to BE. I think that’s a good start. And work hard to acheive that point kung ano ang gusto natin maging.
mag donate tayo ng mga camera para sa palasyo at mga camera na susunod sa mga politiko 24/7 walang cut, para makilalang mabuti, hanggang sa manalo,
tutal nagpapasikat para maging pulitiko at nagpulitiko para sumikat edi lubusin na!
peace.
tama, karamihan sa sagot sang ayon ako—
lets educate the people— nyahahaha
SHUT-UP lee, ikaw ang unang dapat ieducate (sabi ng konsensya ko)
tama, masyado ang mga commercials, papogi points, pangakong napako, yung iba nating kababayan sa sobrang pagka despirado hala kapit nalang dimo din minsan masisi, yung iba lalo na sa mga suluk sulok ng mga barrio, mabola ng konti ok na.
wala e, wala akong matandaang binoto ko na nanalo hahaha.
hala ilabas nalang ang gordon dyan, si danding ang pagtagayin—
kampay!
I have two comments;
1. You failed to mention the most important thing as reason, the kumpare, kamag anak system. Ang pagkakampi kampi at pagbabatuhan ng mga putik kahit wala na sa lugar. Dahil kamag anak o kapartido iboboto kahit hindi maliwanag kung ano ang paninidigan sa bayan at kakayanan mamuno.
2.It is a good journalism ethic that when you highlight problem it is imperative for the writer to always suggest a solution to guide the reader on the right thing to do.
thank you.