Starting 2011 right: It’s a 25/8 job

Last of Two Parts

MANILA, Philippines – The harsh realities of our tangled Philippine situation are starting to become more starkly pronounced, and with greater urgency for their resolution is emerging in the corridors of public opinion. Elected leaders — numero uno of whom is, inescapably, the President of the Republic — are expected by concerned citizens to perform their constitutional duties without fear or favor.

There should be no respite, neither timeouts, holidays, diversions, nor derailments for our leaders — it is a 25/8 job that is much more than multimedia’s 24/7 commitment. For those of you who are the “select elect”: remember, you longed for it, you campaigned for it, you got it. Now you all have to work at it! Hence, the above title.

Vital public opinion

Recent lead stories and opinion columns indicate serious long-standing/recurring problems upon which the national leadership must focus. Here’s a sampling:

Is Government on Auto-Pilot?

The President – A Reformer in No Hurry.

Showbiz Government.

Germany Wants NAIA 3 Row Settled.

CHR Condemns Reports of Police Brutality.

Palace May Issue New EO on Truth Body.

In Foreign Relations, Expect More of Same Incompetence.

Hostage Crisis Strains Philippine-China Relations.

Images of 2010: From Massacre to Massacre. (Maguindanao to Vizconde)

AFP Chief of Staff: No To Garcia Plea Bargain.

Booming: Philippine Population.

Trade Gap To Widen.

AFP-NPA: Costly, Senseless War.

Impromptu Vacations Vex Filipinos.

Two Koreas Still Talking Tough.

Witness: Andal Jr. Shot 40 Victims.

Crisis Over AFP, PNP Pension Fund. Etc. and “Hot, Flat and Crowded” (Thomas Friedman’s bestseller about our dangerously unstable planet).

In our Manila Bulletin columns “UnSolicited Advice” (17 May 2009) and “From the Highwire” (24 May 2009), we described the unique, sensitive, and demanding role Philippine Presidents must perform at a 25/8 pace which can be comprehensively explained only by someone similarly honored with the responsibility of leading, safeguarding, and uplifting the quality of our noble Republic and its millions (specially younger generations). FVR offered this humble UnSolicited Advice:

‘The President as Juggler’

“Almost every day, the President is like a juggler, balancing in the air and keeping aloft at least ten balls, which are national problems (‘hot potatoes’). But, as Chief Executive/AFP-PNP Commander-in-Chief, she/he must perform with greater agility and skill than ordinary circus-jugglers whose feet are on the ground.

“No, the Pangulo must juggle the sizzling potatoes while on a highwire 100 meters up, handling, catching, and managing the balls in a calm, harmonious manner — and not drop any in the process. More importantly, the President must never fall off from panic or lack of coordination/focus — because the whole nation will also crash.

“During crisis situations, the President – while still on the highwire — may be riding a bicycle, while still balancing and focusing on the critical issues which may increase because of outside forces. That’s how difficult and complex it is in the hotseat or pressure cooker called Malacañang.“

‘The Highwire of the Presidency’

“The ‘highwire’ is a hazardous process of six years of leadership and governance representing our people’s aspirations for a better life and the nation’s highest interests. Its starting point is at the turnover of the ‘legacy’ from the outgoing to the incoming President, and the finishline (which always ends higher in elevation) at end of the term.

“Why the upward climb for the nation’s leader from start to finish on a highwire — while simultaneously juggling/balancing ‘hot potatoes’? Because the Filipino masses want a brighter future for themselves and our country, and because that’s what truly counts: socio-economic-security guarantees on the ground, where poverty and deprivation persist.

“The problems crying for resolution are poverty, security, health, food, education, joblessness, housing, environment, justice, dignity, etc.”

Aquino’s first two hundred days

By mid-January, 2011, President Aquino completes his first 200 days. Not much positive has happened during that extended honeymoon except the timely enactment of the National Budget. This, however, will need to be executed carefully throughout the year for it to be useful for poverty alleviation, enduring peace and sustainable development.

P-Noy has yet to craft strategic programs or long-range shifts in policy — to be initiated now because of their multi-year gestation.

This Sunday, we are compelled to repeat our simple 2011 New Year’s Day message: “Perform, Reform, and Transform,” in the Manila Bulletin. This consists of just 12 punchy sentences of only 127 words which could become the daily code of conduct for officials and everyday Filipinos – absolutely essential because the target outcome is the nation’s transformation, thus:

“H – ear out others and listen carefully.

A – ct sooner than later.

P – ut first things first.

P – rosper thy neighbors.

Y – earn for a brighter future.

N – egate corruption and greed.

E – xemplify best practices.

W – aste nothing that can be recycled and reused.

Y – ield results not promises.

E – nhance the environment.

A – ttain quality, not quantity, of population.

R – educe absolute poverty.”

There being no quick fix for our country’s ills in the face of major lapses or controversies, principally with the Judiciary, Congress and international bodies (notably the Mindanao peace process, Truth Commission, Rebel Soldiers’ Amnesty, AFP vs. NPA, Balay vs. Samar, Reproductive Health/Population Development, Freedom of Information, Hacienda Luisita, Dacer-Corbito Case, Maguindanao Massacre, etc.), national planning should target long-term political stability.

Being the cornerstones of development that sustains itself, our socio-economic-security fundamentals must incorporate the control of corruption and the conclusion of honorable peace with Communist insurgents and Muslim separatists.

Education and poverty: Focusing on the poorest

Our poorest households are those whose heads have minimal education. Since the intimate correlation between the lack of schooling and poverty is irrefutable, ensuring that no child is left out of school should be a key objective of anti-poverty programs.

Right now, our school dropout rates are among East Asia’s highest. The Philippines is also the only Asian country with a 10-year basic education system — and one of only three worldwide.

Although our country is classified as “middle-income,” here income inequity is much higher than our neighbors’ because we have more of “dollar-a-day” people than others. In East Asia, only Laos and Cambodia have proportionally more “absolutely poor” people than we.

In UN terms, poverty reflects both capability deprivation and social exclusion, meaning the “lack of choices and opportunities — in education, health and command of resources.”

NEDA/PIDS researches show that of every 100 Filipinos, 33 live below the “poverty line,” referring to the minimum income that individuals need to meet basic food, health, clothing, and shelter requirements “to live decently in the Philippines.”

Of these 33 impoverished Filipinos, 20 are “relatively poor.” They simply lack the means to conform to living standards that the rest of us can afford.

Relative poverty typically falls or rises with GDP trends. As growth quickens, the jobless (relatively) poor get hired; the self-employed poor find customers.

Hunger and the “absolutely poor”

It is the 13 “absolutely poor” Filipinos that constitute our core poverty problem. They are practically unaffected by boom-bust cycles.

SWS reports increasing episodes of hunger among Filipinos. These have multiplied four times in six years: 5% in 2003 to 20% in 2009. And, they reflect the increasing desperation of the poorest Filipinos. For the “absolutely poor,” periods of economic boom merely mean being left farther behind — because they are unable to enter jobs that growth opens up.

UP economist Arsenio Balisacan reveals that even State provision of physical infrastructure (roads/schools) will benefit the poor only if they have developed the capacity sufficient to take advantage thereof.

State intervention has traditionally favored the well-endowed regions. Government must again practice positive discrimination in favor of ethnic minorities and the poorest communities/sectors — not just Tarlac, Pampanga, and Metro Manila.

Affirmative action for the future

In sum, P.Noy must do more than overcome the politics of patronage or “barkada,” but exert a great deal more of affirmative action for the empowerment of ordinary Filipinos.

He must pursue national goals that harness our people’s patriotic and self-sacrificing spirit exemplified at Kawit in 1898, Bataan/Corregidor in 1942, and EDSA in 1986. He must mobilize Filipinos to work for an overarching national purpose — the vision of a better, inclusive future — a goal we all can work together to attain.

In this, our imperfect democracy could be an advantage – because we are more advanced than others in one component of modernization — that of freedom. History has proven Filipino values to be antagonistic to dictatorship and injustice.

While freedom by itself does not bring about progress, it does provide the durable foundation for the good society we envision for ourselves and our posterity.

So, let’s go, go, go – and get things done!!! This Year of the Rabbit follows the Year of the Tiger.

Please send any comments to fvr@rpdev.org. Copies of articles are available at www.rpdev.org. –Former Philippine President Fidel V. Ramos