I had a distinct opportunity to an evening party with Sen. Manny Villar and many Filipino-Chinese business leaders last night, at the house of mining mogul Gerry Angping. Villar makes sense when he said what we need now is a proven and tested business CEO like him. Unfortunately, something is still lacking in him - the capacity to fire up or inspire his audience. True enough, he is replete with credentials and qualifications, probably the best in the current presidential aspirants, but he needs to work hard on his image, albeit trapo and bland. Well his ads "AKALA MO" are working for him. But he needs to complement that with stage presence. But the best thing I had last night was he gave me a reason to really think about 2010. Fortunately I was seated right in front of him when he spoke, so I was closed enough to really "scrutinize" him, hehehe.
For example, he was very business-like when asked if he could guarantee to enrich the Philippines just like what he did to himself, literally rising from rags to riches. His answer was that “the probability is very high” compared to the other candidates. Given his track record as a no-nonsense CEO, he has the expertise he can bank on. Plus the fact that he has been “elected by peers” as their leader, citing his being House Speaker and Senate President, stressing the importance of peer respect for a president.
His platform of good governance is also practical and seemingly doable compared to the motherhood statements of many other aspirants. But Villar is still dogged by mistrust, owing to his being an astute businessman. He needs to work on that, too.
Friday, September 18, 2009
Sunday, September 13, 2009
The Noynoy Aquino phenomena
I am not the type of a political supporter who would carelessly announce my choice of a candidate. But in my Facebook account, I readily said “Let's just go for Noynoy... it's the imperative of the times....a new breed of leadership - inspirational, free from corruption and hunger for power.”
Of course, I meant it, and would stand by it unless I proved myself wrong!
Immediately, there are reactions from friends, mostly favorable. Elsewhere, I see a lot of various reactions on Noynoy’s candidacy. One bishop even warned against “joining the bandwagon.”
Another senator slammed Noynoy’s camp for using the term “good versus evil” in the coming elections. Of course, it was not Noynoy who said that, but Mar Roxas, the sometimes tactless scion of political ritzy families of Araneta and Roxas (remember his public expletives, which I supported as understandable in my other blogs).
Some sociologists try to explain the euphoria over Noynoy as some sort of political romanticism, which according to them does not have a long shelf life, meaning it could fizzle out over a period of time.
Be that as it may, I still believe that the reason for this “euphoria” is very simple. It is not a battle between Gloria and Noynoy, neither is it a battle between good or evil, I must agree. But it is a battle to win the trust of our people back. To win our people’s confidence in governance, so badly tarnished by Marcos, Erap and Gloria.
Talk to any ordinary Filipino and most likely, you will hear sadness and hopelessness. That we have become too wary of politicians, for even the incumbent, who has a PhD in Economics has only given us the most disappointing leadership of all time.
So when Noynoy, a personification of Ninoy and Cory, has announced that he is willing to take the lead, we have become euphoric. So he must live up to our expectations. Otherwise, we are a lost people.
Sadly, no politician in this generation can match Noynoy’s credibility (at least for the moment). He may not possess an impressive track record, but the thing is, we trust him. Why? Because we trust that he would not betray us, that he would not betray his parents’ legacy.
Of course, I meant it, and would stand by it unless I proved myself wrong!
Immediately, there are reactions from friends, mostly favorable. Elsewhere, I see a lot of various reactions on Noynoy’s candidacy. One bishop even warned against “joining the bandwagon.”
Another senator slammed Noynoy’s camp for using the term “good versus evil” in the coming elections. Of course, it was not Noynoy who said that, but Mar Roxas, the sometimes tactless scion of political ritzy families of Araneta and Roxas (remember his public expletives, which I supported as understandable in my other blogs).
Some sociologists try to explain the euphoria over Noynoy as some sort of political romanticism, which according to them does not have a long shelf life, meaning it could fizzle out over a period of time.
Be that as it may, I still believe that the reason for this “euphoria” is very simple. It is not a battle between Gloria and Noynoy, neither is it a battle between good or evil, I must agree. But it is a battle to win the trust of our people back. To win our people’s confidence in governance, so badly tarnished by Marcos, Erap and Gloria.
Talk to any ordinary Filipino and most likely, you will hear sadness and hopelessness. That we have become too wary of politicians, for even the incumbent, who has a PhD in Economics has only given us the most disappointing leadership of all time.
So when Noynoy, a personification of Ninoy and Cory, has announced that he is willing to take the lead, we have become euphoric. So he must live up to our expectations. Otherwise, we are a lost people.
Sadly, no politician in this generation can match Noynoy’s credibility (at least for the moment). He may not possess an impressive track record, but the thing is, we trust him. Why? Because we trust that he would not betray us, that he would not betray his parents’ legacy.
Subscribe to:
Posts (Atom)