State of the Nation speech over a cup of Coffee 28 July

Through the Eyes of a Foreigner

By Andrew Engel

State of the Nation Speech over a Cup of Coffee

Over a cup of coffee, a friend asked me on Tuesday if I thought that President Aquino was a good President.

I replied that I thought he was a good man, but his leadership will be judged by history. 

Change takes time, and often attempts to shift the paradigm are fiercely opposed: by those who see their vested interest challenged, or the simple conservative nature of people.  There is a natural aversion to change aided by the fear it can create.

It is rare, therefore, that a leader forms a legacy while in power.  The struggle is too intense while change is being pursued and it is only in hindsight that the benefits can be seen, the fears having evaporated like the morning mist.

Many political leaders think and talk about the legacy they want to leave behind. It is the political narrative of their goals while in power, the story of what they want to achieve, their vision of the future.  And all leaders need a political narrative.

As a great deal of what President Aquino says is in Tagalog, I am at a disadvantage when assessing his narrative.  I have read a translation of his state of the nation address but it is always better to watch and listen.  So much is conveyed non-verbally, so much is less accurate in a translated tongue.  But, from an outsiders perspective this is the narrative I see.

The Philippines has a relatively young leader who is passionate about his people, seized with the need to improve their lives and focussed on ridding the country of its endemic corruption.  He is not the first President to make such claims, but one senses the sincerity behind the rhetoric.

The central story line is corruption and the hero of the story is the Filipino people. The villains are those who take and rob food out of common people’s mouths. The first chapter sees the battle enjoined, perhaps too successfully.  Five chapters to go, but not a lot on what these may contain, and the characterisations are still a bit thin.

The problem is that this is not a new story.  Until action matches words there will be scepticism.

This is not a speech based in reality.  It is one based on hope; one that seeks a common commitment, one which demonstrates the size and complexity of the job, but ultimately hesitates to confront the big questions head on.

He has chosen to be optimistic in tone, preferring to see the glass as being half full, not half empty.  You would have to be politically naïve to think he is unaware that the job remains largely incomplete, but his vision and hope for improvement beats steadily throughout the speech.

He appears to be that rare thing; an honest politician - in so far as any of us are truly honest.  As a result it is difficult not to like him or believe he means to do his very best for his people.  Trust is a commodity in short supply, and it is priceless.  Once lost, it can never fully be regained. For whatever criticisms made against PNoy, I sense that he has the trust of his people.  When he says and repeats he wants to change things, it is believable.

He is a man who appears to understand that arrogance and greed are human characteristics too common in Philippine society. His own humility is tangible.  He sees the job as not his alone, he calls the people his Boss, and he lauds the work of those who are responding to his call to arms over honest government.

                                                                                *******

Great leaders are a rare commodity. To infrequently in history has the right man or woman come along at the precise moment they are needed.  And their traits vary widely.  Mandela teaches us to forgive ones enemies, Churchill to, “…never, never, never, surrender” and Ghandi believed that we don’t need to spill rivers of blood.

President Aquino has an opportunity to be one of the Philippines great heroes.  He has walked onto the stage at a time when the gap between the Asian tigers and the Philippines has grown so wide that they are almost out of sight. From the lofty heights of Asia’s second best economy in the 1970’s, the Philippines has fallen to the bottom of the pack and all at a time when the “shift” to Asia and the sub-continent gathers pace.

He can set a place at that table that will benefit Filipinos for generations, reversing the slide of the last 30 years.

That is a new story line (if not original). That is a big target I would have liked to see the President put in his sights. To become part of this exciting age of Asia is a narrative full of exhilarating possibilities, and it lifts the heads of Filipinos to the horizon, beyond the mundane.  

And within that vision lay the solutions to most of the internal problems confronting the people of the Philippines including corruption. Achieving the former solves the latter. 

(Let me hasten to say that politics is a tough game.  It is a really tough game in the Philippines and armchair experts are a dime a dozen.) 

The Philippines must be part of the era of Asian prosperity.  It cannot afford to miss this opportunity.  Two particular areas are critical policy considerations if the Philippines is to claim a greater share of the largess available:  action on unsustainable population growth and foreign investment.

Foreign investment is needed to release the potential of the human resource in the Philippines.  Like many countries, the Philippines lack the savings to do this job alone. Australia with its small population depends on foreign investment, and some fear that the country is being sold.  It is a misplaced fear, as it benefits Australia greatly, and never threatens the sovereignty of the nation. Action which promotes greater foreign investment in the Philippines, under rules set by the state, but which give certainty to investors will unleash a powerful wave of change. 

It’s time to get the job done on population growth.  The precise moment has arrived. It should not be allowed to continue unchecked and it needs management. The harm being done to millions is clear for all to see and people support action.  A majority of the Filipinos get it, even if they remain silent in the face of a vocal minority.

The RH bill provides the solution and reducing the birth rate has been a 20 year old policy debate that needs to end.  It is time for the President and all political leaders to step up and make it happen. It is time for the state to assert its power.

This is a legacy act for the President, and no matter how strident and entrenched the opposition, or rather because of it, this single act will ensure his presidency will make its mark in Philippine history, for its benefits, will be profound and wholly positive.