With the campaign for the presidential elections entering the home stretch during it’s final weeks, I suddenly found myself wondering, “what if I were to be elected president of the Philippines?”  It never dawned on me to enter the dirty world of politics (but with what’s going on in this world, nothing is ever a certainty) since I’d rather be on the other side, the one criticizing elected officials.  But as I was watching a banter between two political parties this morning about a psychiatric condition of one of the candidates on a local morning show, the host quoted an article on the constitution the qualifications of being a president of our country and pointed out that there is no provision stating the proper mental and psychological health of the candidate.

 

That’s when the lightbulb at the top of my head began to light up.  Don’t get me wrong, I’ve had my own little share of politics, though not on the same grander scale as, let’s say our own town, but of a little known youth organization here in our area.  I was a founding member of our organization and elected as the very first vice-president.  I served for a year, mainly coordinating with the SK chairperson on projects benefiting our immediate area, and then was elected as president the following year in what was to be the final three years of the youth organization under my leadership since there was no one who wanted to take up the succeeding duties and responsibilities, and eventually, the organization died a natural death with then most of us officers moving on to bigger things (junior and senior college, and ultimately, as professionals).  Fast forward to recent years, I have been a Team Leader, an Assistant Manager, and a Manager, so executive duties–which are almost the same as how Mayors and other local and national posts are being run–are not new to me.

 

With that being said, let me just play around with my ideas and imagination using experience, the current problems of our country, and with being on the other side of the political fence on how maybe I, if I’m elected president, would run the country.  Who knows, maybe these ideas can be of use in the new presidency, God willing that any of the presidential candidates–even the one i’m openly supporting–would stop by and read this.  Mind you, these are what are the first thing(s) I thought about, so I know they’re limited in nature, but this is just for partial fun, so please bear with me.

 

With that in mind, if I were elected president, and assuming that everything is constitutional, I would implement-slash-do-slash-prioritize-take charge of the following:

 

1.  Have a massive reorganization of all cabinet and department heads, police and military brass – we all clamor for change.  And what better way to start than to have all existing heads submit their courtesy resignations, and I, along with a committee of five (one representative each from urban poor, business, catholic church, muslim group, and private sector) would have a selection process to name a new head of every department and government agency.  In this way, there will be no need for appointees to go through the Commission of Appointments which will save us valuable time and resources.

 

2.  Propose to Congress to increase by 200% the yearly budget allocation for these agencies:  Commission on Elections (Comelec), Department of Science and Technology (DOST), Philippine Atmospheric, Geophysical and Astronomical Services Administration (PAGASA), Department of Health (DOH), National Disaster Coordinating Council (NDCC), Philippine Institute of Volcanology and Seismology (Philvocs) – Let’s face it.  These agencies are some of the least that are given adequate attention to.  And these are the agencies that are part of the most important agencies in our country consisting of islands sitting on the Pacific Rim of Fire, and are being battered by almost 20 typhoons each year.  And yet year after year, we go through devastating calamities without much improvement on how we can be better prepared for such.  Equipment, personnel, and research are much needed for them to do their function(s) accurately and properly.  As for the Comelec, the main reason for their inclusion on this list is to finally have the resources to improve the next elections, which will be in three years time for the local posts.

 

3.  Initiate a much more solid partnership between the business sector, the Department of Education and Commission on Higher Education – Why?  First and foremost, education in the Philippines is fast falling behind with our counterparts in Asia.  And the main reason?  Budget.  Teachers are underpaid, students can’t afford to go to school, school facilities are outdated.  With this partnership, the business sector can set a percentage of it’s profits to fund public and/or private schools to increase teachers’ salary, provide scholarships, and upgrade school facilities starting from Elementary all the way up to College or even Graduate Schools.  In return, students of these schools, once they graduate, can start working for the company-sponsor right away, almost eliminating the need to go job hunting and significantly reduce graduate unemployment.

 

4.  Give an ultimatum to all rebel groups to come forward to the negotiating table to talk about lasting peace, or otherwise be eradicated – This, I believe is the only solution to the problem of insurgency in our country.  While I’m all for peace, especially in Mindanao, I’m also someone who believes in the common good.  I would give time–say around six months–for all self-proclaimed rebel groups in the country to formulate their stand on certain issues, then we’ll hold high-level talks (out of the country if necessary).  If an agreement for lasting peace is reached, well and good.  If not, I won’t hesitate to use the entire Armed Forces of the Philippines, and espcially not hesitate to seek help from countries that are our allies to help crush these rebel groups for good.

 

5.  Initiate a wide-scale infrastructure, agricultural, and tourism program to help create jobs – Modernizing rural areas by way of a construction boom of resorts, vacation spots, food basins, housing and development would help our chain of islands become closer to one another.  Partnering the Department of Public Works and Highways (DPWH) with the Department of Tourism (DOT), foreign investors, the local business community, this would definitely ensure job creation with more than adequate compensation.  Once constructions are done, more jobs will be generated by the influx of commerce and tourism.

 

6.  Open the country to foreign media investments – ABS-CBN and GM
A, especially their current affairs divisions, often brag about being world-class.  Let them prove what they say when I ask foreign media outlets like CNN, BBC, Reuters to have their own branches here.  Singapore has them, Japan has them, China has them, so why can’t we?  Not just additional creation of jobs will be made, but the creativity, competitiveness, and homegrown talent will further be boosted and worldwide recognition will be up for grabs.

 

7.  Finally create a real separation of church and state – This probably will be the most controversial.  I have long been critical of the Catholic Church meddling with affairs of state, but this should stop here and now.  The church’s job is to preach, evangelize and promote faith.  Period.  They shouldn’t be interfering with what the state or government believes what’s needed to implement programs for the benefit of the common good, i.e., health programs, scientific research, etc.  The church doesn’t run the country, the government does.  The government won’t interfere with the church’s job of preaching, and they shouldn’t do the same with the government’s programs.  I’ll throw in a prosecution clause if I have to.

 

8.  Appoint the Vice-President as the head of the Bureau of Customs and Bureau of Internal Revenue and have him/her streamline the operations – These two agencies will be the source of most of the government’s funds for the various projects i’ll be implementing, so having the VP head them and do whatever it takes to fix them will ensure smooth flow of government funds and eradicate corruption.  In this way, no new taxes will be imposed, collection will be monitored strictly, and if needed, useless taxes will be removed.

 

Geesh, that was quite a load.  But that’s just what are at the top of my head.  I still have other ideas that are worthy of this space, like government form shifting, political party and dynasty limits, but to be honest, just thinking of running the country with the vast amount of problems we have makes me realize that the presidency is really, really, and I do mean really, a huge responsibility.  Makes me also wonder why so many are vying for it.  In any case, as I end this entry, let me just say that as voters, we really have to think long and hard as to who we believe is the right person to lead the country through the next six years.  Though i’m openly supporting one tandem candidate in particular, my space as to why I support him will be forthcoming.  But for now, I am urging everyone to please take time to review each candidate.  Who knows, maybe you and I have similar things as to what I’ve enumerated above.  What’s important is that our vote–our sacred vote–will be for the one who you truly believe would be the best for the Philippines.