P-Noy’s first 30 days
Editorial
Soon-to-be immediate past president
of the Philippines Gloria Macapagal-Arroyo will be remembered as the
2nd woman president who was dealt with some pretty tough issues and
handled them head-on, and didn’t shy away from them. Almost
singlehandedly, she helped the country protect itself and, at the same
time, was unabashed in spreading certain values to others, the main one
being liberty for all.
It is very interesting to note that despite the negative things that were thrown at her during her nine years of administration, there were also good and positive things that can be attributed to her strong leadership that many critics and particularly the Philippine media try to ignore up to this point in time.
Visit the Philippines, and notice the modern infrastructure (highways and byways) and the impressive skyline. Most remarkable are the highway system and the mass transit, the school system that handles 23-million students even with the growing uncontrolled population, the irrigation system, the telecommunication, and most of all its strong economy (showing bullish trend that’s happening in the worst global economic downturn in history). Can any other president handle this country’s environment any better?
VIA Times salutes Madame PGMA for being a savvy master strategist who knows how to play the game, to have the stubbornness and perseverance to do what she wanted and played the game of the broken political party system and fragmented opposition. One of her admirable skills was playing one sector against the other--being endangered by some and saved by others. Her talent in political managememt was relentless, despite unfounded allegations directed at her.
What will remain with the Filipino people is the regret that she could have done better for the country if she hadn’t been saddled by all those allegations of corruption. Remember these are allegations, but not convictions.
Next time you sit around with family and friends, and you feel yourself to be the target of scorn, ask the following questions......
- How does the President of the Philippines really matter? Most Filipinos feel the president affects just about every facet of their lives--that she exerts a more powerful pull than a boss or parents, like maybe everybody is right and I am wrong. But let me suggest a different view on parralelism with CEOs and basketball coaches. Of course, the person on top accrues a great deal of credit or blame for his organization’s overall performance, but there’s a good reason to think that CEOs and sports coaches have substantially less effect on a firm’s or team’s outcome.
- So what about a president? Let’s assume that you think a given president is the worst in recent memory. Then ask yourself to list the things for which she is directly or indirectly responsible. It will probably be hard to come up with a long list, especially concerning the outgoing president. She is, after all, extremely unpopular. Now, stop for a minute and think about your favorite president in history. Ramon Magsaysay? List all the things for which RM was directly or indirectly responsible and directly affected a citizen on the daily basis. In every presidential action, there is a reaction waiting to occur.
As for the economy itself, even though there is a debate over the president’s effect on matters affecting people on daily basis--gas, food, interest rates, utility prices--most economists agree that PGMA is more of a cheerleader rather than a playmaker. Yet, she got all the blames.
Just pretend for a minute that you agree with all these points. If you do happen to dislike PGMA, this is really good news since she probably has affected your life a lot less than you fear.
Unfortunately, it’s also bad news because if you’re hoping that the new president (Noynoy Aquino) will swoop in and fix everything that ails the country, that’s not going to happen, my friend.
And, what can VT say? It’s not good riddance to Madame PGMA...but good luck, good health & God bless to you and your family! Thank you for guiding the Philippines and serving the 94 million Filipinos for the last nine years.
JOE MAURICIO
It is very interesting to note that despite the negative things that were thrown at her during her nine years of administration, there were also good and positive things that can be attributed to her strong leadership that many critics and particularly the Philippine media try to ignore up to this point in time.
Visit the Philippines, and notice the modern infrastructure (highways and byways) and the impressive skyline. Most remarkable are the highway system and the mass transit, the school system that handles 23-million students even with the growing uncontrolled population, the irrigation system, the telecommunication, and most of all its strong economy (showing bullish trend that’s happening in the worst global economic downturn in history). Can any other president handle this country’s environment any better?
VIA Times salutes Madame PGMA for being a savvy master strategist who knows how to play the game, to have the stubbornness and perseverance to do what she wanted and played the game of the broken political party system and fragmented opposition. One of her admirable skills was playing one sector against the other--being endangered by some and saved by others. Her talent in political managememt was relentless, despite unfounded allegations directed at her.
What will remain with the Filipino people is the regret that she could have done better for the country if she hadn’t been saddled by all those allegations of corruption. Remember these are allegations, but not convictions.
Next time you sit around with family and friends, and you feel yourself to be the target of scorn, ask the following questions......
- How does the President of the Philippines really matter? Most Filipinos feel the president affects just about every facet of their lives--that she exerts a more powerful pull than a boss or parents, like maybe everybody is right and I am wrong. But let me suggest a different view on parralelism with CEOs and basketball coaches. Of course, the person on top accrues a great deal of credit or blame for his organization’s overall performance, but there’s a good reason to think that CEOs and sports coaches have substantially less effect on a firm’s or team’s outcome.
- So what about a president? Let’s assume that you think a given president is the worst in recent memory. Then ask yourself to list the things for which she is directly or indirectly responsible. It will probably be hard to come up with a long list, especially concerning the outgoing president. She is, after all, extremely unpopular. Now, stop for a minute and think about your favorite president in history. Ramon Magsaysay? List all the things for which RM was directly or indirectly responsible and directly affected a citizen on the daily basis. In every presidential action, there is a reaction waiting to occur.
As for the economy itself, even though there is a debate over the president’s effect on matters affecting people on daily basis--gas, food, interest rates, utility prices--most economists agree that PGMA is more of a cheerleader rather than a playmaker. Yet, she got all the blames.
Just pretend for a minute that you agree with all these points. If you do happen to dislike PGMA, this is really good news since she probably has affected your life a lot less than you fear.
Unfortunately, it’s also bad news because if you’re hoping that the new president (Noynoy Aquino) will swoop in and fix everything that ails the country, that’s not going to happen, my friend.
And, what can VT say? It’s not good riddance to Madame PGMA...but good luck, good health & God bless to you and your family! Thank you for guiding the Philippines and serving the 94 million Filipinos for the last nine years.
JOE MAURICIO
