January 25, 2004

The Philippine STAR, Opinion Page

We Should Bring Out

the Best in Them

By Babe Romualdez

The Comelec has ruled that Fernando Poe, Jr. is a Filipino.  I think we should move on from there and stop derailing the elections.  Let's face it, the present system allows everyone, even celebrities, to run for president.  We can't stop this.  If it's not FPJ, it's going to be somebody else.

Just to illustrate my point, when I was a news reporter at Channel 9 in the 70's, the network asked me to be the leading man of Rosemarie Sonora, sister of Susan Roces, in a TV series.  If I had known then what the political system would be today, I would have switched to a movie career and may be in politics.  This is the reality and we have to accept it.

A no-elections scenario would produce a violent backlash if FPJ's detractors succeed in derailing his candidacy.  Speculations have already dragged the peso to almost P60 to the US dollar--the lowest ever.  With the kind of intense loyalty FPJ's supporters are giving Da King, the hanging threat is very real.  The best thing to do now is to look closely at each candidate and perhaps bring out the best in them.

Our group, Philippines, Inc., is doing its part in bringing out the program of government each candidate plans to have.  Business leaders of different groups under Philippines, Inc. have put up a series of freewheeling panel discussions with each candidate.  The first being Fernando Poe, Jr.

Not too many businessmen know FPJ because he comes from an entirely different sector.  Being projected as a "know-nothing" candidate and a "school-dropout," only made this action star even more alien to the businessmen.  It was very refreshing for many that this is not so.  He's a sincere, humble, candid and friendly.  And in a unique way, convincing and witty about what he feels the country needs today.  No wonder he's very popular with the masses.  He tried as much as was in him to answer all our questions.

In fairness to the man, he made a lot of sense and answered the questions quite well.  I, for one, was a bit unhappy with his answer on population management.  I have always always felt strongly about that particular issue as the cause of too much poverty in the country.

Recently, the ADB released some alarming statistics.  In the AB class, there is an average of two children per family, while in the CDE bracket, there are seven per family.  With four babies being born per minute, we would surely hit the 100 million mark by 2010.  This is what the candidates should face head-on.  Either we follow Thailand and manage our population well, or we go the way of other countries where the population has forced them to be neck-deep in poverty.

Thailand, on the other hand, was able to rise from its Third World ashes and become what it is today--a fast developing nation, a premier tourist and investment destination in Asia.  If the Thais can do it, I believe we can, too.

On the whole, FPJ was not the person many businessmen initially thought him to be.  Here's an immensely popular person who could very well be the next president of this country.  David Balangue, president of the Management Association of the Philippines, who was seated right beside me, said, "We should not alienate FPJ because if he wins, he would need our help."

Last Tuesday, we had Panfilo Lacson.  The Senator impressed many because he had a strong grasp of the country's problems.  His answers were very candid and direct on numerous issues like the annual budget deficit, population control, the power crisis, taxation, etc.  It seems to many, out of all the candidates, Lacson is the most prepared.  He plans on putting up a population program that will only allow two children per new family. He clearly stressed that abortion is a no-no, and that what this country needs is a leader with a "kamay na bakal."

Being the former Chief PNP, his ideas are clear on how to bring back investor confidence.  "I will fight the most influential smugglers, peddlers and criminal syndicates."  Regarding taxation, he simply said we have to look at the potential 14 million income earners and not settle with the present 2.8 million.

He said all this with his usual no-nonsense style.  He admits his only weakness is "Mahina ang PR (public relations) ko sa media."  Most businessmen, including myself, liked what we heard.

This coming week, we'll have Raul Roco and, of course, GMA.  The two candidates are well-known to all of us, but many are still eager to have this dialogue with them.  Hopefully, we could also invite Bro. Eddie Villanueva.  Some of the businessmen said that if only we can have all the best qualities in one candidate--the charisma of FPJ, the hard work ethics of GMA, the political will and no-nonsense of Lacson, the intelligence of Roco, and perhaps, the spirituality of Bro. Eddie Villanueva, then we can probably have a perfect leader who could really unite the country.  It's ideal, but this is not reality.

People can throw all the mud they want on the candidates, but the bottom line is: We need to have a clean and credible elections this May.  We need to go back to basics and try to make the system work.  This is probably our last chance to do so.  There can be no compromise on this one.  Every one must believe it to be credible and honest, and hopefully from there, whoever wins will be supported by the majority.  Perhaps, people should take their cue from Philippines, Inc. by finding out the qualities and plans of each candidate to eventually influence people to vote for the right one.  After all's been said and done, we can only hope we pick the right one this time.

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Email: babeseyeview@hotmail.com

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