To do a list of this kind is always tricky. The choices can seem to be purely born out of whim, held back by bias, and — worst of all — utterly boring, if not pointless. Unfortunately, the first two cannot easily be avoided while I can only do our best to resist the third. Originally, this was supposed to be a compilation of people I hoped would run for president (excluding those that had been or are still in power) but I realized that most — if not all — on the list would balk at being named under such a heading. I also limited the choices to men since I felt that we Filipinos need more men to look up to, in particular those that are still around. (We make an exception for Dolphy to pay tribute and because, frankly, we’ve not yet fully accepted his passing.) With that said, the list is far from perfect but, enough: let it stand. If anything, one should always leave room for contention and discussion (just not on Twitter, please). Whatever the reason, these 26 deserve to be called “men at their best.”