National pride

Barring a change in the system of government, Filipinos will again troop to polling precincts to pick a new president in May 2016.

By that time, Filipinos will either be sighing with relief that the second Aquino presidency is over, or regretting that there is no re-election for a good president.

On Tuesday last week, there was rejoicing not only because automation appeared to have worked or because (at least in the winning camp) Sen. Benigno Aquino III had won by a decisive margin, but also because it looked like Gloria Macapagal-Arroyo was finally and truly on her way out of Malacañang.

What will the national mood be like in the twilight of the Noynoy Aquino presidency?

His six years will be measured against his principal campaign promise, sworn before his parents’ graves, which is to reduce if not eradicate poverty by waging a genuine battle against corruption. That was Aquino’s biggest edge over his rivals. He acknowledged this in a television interview, wherein he said he did not think voters went for him because of his galing or competence. He believed he was chosen, he said, because he was seen as the antithesis of the incumbent.

The pre-election surveys tended to support the voters’ anti-Arroyo sentiment: every time the President did something that drew public disapproval, the ratings of the candidate seen, rightly or wrongly, as her chosen successor, Sen. Manny Villar, plunged, with the numbers transferring mostly to former President Joseph Estrada and the rest to Aquino.

Voters will hold Aquino to his main campaign promise. He should stay the course, even as he navigates the treacherous waters of Philippine transactional politics.

Apart from the fulfillment of that campaign promise, each voter will measure Aquino’s performance, naturally, using a personal gauge: is the voter’s life better in 2016 than in May 2010?

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The answer to that question will depend a great deal on the individual’s economic status at the end of six years.

Is he getting decent pay for a stable job, or is he facing uncertainty in employment? Is his family enjoying more material comforts in a clean and safe environment? Do they have time to relax and enjoy the fruits of their work?

Advice is flooding Noynoy Aquino these days on how to attract foreign direct investment, which we have steadily lost to our neighbors. The foreign chambers of commerce have drawn up a detailed report on opportunities for attracting FDI and boosting economic growth.

Local investments also need to be stimulated; our own investors are taking their money to China and Vietnam.

Investments, both foreign and local, should generate jobs with the kind of pay that can lure back millions of Filipinos who are forced to work overseas for lack of opportunities in their own country.

Restoring investor confidence will be Aquino’s biggest challenge. Investors will be watching his first 100 days for indications of whether he will have his own set of business cronies, his commitment to transparency and the rule of law, and whether the nation will see a return of Kamag-anak, Inc.

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Apart from material comforts, a better life, six years from now, can be defined in terms of pride: pride in one’s work, however humble, and pride as a nation, in being a Filipino.

That may be an abstract idea for some, but Filipinos who have traveled overseas are likely to have felt national pride – or its absence – keenly.

You feel pride when someone praises Filipinos like CNN Hero Efren Peñaflorida, who was recognized for his work as an educator and social worker for the very poor.

And you feel shame hitting you like a high-speed train when the head of a respected non-profit, non-partisan, non-government organization, greeting visitors from different countries in the NGO’s Washington headquarters, tells you in a matter-of-fact way, “Oh, the Philippines, the country that never seems to be able to realize its potential!”

Throughout much of the past nine years, there was that sense of shame, especially for those who have had a first-hand look at how most of our neighbors have fared.

One of the presidential aspirants told us, during a lengthy interview organized by our newspaper, that the next president should compete not with political rivals but with the presidents of other countries in terms of performance.

The post-Marcos president with that kind of competitiveness was Fidel Ramos, who intuitively grasped the need for a national team spirit in competing with the rest of the world.

Team Philippines cannot be put together, however, without credible leadership. Just as Joseph Estrada squandered his enormous popularity by indulging in the perks of power during his presidency, GMA squandered the enormous public goodwill that propelled her to the presidency on the wings of people power II.

With her credibility falling into a bottomless pit, it was impossible for GMA to rally her compatriots behind any of her programs, much less unite as a national team.

We must not begrudge her the achievements of her administration, but these must be seen in the context of what our neighbors have achieved in the same period.

Today the Philippines is Asia’s basket case. In certain advanced economies, “Filipino” is used interchangeably with “housemaid” – and our economy is heavily dependent on the remittances of such Filipinos.

This problem, to be fair, did not start with GMA. But her nine years in power did little to reverse the trend.

We’ve had our moments of national pride, starting with the 1986 people power revolt. The euphoria of EDSA quickly dissipated, and even Cory Aquino saw her popularity slide midway through her six years. But at the end of her term, she gave the nation something to be proud about. With democracy intact, she presided over credible elections and a smooth transfer of power to her preferred successor.   

Memories of those moments, intensified against the backdrop of the abuses of the current administration, helped propel her only son to the presidency.

The success of poll automation, against all doomsday scenarios, surprised skeptics and restored some of that national pride.

If Noynoy Aquino can nurture that pride, he will be remembered with fondness when his turn to bid power goodbye comes in 2016.