Some local officials and Congressmen are moving for a formal resolution to call on Pres. GMA to run again for public office, this time as Pampanga Representative. She will most probably win, considering the incumbency machinery of a sitting president (and she will most probably become the Speaker of the House, given all her resources).
As a citizen of this country, I beg to register my opposition to this move.
I wish to offer the President this simple formula of Ogunlela Olu: SELFLESSNESS = GREATNESS!
It will be the ultimate act of greatness if President GMA will not succumb to the temptations and pressures to run again for public post!
I am sharing again my unsolicited analysis and propositions for Pres. GMA. These were culled out from what I wrote in my earlier blog at this link.
I would like to strike a middle ground. We can spark an explosion of collective purification that should be led by no less than President Arroyo and all her Cabinet members.
This can be achieved by heeding the simple formula of Ogunlela Olu: selflessness = greatness!
For President GMA, the purification process should begin with undertaking the following concrete steps of selflessness, which I believe would really leave a significant mark towards her greatness:
1. Finish your term and swear by your ancestors not to run again for the next election, in whatever form and mode. Speak in categorical and sincere terms that you will step down peacefully and honorably in 2010; no teasing, no ambiguities, no obscurities! If you are sincere and categorical, all your people, especially in Congress, will heed your wish!
2. Ensure that there will be no cheating in the 2010 elections. Please do not allow another Hello Garci and another 12-0! They really divided the country; they really caused miscalculated damage to your administration.
3. Convene a governance transition team now, which will plot a proper and orderly system of turn-over to the next elected president. No political talk, just be professional. Be transparent in your modest gains and be candid of what you have not achieved. The next president should be able to address this lacuna.
4. Make Constitutional change a priority for the next administration, and you can explore the process for including the election of the members for a Constitutional Convention (ConCon) during the 2010 elections. Constitutional Assembly (ConAss) is really not popular, since
Congress does not enjoy popular people's trust. Surveys speak!
5. Take more proactive measures to solve at least the major corruption issues that scandalized your administration. You can use all the powers of the presidency to solve at least the NBN-ZTE broadband overpricing and bribery scam as well as the fertilizer fund scam. I believe you have all the powers to help solve these scams because the parties involved are your own officials. And they take cues from you!
6. Stop all political appointments. The 2009 Philippine Human Development Report revealed that you have already exceeded the allowable presidential appointments for Cabinet USec and ASec positions (and many of them are not even qualified). If you decide to take back their appointments, you win the votes of meritocracy!
7. Make radical reforms on two other very important issues in the country: (a) flooding and climate change and (b) the Mindanao peace talk.
We Filipinos have a soft heart for conciliation and healing. As you endeavor to end your term properly and to leave a significant mark to be great, you can reach out to your ardent critics and detractors -- even those who hurt you -- and make good peace and reconcile. This is the greatest mark of humility!
These are my unsolicited propositions for the President, which I believe will regain or win greatness for the incumbent leadership. We have 7 months before the next elections.
Madam President, you have 7 crucial months to make history for the Filipino people and be great as well!
