After the stirring burial of President Cory, what now? How do we sustain the reinvigorated patriotic emotions? How do we turn the sympathetic outpourings into streams of positive acts?The hard-hitting Inquirer columnist Conrado de Quiros warns that the explosion of love for Cory might turn into an explosion of fury against the opposite of Cory. And the opposite is not just the former President Ferdinance Marcos. Neither the former Presidents Fidel Ramos nor Joseph Estrada. It is intended for the incumbent President Gloria Macapagal-Arroyo. If GMA will not heed the people's craving of the virtues symbolized and personified by former President Cory Aquino, she just might be igniting the explosion of fury towards her administration.
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!
This is why President Cory won the hearts and minds of the Filipino people. This is why, from the very beginning till her death and even for a lifetime, President Cory will always be esteemed with greatness because of her selflessness that manifests in her virtues of spirituality, integrity, sincerity and humility -- all ingredients for a great leadership!
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:
- 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!
- 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.
- Convene a governance transition team, 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 honest of what you have not achieved. The next president should be able to address this lacuna.
- Make Constitutional change a priority for the next administration, and you can explore the process for including the election of the members for a ConCon during the 2010 elections. ConAss is really not popular, since Congress does not enjoy popular people's trust. Surveys speak!
- 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 in these scams because the parties involved are your own officials. And they take cues from you!
- 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!
- Do not appoint people not nominated by the Judicial and Bar Council for the Supreme Court position. Do not bestow the National Artist Awards for people who are involved in any of the preparation and selection processes.
These are my unsolicited propositions, which I believe will regain or win greatness for the incumbent leadership. We have 10 months before the next elections; President GMA has 10 months to make history for the Filipino people and be great as well!
