OUR TRUE LEADERS
If a true leader is the embodiment of the character, dreams, and aspirations of his people, then these people shall go down in history as the true leaders of the Filipino people. They exemplify the traits that Filipinos as a people admire and strive to emulate.
 | Robin Padilla, bad boy of Philippine cinema and convicted felon. He epitomises the typical mis-channeled machismo of Filipino manhood. The phenomenal recovery of his film career after doing time for illegal possession of firearms and general bad behaviour is testament to our indifference to (at best, tolerance for) criminal behaviour in our leaders. He is another Joseph Estrada in the making and currently comes the closest to filling the Robin Hood figure role that we Filipinos perpetually seek out. His emergence from prison to rise back to stardom can best be credited to our admiration of people who achieve their ends by beating the system. |
 | Robert 'Sonny' Jaworski, the living legend of Philippine professional basketball. Known for leading a Philippine Basketball Association (PBA) underdog team (in its various incarnations) which commanded the largest and most loyal following of fans in the league. He championed dirty and rough play and drew admiration from his on-court bad-boy antics and in-your-face attitude to game officials. The mediocrity and degradation of the virtues of advancement by personal merit that pervades all aspects of Philippine society in corporate, political, and entertainment circles are played out in a typical PBA game that involved Jaworski's team where his seniority and brand of gamesmanship was held at a premium. He continued as "playing coach" well past the average professional player's retirement age and made up for his mediocre performance on-court by sheer bravado to capture an audience looking for blood, on-court drama, and a vindication of their own ignorance of good manners and lack of self respect. |
 | Mariano "Brother Mike" Veladrde, spiritual leader of the masses. His close association to President Joseph Estrada and virtual endorsement of the quality of his administration speaks strongly enough of his agenda for his followers. His El Shaddai movement provides spiritual respite to its mostly impoverished followers but is tarnished by Velarde's inability to keep his hands off politics. He has a record of giving generous campaign contributions to politicians during his days as a real-estate man which makes him even more influential – and dangerous -- now that he has control not just of money but of people's hearts as well. The nature of the devotion of his followers to his word illustrate the Filipino's penchant for personality politics; i.e. loyalty to a leader rather than the concept or principle he stands for. In the Philippines, therefore, an otherwise noble principle or movement is easily corrupted by its leader. And a people who seek personality rather than principle is led astray. The extent of his power over simple Filipino minds was best manifested during the Oust Erap Movement days. At best, the efforts of various cause-oriented groups – many of them supposedly championing the cause of the proletariat – to rally their respective members against Erap in Manila's streets yielded support in the mere tens of thousands. In contrast, Velarde's call for a show of force from his members yielded a rally in the hundreds of thousands or even (some say) in the millions. |
 | Joseph Ejercito Estrada, the ultimate triumph of the Filipino masses personally legitimised every trait we Filipinos consider to be virtues – off-the-hip wit and nonchalant swagger, concubinism, quick to the drink, aversion to intellectualism and discipline, and padrino-dole-out generosity among others. The last one is most notable. Erap is the Filipino's ultimate ninong (godfather). The concept of godfatherhood as a role in Catholic baptism and matrimony was originally meant to describe a person who will guide a godchild or godcouple in the ways of good Christian living. As with everything else, Filipinos now practice a corrupted version of an otherwise noble concept. Godparents are now selected on the basis of their ability to provide financial resources for weddings, birthdays, and especially during Christmas -- "the season of giving" -- which Filipinos have given new meaning to (never mind being physically, spiritually or emotionally present, just take note of our bank account number). In the same respect, we chose Estrada to be our ninong – a role he himself had taken to heart. |
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Philippine Golf: Welcome to the jungle!. Once exclusive playgrounds of the colonial and mercantile classes, today's golf clubs in Manila no longer afford their members a sanitised environment free from in-your-face reminders about the reality that the Philippines remains a feudal Third World society after more than half a century of independence.
Hall of shame: Philippine street "revolutions". What is the common denominator across the four major street "revolutions" that adorn Philippine history over the last two and a half decades? None other than the Lady-in-Yellow herself.
Does the Philippines Have a Dick?. A country of more than 80 million can't even produce one good leader, let alone the 200-odd souls required to run a decent legislature. If this is democracy at work, then it is an indictment on the character of the Filipino people and our willingness to take personal accountability for our future prosperity.
Manny Pacquiao and his 20 guns. "Approve agad!" It pays to be Manny Pacquiao, specially in an election year.
Lack of Big Fish Accountability. Do we have the wherewithal to get the best out of our leaders? Consider this: "At best, we have evolved into a Society that has settled for “lapdog justice”—where the real crooks are never held accountable for their crimes". Read more on this!
Democracy is about freedom! Or so our "leaders" would rather have us believe.
So that's why we can't beat the rebels! Our generals look like they're being fattened up for the next fiesta. This picture says it all.
Erap mirrors the Filipino consciousness. We not only voted for Erap, we are Erap! An article written by Jaime Licauco for the Inquirer.
Have we punished them enough?. Their relatives are still hobnobbing in the corridors of power and the wishy-washy circumstances by which we deposed them promises to keep the issue of their guilt forever in legal limbo.
