Jesse Robredo and The Transformation of Naga

OVERVIEW:

The late Jesse Robredo became a mayor of Naga City in 1988 at the age of 29 years

old. Upon entering office, he faced a Naga City critical need. By 1988 the population of Naga

had reached 100,000. Robredo innate a city where illegal activities, including nude shows

and "jueteng", flourish. But despite of these problems, Robredo had a plan in his mind on how

to eliminate these problems and boost the city. In his first two years in office, he made sure

that his administration was not like the past administrations, by removing all the vices that

the past politicians ignored. He also closed the budget deficit and ran Naga city like he was

a CEO of a company . And during his 2nd and 3rd terms he focused transparency,

accountability and people's empowerment. He enabled to institutionalized involvement in

civil society organization in government transactions and absolutely eradicated "jueteng".

The Jesse Robredo was also very famous for his "tsinelas" leadership. It is about working on

basics with no fuss, no "kaartehan" but with a very clear vision and that is to serve the people

with a genuine intention to help and elevate them from poverty.

ANALYSIS:

Classical Ethical Perspective

" Jesse Robredo is one of the exemplary and God-centered Public Servant the Philippines

ever had. He lived a life of a Servant Leader who stood for principle-centered leadership. He

showed that as a true and dedicated local executive, he can run his Naga City mayoralty

office corruption-free and transparent. Indeed, his cup overflowed with outstanding and

meritorious service to his fellow Filipinos." (Benavent,N. 2012) Moral excellence, values of

leadership, Filipino ethics and other virtue ethics in governance were evidently possessed by

late Jesse Robredo. His tsinelas leadership is an embodiment of simplicity and humility and

virtues that concretized him. I did not have opportunity of meeting him but my Aunt had an

opportunity to meet him in one of her conference and she witnessed how humble a person he

was and his dedication to promote good governance and ethical leadership. She even told me

that she pray and hope that our youth of today will remember his contributions to public

service and will demand his style of governance and leadership.

Modern Perpective

Jesse Robredo's governance in Naga City was a combination of all modern ethical

perspective in governance. But there is only one perspective that is very evident on his

leadership and that is Jurgen's Habermas' theory of communicative action. First, let us try

to define what this theory about. In our discussion, we have mentioned that it is a

collaborative effort among people through a communication free from domination. With this

given definition I think it is synonymous to late Jesse Robredo's practiced what is now known

as "tsinelas" leadership. A style of leadership that entails being one with the common folk.

Jesse Robredo lived inspiring Filipinos of his leadership and service. Wearing his "tsinelas",

he would lead the relief and clean-up operations after a typhoon ravaged his hometown, Naga

City. On sunny mornings, he would bike around the city to talk to constituents and listen to

their concerns. Eventually, he would enjoin them to participate in creating plans for the city.

Jesse led by example. One that motivates people to take part in governance, and empowers

them through collaboration. On this manner tsinelas leadership clearly satisfies, when

Jurgen Habermas says that "collaborative effort among people through a communication free

from domination", because it pounds the wall and domination standing between leaders and

their constituents through dealing with the public on a basic and casual level of interaction.

Carlos P. Garcia and The Filipino First Policy

OVERVIEW

Filipino first policy refers to policy first launched and established during the

administration of Carlos P, Garcia. It was a response of the American oppressive free trade

in the Philippines after the world war II. This policy is meant to maintain that the Philippine

economy is dominated and controlled by Filipino owned businesses. And it heavily favors

Filipino businessmen over foreign investors in terms of the rights, priveledges. (Kapunan,

L.2015) This policy also woke up the sense of patriotism and nationalism of the Filipino made

products were also promoted. The policy was accepted positively by Filipino businessmen,

however, as expected, it received negative impact from foreign businessmen specifically

Americans and Chinese. Critics has also categorized the policy as anti foreign.
ANALYSIS

Modern Perspective

Jose P. Garcia's Filipino first policy directly opposed the idea of Max Weber that political

leaders must practice a sense of proportion and avoid "vanity". Because it heavily favors

Filipino businessmen over foreign. In this manner it was obvious that this policy has no sense

of proportionality in terms of opportunity rights and priveleges. And in today's context this

policy spread misconceptions among filipino that if we allow foreign investors then Filipinos

become beggar to foreigners. Instead, according to Pangilinan (2017) the OFW phenomenon

is making the Philippines a country of beggars. OFW'S are subject to foreign laws and made

the Philippines more dependent on other countries.

Classical Perspective

According to Mahatma Gandhi's Doctrine of Ahimsa, nobody is anybody's enemy. A

peaceful government is a government for all where there is no race and no religion

distinctions. In accordance to my own perspectives and in my futuristic and self-explanatory

thoughts, I think this doctrine is completely opposite with the Carlos P. Garcia's Filipino

First Policy. Why? Because of the fact that this policy lead us many Filipino to a

misconception that if we allow foreign investors then the Filipino become beggars I its own

country. We treat foreign investors as enemy or competitors. They're just missing the point

that while the Philippines has its rights of sovereignty it must also become interdependent.

According to Tanada and Tigno (2009) why don't we have a Filipino interdependent policy

instead of Filipino First Policy. Filipino Interdependent Policy means that while the

Philippines retains its Sovereignty as a country but I doesn't close its doors to foreign

investments.

Benigno Simeon Aquino III and 4P's

OVERVIEW

Article 2, Section 9 of the 1987 Philippine Constitution provides that: The State shall

promote a just and dynamic social order that will ensure the prosperity and independence of

the nation and free the people from poverty through policies that provide adequate social

services, promote full employment, a rising standard of living, and an improved quality of life
for all. This provision is one of the reasons why the Pantawid Pamilyang Pilipino Program

came into life. According to Miriam Santiago, (2010) the Pantawid Pamilyang Pilipino

Program (4Ps) is more than a welfare program; it addresses structural inequities in society

and promotes human capital development of the poor, thus, breaking the intergenerational

cycle of poverty. The conditions attached to the grants require parents to undergo trainings

on responsible parenthood, have their children undergo health check-ups and ensure school

attendance. The program ensures that there is sufficient resource for the health, nutrition

and education of children aged 0-14 year old.

Analysis

Modern Perspective

Transactional leadership is really what it sounds like, a transaction. When you think

about transaction you might think of buying and selling things. According to Dittmar (2016)

transactional leadership is, as a leader, I say, when you do this- I will give you that. This

phenomenon is something that happen all the time and to this program- the Pantawid

Pamilyang Pilipino Program(4P's). When the government required you to do something you

must comply with it or else it will affect your record on the program, Like for example

attending the annual brigada eskwela, this is one of the requirements of the government for

the beneficiaries of 4P's. In other word this kind of leadership is a give and take relationship

among the leaders and the people.

Fidel V. Ramos and Pilipinas 2000

Overview

Philippines 2000 was the socio-economic program of former Philippine president Fidel

V. Ramos. The plan envisioned the Philippines achieving newly industrialized country status

by the year 2000. (Angeles, 1992) Economic reforms instituted during the Ramos era enabled

the Philippines to experience growth rates of up to nine percent annually, and enjoy annual

budget surpluses well into his tenure. The economic reforms instituted in the Philippines

2000 platform would have an effect on how the Philippines would be affected in the 1997 East

Asian financial crisis. (Lapian,A.2013) According to Magno,(2003) perhaps one of the greatest
legacies of Philippines 2000 regarding peace and stability was the 1996 peace treaty signed

between the Philippine government and the Moro National Liberation Front, ending over

thirty years of conflict on the island of Mindanao.

ANALYSIS

Modern Perspective

Utilitarianism point out that leaders in the government should seek to increase

pleasure and decrease pain and attained the greatest happiness of the greatest number. By

merely looking at this definition, we can relate it to Fidel V. Ramos' Philippine 2000. This

development strategy vision was for the Philippines to become a place of where those who

have the least can afford to have minimum food requirements: decent clothing and shelter:

able to carry on with dignity: and be given the chance to lead their lives to the fullest possible.

Guided by this vision, they identified 5 problems that the government must deal before they

can place the economy on the way to growth: 1. they must bring down the old economic order

2. cartels and monopolies 3. corruption in the agencies that regulate and control the economy

4. quality of infrastructure 5. unfavorable economic climate in the world.

Classical Perspective

According to Plato, A leader should have the utmost level of wisdom (highly

knowledgeable ) in governing the state, By checking the educational background of Fidel V.

Ramos it is evident that he was a highly knowledgeable leader by experience and by diploma.

Ramos was educated at the U.S. Military Academy at West Point, N.Y., and at the University

of Illinois, U.S. He then entered the Philippine army, serving in Korea and Vietnam. In 1972

President Ferdinand Marcos (who was Ramos’ second cousin) appointed him chief of the

Philippine Constabulary, and when Marcos imposed martial law later that year Ramos was

responsible for enforcing it; the Constabulary arrested thousands of political dissidents. In

1981 Ramos became deputy chief of staff of the armed forces. Retrieved from:

(https://www.britannica.com/biography/Fidel-Ramos

Rodrigo R. Duterte and the TRAIN law

OVERVIEW:
 The Tax Reform for Acceleration and Inclusion (TRAIN) is the first package of the

comprehensive tax reform program (CTRP) envisioned by President Duterte’s

administration, which seeks to to correct a number of deficiencies in the tax system to make

it simpler, fairer, and more efficient (Department of Finance, 2017`). The goal of the first

package of the Comprehensive Tax Reform Program (CTRP) or TRAIN is to create a more

just, simple, and more effective system of tax collection, as per the constitution, where the

rich will have a bigger contribution and the poor will benefit more from the government’s

programs and services (Department of Finance, 2017). It aims to achieving the following:

1.Poverty rate reduced from 26 to 17% (or some 10 million Filipinos uplifted from poverty),

2. Law abiding country, 3. Peace within the country and with our neighbors, 4. Achieve high

middle income status, where per capita gross national income (GNI) increases from USD

3,000 to USD 4,100 by 2022 in today’s money, 5. Extreme poverty eradicated, 6. Inclusive

economic and political institutions where everyone has equal opportunities, 7. Achieve high

income status, where per capita GNI increases from USD 3,000 to USD 12,000 by 2040 in

today's money (Department of Finance, 2017).

ANALYSIS

Modern Perspective

I believe that the Duterte administration's Tax Reform for Acceleration and Inclusion

(TRAIN) is an epitome of the word social justice. In view of the fact that this law would

greatly alleviate the prevalent conditions of humanity, our country will surely improve in no

time. With this alone, one can clearly say that the government is finding ways on how to lift

our country from being engulfed with the countless problems each one of us is facing. I know

that others may find this law defective as they believe that it would negatively affect the

penniless ones in terms of purchasing goods in the market. They find it confusing as to how

these people can cope up with the higher pricing of goods given that they don’t have personal

incomes in the first place. Well, we should not let ourselves be worried on this matter as the

government have initiated to provide a subsidy to those families who are affected by this law.

In line with this, individuals will be given a monthly allowance for them to buy all their

necessities in life. This law is said to benefit 99% of the tax payers by exempting those

workers who have an annual salary of not more than 250,000 pesos and lowering the tax paid
by those workers who exceed this annual salary. The tax that the government will be

collecting from the citizens will act as the reserved funds for the country’s future programs

and projects. Thus, this generated income of the government will be returned from its

subjects in the form of providing better services. As far as I am concerned, I think no one can

really say that this law is effective or not unless we begin to experience the changes it may

bring to our lives.

Herminigilo "Dong" Gualberto and the making of "People's City of San Fernando "

OVERVIEW

When you heard about politics in La Union, usually the first thing that will pop up to

your mind is the Ortegas. Indeed, for more than century, Ortegas have been governing the

province of La Union and in the city of San Fernando, thus La Union become a famous place

for political dynasty. But not all effort to escape political dynasty's cycle remained fruitless.

As the case of Herminigilo "Dong" Gualberto, the incumbent vicemayor of thecity of San

Fernandowho ran for Mayor and won the raise. According to the campaign manager of

Gualbertom he has been famous forKBL- Kasal, Libing, Binyag. People of San Fernando love

him so much because of his compassionate, caring and empathetic action.

ANALYSIS

Modern Perspective

Mayor Dong Gualberto, who is now in his first term of office vision that the city of San

Fernando, La Union will become the people's city by 2025. In order to achieve his vision he

started it by institutionalizing the use of balance scorecard based on the performance

governance system. He also implemented programs on community based income generated

projects or IGP's which has been easily implemented in 59 barangays of theircity and almost

half of their barangay have been raised to the model barangay category. Technically these

IGP's are linked directly to san fernando's tourism, trade and industy. The 59 barangays

undergone seminars, trainings and ISO certification. With these programs we witnessed how

Mayor Dong enable to synergized barangays and the city government. And also with these

kind of programs we can conclude that he used a transformational kind of leadership because

these programs require a collaborative effort to strengthen the talents of the people of San

Fernando and increase efficiency and motivation among them.

DOT Secretary Arthur Tugade and PUV Modernization Program

Overview:

In June 2017, Transportation Secretary Arthur Tugade signed the Omnibus

Franchising Guidelines (OFG), which reformed the process of granting jeepney franchises by

introducing new rules on route planning and setting new standards for vehicles and drivers.

The program calls for the phasing-out jeepneys, buses and other Public Utility Vehicles (PUVs)

that are at least 15 years old and replacing them with safer, more comfortable and more

environmentally-friendly alternatives over the next three years. Currently, there are 180,000

jeepney units operating throughout the country.Various transport groups have criticized the

program as "anti-poor". It is claimed that, under the program, most drivers and small-time

operators would be unable to afford replacement units and that corporate entities would seek to

monopolize the market and impose fare hikes on commuters.

Retrieved from: http://www.congress.gov.ph/legisdocs/cdb/cdb17-v2i45-20171019.pdf

ANALYSIS

Modern Perspective

It is clear that the PUV Modernization Program of Secretary Arthur Tugade violated

Social Justice. It is not right to force it on classic jeepney owners. It should be decided by

Laws of Economics based on consumer demand. If consumers stop patronizing the classic

jeepneys that in itself cause it get phase out. Forcing it on the poor classic jeepney owners

will cause them to lose their means of lively hood worsening the jobless situation. What is

the government plan for them? Is there a plan for subsidy? If none then this is a wrong

government action.

Classical Perspective

J, Garin's Dengvaxia Vaccine Implementation

OVERVIEW

Janette Garin

In December 2015, Dengvaxia, the world’s first vaccine against dengue virus

developed by French pharmaceutical company Sanofi Pasteur, was licensed and approved

for use in the Philippines by the Food and Drug Administration (FDA). It was first licensed

in Mexico in December 2015 but only for people aged 9 to 45 living in endemic areas in the

country. It is given in three doses six months apart via subcutaneous injection in the upper

arm. Former Health Secretary Janette Garin said the Philippines participated in all three

phases of the vaccine’s clinical development with subjects from Cebu and several areas in

Metro Manila. ("Philippine Inquirer", 2017) Garin said (2017) the Philippines was the first

in the world to introduce, adopt and implement the dengue vaccine through the public

health system and under a public school setting.The DOH said more than 700,000 public

school fourth graders had received the first of three doses of the vaccine under a P3.5-

billion program. It said figures for how many got the additional doses were not immediately

available.

ANALYSIS

Modern Perspective

Social Justice means the promotion of the welfare of all people. It is clear the

Dengvaxia of DOH under Secretary Garin violated the principle of Social justice. Because We

are seeing children die and experts argue whether there is scientific proof that it was caused

by the Dengvaxia vaccine. And so the people accountable for this in the previous government

and SANOFI remain free, unscathed, and continuously professing their innocence.

Meanwhile it cost the country billions of taxpayers' contributions. People must be held

accountable for the death of the Filipino children. Medicines in the Philippines are more

expensive than other countries and these drug companies have profited so much already. And

now they endanger the lives of our children. FDA also broke and violated their own

regulations in approvng Dengvaxia even without proof that it is safe and it prevents or cure
dengue illness. They only suspended its registration when children have died instead - a

medical anomaly that is tantamount to mass murder

Classical Perspective

Utilitarianism, point out that leaders in the government should promote and seek to

increase pleasure and decrease pain. In the case of Dengvaxia it was the opposite happened.

Dengvaxia? Top news, big example of a rotten system where money dictates the direction of

reason. And the children are dying one by one, shall we just count them? Could the DOH

research on what is causing the deaths and come up with remedies? Is it an enhanced

antibody response? Is it some preservative used in the vaccine that causes the adverse

reaction? We do not know so we must ask sanofi but of course they will deny any wrong doing.

So we have to study and search for any remedy otherwise, all those dengvaccinated, including

their families will live in fear and apprehension that a fever could kill their children. Or are

the deaths just random that media hypes? Action madam Dra Garin, former DOH Secretary,

you are responsible.