Imperial Manila has lorded over the entire affairs of the nation. Elected and appointed leaders see development in the prism of Manila looking outward and determining what is good, what is bad; what is to be shared, what remains in their hold; local leaders being beggars than builders of their locality and thus, dreaming remains in the realm of wishful thinking than actually steering in one direction.

Today, being in government is like ending up rich, becoming rich and building one’s wealth portfolio. From the missing container vans in Customs, the National Food Authority’s indecision in building stocks, the Philippine Charity Sweepstakes Office mess, Good Conduct Time Allowance for sale, etc., every administration has sorry tales left behind. The intricacies of trying to earn a fast buck are mind-boggling.

Reimaginings and reinventions in the first year of the Duterte administration seem to be stuck in a bureaucracy that is rowing in all directions, as if no one is tending the store these days. The delegated powers, the norm of leadership style of the Duterte administration, seem to be heading for separate shores instead of one definite and distinct destination by 2022.

Corruption has always been the lynchpin of our political system. The extractive nature of our politics has created so much wastage of taxpayers’ money that time and time again, people have asked for political reforms to be instituted at the local and national levels.

Children with the fixed mindset want to make sure they succeed. Smart people should always succeed. But for children with the growth mindset, success is about stretching themselves. It’s about becoming smarter. 

When you do risk analysis of the Philippines, the light has always been on politics and political institutions. And it has been said, nations fail or succeed because of political institutions.

Pacquiao is the Philippines’ pride. Apart from Pacman, PRRD is also a bunny rabbit. He keeps going and going and going. Despite all the insults and lack of appreciation of the things he has done in the past three years, he just keeps on bouncing and moving, which should be the right attitude since there is much work to be done.  

There is no stability, predictability, and sustainability in the three-year term of the bigger chamber. The Speaker has to be first among equals, has to be the stabilizing force, and has to crack the whip and push the legislative agenda of President Rodrigo Duterte.

Redemption is atonement but if a politician does not see it as such and merely spins it for purposes of repositioning and marketing his brand, what is there to redeem? We have seen politicians come and go and there are really good ones who, after a stint, decide to leave politics. And still there are those who will continue to try believing they can do better or do more.

In a joint report by the WEF and Asian Development Bank based on the International Labor Organization’s estimates, 56 percent of jobs in five Southeast Asian countries, including the Philippines, are at high risk of automation in the next few decades. Legacy countries need to avoid getting squeezed between more advanced leading countries, which can offer more advanced manufacturing, and nascent countries that can offer lower cost labor. 

In 2016, Duterte threw away the existing campaign playbook. After 2019, he wrote the rules of campaigning with a lot of shadow boxing and double talk. Those unable to decipher were left at the starting gates and those whose hubris flew high, ate humble pie.

The Philippines has been having automated elections since 2010 and the only thing that Comelec releases are gender and age. Electoral history analysis cannot be made because there is no effort on the part of some people at the Comelec to actually close the record every election.