An open letter to fellow Filipinos

The campaign season is upon us. We are also anticipating the end of the pandemic. When they assume office, our newly elected officials shall be facing the problems and opportunities of a post-COVID Philippines.

These problems are enormous. The COVID-19 has closed millions of small- and medium-sized businesses. It has rendered millions jobless. The number of hungry and destitute has swollen. The poverty incidence figure has risen. Moreover, the sense of hopelessness has become widespread. In general, the deep hole in which we find ourselves appears to be deep and dark.

The immediate question before us is how do we dig ourselves out of the hole? The answer is clear: We cannot go back to the old, “business as usual” traditional politics. Moreover, along with the enormous problems we confront, we also have an opportunity to get to a new politics of good governance.

We need an ambitious new approach to our many deep and closely interrelated problems. Good governance should enable us to grow much closer to our potential of 10-12 percent per year, instead of the anemic rate at which we have been growing—at only half our potential. It calls for nothing less than a transformation of the way we manage our public national affairs.

Jobs and millions of income opportunities need to be created by focusing much more on the smart use of our natural resources. Given the many risks from overdependence on global supply chains—as responsible stewards—we need to train more of our attention to how much more yield and higher value we can extract from our own land, sea, forest, and mineral reserves The same holds true for our human resources. We have been frittering away the enormous income we can earn from our manpower. We need to continue investing and providing lifelong opportunities for skills training and competency upgrading in the context of rapidly changing demands of the domestic and global economies.

We do need to transform millions of our people from being mere job seekers to job creators. Effective support for startups and business innovations presenting economical solutions to local needs and environmental circumstances will have to be provided by stronger coordination between public agencies and private enterprises, working in close partnership with regional and global multilateral institutions. For such coordination to be effective, the number of national government agencies, local government units, and private sector entities with a sustained transformation program of their own will need to be significantly expanded. Such a national solidarity network for transformation should provide support for entrepreneurs and business innovators.

Finally, we do need to restore the credibility and good name of our country. A critical step: requalify as a partner of the Millennium Challenge Corp., and as a rising star in the world competitiveness ranking. This must be followed up by our moving up the investment grade ranking, where our progress has been stalled. This demands much greater prudence in the management of our fiscal affairs, a further strengthening of our financial and banking system, and our proven ability to raise our savings rate and keep inflation low. All this would enable us to benchmark our performance and progress against regional and global standards. It will facilitate the affordability of our transformation program and the sustainability of our efforts at extricating ourselves from the hole we have dug ourselves into.

As we exploit the opportunities before us, we should never lose sight of the vision we seek to realize in the next six years. We must deliver the outcomes enabling us to build a new platform, where every Filipino has a chance to become much better. Every Filipino should get better trained and equipped. And as responsible citizens, our horizon gets broadened so genuine love of country has pride of place. The platform offers every Filipino the steps to move up, away from the status quo, through active involvement in effective teamwork to push up the productivity and service quality of the institutions or enterprises where they work. Moreover, that platform ensures that no Filipino is left below the poverty line. Everyone has wide opportunities for going as far away as possible, way above the poverty line.

The platform is of smart stewardship, solidarity, and sustainability. It is one of hope, confidence in the future, and pride of being a Filipino! We can build it through character, commitment, and competence. The character of public officials and ordinary citizens with the courage to tell the truth and observe transparency! We reject lies, disinformation, propaganda, and use of privilege with no regard for the law.

The commitment of governors and governed alike to put in the hard work of mobilizing all sectors—government, business, and civil society—in a solidarity network! This network addresses effectively the closely interrelated, systemic problems of corruption, poverty, ignorance. We reject those with an almost exclusive focus on personal, private, and narrow family interests.

The competence on the part of all to confront both day-to-day issues and the longer-term, strategic challenges with knowledge and expertise. Such competence and discipline should deliver the game-changing outcomes that lead to the fulfillment of our shared vision for our country. We reject empty slogans and gestures, grandiose promises, and mere posturing for gaining popularity.

As responsible citizens, we should now be asking who among the candidates have the character, commitment, and competence to lead us in the next six years.

More specifically, who among the presidential candidates is in the best position to lead us toward the fulfillment of our shared dream that is all about the development: of the Filipino, by the Filipino, and for the Filipino. Our answer: Leni Robredo. We are endorsing her for your vote as well.

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Jesus P. Estanislao is former finance secretary (1990-1992). He is founder of Institute of Corporate Governance and Institute for Solidarity in Asia. Jose L. Cuisia Jr. is former Central Bank governor (1990-1993). He is a trustee of Makati Business Club.

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