Governance through inclusion, collaboration

A leader who ascended to power with an overwhelming mandate always faces tremendous challenges. When President Marcos won in the 2022 elections with a majority vote by 31 million Filipino voters, he was confronted with the fact that more than half of the voters trusted him and expected him to make critical decisions on their behalf.

At that time, the country was facing serious difficulties: It was in the middle of economic recovery, struggling to get back on its feet after the blow of the pandemic-induced lockdowns. Prices of basic goods were soaring because of many factors, not the least of which was the disruption in supply chains due to external developments; energy supply was not stable. We were also facing frequent—and audacious—displays by China in the West Philippine Sea, disregarding our victory at the Permanent Court of Arbitration. Furthermore, there is the existential threat posed by climate change and the general degradation of the environment.

An early consolation is that the President set off to a good start. He handpicked the most competent members of his economic team to help him assess the situation, set targets, and make plans based on empirical historical data. They know what to do. The newly approved Philippine Development Plan 2023-2028 spells out the government’s priorities and targets in order to reach specific development goals in the near to medium term. These priorities are fleshed out in the General Appropriations Act where the government shows its priorities and commitments through the budget it allots to them. This first year, too, pieces of legislation crucial to development were passed.

Equally important as these plans and programs is the how of governance: The manner by which those lofty objectives would be achieved. From all indications, this administration is choosing to govern not by taking everything on by itself, but by actively pursuing partnerships and collaborations with other sectors of society—the private sector, first and foremost, and civil society.

It is these partnerships that are driving efforts in numerous aspects of running the government, specifically energy security, trade and investments, environment and sustainability, and security.

In all these, public-private partnerships occupy a central role. For instance, we need investments in energy, specifically in renewable, clean energy to achieve an optimal mix that balances our power requirements while making a conscious choice to be sustainable and not harm the environment further. The administration has recognized the different voices of various groups calling for what that optimal mix should be, and how this is best attained.

Meanwhile, as we seek to narrow down our trade deficit and encourage investments, especially in manufacturing, it is important that we foster an environment that is friendly to business, with rules that are consistent and evenly applied. We are done with the days when policy was announced on a whim and when investors are not sure whether regulations that apply today would still be there tomorrow.

In the environment, the private sector has taken the lead by going beyond compliance in their very operations—not just as a corporate social responsibility activity—environmentally aware practices that consider sustainability and the circular economy. Despite our relatively low carbon footprint as a nation, we strive to work with civil society in high-impact projects either mitigating global warming or helping communities adapt to its consequences.

Finally, in the continued assertion of our sovereignty and integrity in the West Philippine Sea, the administration has recognized the importance of partnering with like-minded states and the private sector and employing technology and defense capabilities in dealing with traditional, nontraditional, and evolving threats.

Just a few days ago, Mr. Marcos issued Executive Order No. 31, institutionalizing the Philippine Open Government System which would oversee and implement our commitment to the Open Government Partnership (OGP), a global movement composed of 76 countries, 106 local governments, and thousands of civil society organizations promoting transparency, participatory, inclusive, and accountable governance. We are not novices to the OGP and, in fact, the Philippines was a founding member when it was first established in 2011. Nonetheless, the issuance of EO 31 demonstrates the commitment of the current administration to not only do what is right but to pursue it in the right way.

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Dindo Manhit is founder and CEO of the Stratbase Group.