A detached presidency?

We really, in all honesty, should have very low expectations of Junior in terms of his management style. He has never managed anything in his life.

He was governor of Ilocos Norte, but he was not the hands-on governor that his sister Imee was. He was lucky to have capable subordinates who managed the province when he was governor.

For those of us with some managerial experience, we know during emergencies, there is nothing better than being right there and getting your hands dirty with the situation on the ground. Delegation is fine, but not while you are still new to the job.

Junior tried delegating early to his then executive secretary and press secretary, and both subordinates crashed in flames. Junior delegated duties at the agriculture department to a respected expert, but it also failed because Junior was not clear how much authority he was willing to delegate.

When still on OJT, like Junior is now, it is best that he spends a lot of time learning the ropes, specially in key departments like agriculture, where he didn’t name a Cabinet member to take charge. Sure, technology helps, but I doubt management by Zoom is as effective as face-to-face management in times of crisis, like typhoons or that sugar shortage.

Then again, it was obvious from the start that Junior only wanted the honor and the power of the presidency. He isn’t exactly in love with the amount of work being president requires.

In other words, Junior would have been alright as a ceremonial or figurehead king. Those who voted for him must have known Junior’s aversion to hard work, but voted for him anyway to deliver whatever message to the rest of us.

Unfortunately for Junior, being president of the Philippines is backbreaking work. FVR and GMA were the most hardworking of our recent presidents. Erap winged it over two years. PNoy worked hard, but was aloof. Duterte cursed his way through six years, as he overslept daily, and left management to a capable guy like Sonny Dominguez.

Perhaps we need a parliamentary system with a working prime minister and a symbolic president like in Singapore. The prime minister can rise from the ranks through sheer talent and accomplishments. The president can focus on looking pretty, as he or she receives the credentials of newly-appointed ambassadors, and then sleep the rest of the time or attend F1 races.

Jimmy Morelos, a friend in an egroup, observed that we love to put down our own country by voting the wrong person for president.

“And this is probably one of the reasons why we were left behind by other countries here in Southeast Asia when we used to be at the top of the heap in this region.

“We elect presidents without understanding that the presidency is a MANAGEMENT POSITION and we should elect a president who has a long track record of managing large enterprises if we want to progress.

“Singapore is one of the richest countries in the world based on per capita income because of good management by their government. They get the best and the brightest from the private sector and pay them higher salaries than what they will get in the private sector…

“Lee Kwan Yu told N.R. Murthy, the founder of Infosys, one of the biggest IT companies in India, that he should have been the prime minister of India and that India would probably progress rapidly under Murthy. Murthy, one of the richest men in India, is also the father-in-law of Rishi Sunak, the newly elected prime minister of Great Britain.

“India has some of the best scientists and top executives who run some of the biggest companies in the world. But the country, just like the Philippines, is run by people who have NO MANAGEMENT EXPERIENCE and India, like the Philippines, has many laws that hinder progress of the country. Both India and the Philippines are poor countries.”

Come to think of it, some of the best talkers in many international conferences I have attended are Indians and Filipinos. We are experts in everything. Yet, we are unable to execute good ideas. It took us over 10 years to construct a four-kilometer extension to LRT2 with no right of way problem.

One management strategy Junior must adopt is management-by-walking-around. Junior is new in his job and he has to know how the pieces work together. The best way to do that is to spend time going around and checking on key aspect of running our country.

For instance, we can assume Junior knows next to nothing about agriculture. Yet, he assumed the portfolio. From what we gather, he has visited the department at most twice since he took office. How does he expect to come up to speed very quickly to address a looming food shortage before it becomes a full-blown crisis?

The prospect of having a food crisis is real. A PhilRice study predicts a decline of around 1.3 million MT of palay (unhusked rice) harvest or equivalent to around 700,000 metric tons  (MT) of rice this year due to the inadequate fertilizer application.

Increasing world prices of rice and other food commodities, as well as rising food nationalism, may make importing the food we need not as easy as before.

Does Junior have a plan? Do they still have enough time to fully respond to the problem? Bahala na!

What we now have is a detached presidency. If we only listened to Junior’s father who wrote in his diary: “Bongbong is our principal worry. He is too carefree and lazy.”

Junior’s father concluded: “The boy must realize his weakness – the carefree wayward ways that may have been bred in him.”

During the typhoon weekend, Junior did not have to be out there distributing relief goods. But he must reassure people he knows what is going on while the crisis is going on. He cannot just disappear.

A belated Zoom meeting from a kitchen table doesn’t count. A leader must show some heart… show that the lives of people he is responsible for are important.

Boo Chanco’s email address is [email protected]. Follow him on Twitter @boochanco