Preserving the legacy of EDSA 1986

I have been asked several times what we should do, as a nation and as a people, to preserve the legacy of the February 1986 EDSA Revolution.

My answer is: protect democracy and unleash the full potential of democracy.

Protecting democracy requires vigilance. It also requires courage, not just the physical kind but the moral kind. It requires on the part of public officials in particular refusing to be bought, refusing to compromise, refusing to collaborate with those who show tendencies toward despotism. The previous regime did not just succeed because it was ruthless, it also succeeded because many officials were willing to support it for personal advancement and gain.

Unleashing the full potential of democracy requires alleviating poverty, if not eradicating it. I will not tire of saying again and again: Democracy is nothing if it is not also democratizing wealth. Democracy cannot thrive in a society whose population groans in abject poverty.

Every brilliant idea from anywhere, of whatever political color, all our minds and all our passions, must be put together in a strategy or program to address poverty. Right now I could think of these five approaches:

• An efficient bureaucracy that works like a well-oiled machine, starting with competent and caring front line services.

• Efficient systems and policies to make it easier for business and industry to prosper, and to attract more investment.

• The efficient utilization of national and local budgets to address the key concerns of the country — education, health, livelihood, disaster management, good local governance, and so on.

• Efficient stewardship of our natural resources so truly benefit our people while assuring the sustainability of the environment.

• Efficient implementation of our security objectives, with the military and the police free from political pressures, able to discharge their functions to the full, and focused solely on protecting our citizens.

In other words, you have to do just about everything. Anyone wanting to take on the daunting responsibility of leading this country must consider everything.

My experience in Makati has taught me well: Have a political will, enroll the people’s participation, and be transparent about it. And if we may add, collect taxes well but don’t put all the money in the bank, spend it for social services. Roughly, that brought the country’s premier financial district from the brink of bankruptcy to surplus, from debt to liquidity. And from a place almost strictly for business to a place that cares for people.

As far as alleviating poverty goes, one must have a will of iron but not a heart of stone. As far as protecting democracy goes, Makati has been a rampart of freedom and a bastion of protest all these years.

As far as unleashing the full potential of democracy goes, Makati is the showcase of pro-poor projects, programs, and institutions. We have seen the fruits of People Power in Makati through a government that serves its people well. There is no reason why it cannot be done at the national level.