Raul Concepcion’s guide to intelligent voting

Thumbing through a not-too-recent issue of BlizNewsAsia, I re-read its cover story on the Concepcion family, this going back to patriarch Jose Concepcion, Sr. who founded and organized Concepcion Industries, and referring more specifically to Raul "Ronnie" Concepcion, chairman emeritus, and his son Raul Joseph, hands-on COO of the Concepcion Group.

Written by my friend Antonio S. Lopez, president and editorial director of the weekly business magazine, the article is one of RP’s few globalization success stories – how Concepcion Carrier Airconditioning captured world markets, with Raul now pursuing advocacies for consumer and national welfare.

As an aside, Tony throws light on "a family trait", a sterling quality of the Concepcion brothers, the twins Jose (known popularly as "JoeCon") and Raul, and the late Rene, this trait being their intense devotion and loyalty to their wives.

"One of the secrets of success of their father Jose, Sr. was his faithfulness to his wife, the late Herminia Santos. The couple ran a business school. They taught their children nothing but work, work, work. Concepcion Sr. was the first Filipino CEO of a multinational company in the country until he quit to put up Concepcion Industries as its chairman and Ronnie, its president and CEO.

With short-lived, stormy marriages in fashion, Tony fills us in with the following: JoeCon of RFM Corporation has been married to Marivic (Araneta) for 46 years, Raul to Menchu (De las Alas) for 44 years, and the late Rene and Susan (Puyat) for nearly 40 years. None of their married children – nine for Joe, five for Ronnie, three for Rene and four for only sister Mely (married to Rafael Hechanova) – are separated. Ronnie and Menchu have 15 grandchildren.

This is something of a record in a society notorious for liberated views on marriage. However, what seems most relevant for the nonce in Tony’s cover story is Ronnie’s guide to intelligent voting, with the national elections upon us.

Says Ronnie: "Our political system has not been responsive to the needs of the people. This has resulted in the accumulation of extremely difficult problems over the last fifty years. The consequence is a people desperate and disillusioned, losing faith in democratic institutions and facing a grim future.

"Democratic institutions are rapidly breaking down and losing credibility. Yet, there are no statesmen or heroic figures among those in the Executive, the Legislative and the Judiciary who can respond to the challenges and problems of the times.

"Thus, it becomes a matter of urgency and survival that the people chose wisely their next president, using three major criteria: integrity, competence and charisma. Normally, all three must be shared in equal measure by the candidate."

Writes Tony: "Concepcion, however, puts a premium on the first two – integrity and competence. He assigns 35 percent to each of them. Charisma? He thinks it worth only 30 percent. This implies that the next president must be a doer – not a populist."

Concepcion defines integrity as "more than simple honesty or the refusal to take bribes or dip into government coffers. It is being beholden to no economic backers and vested interests. It is holding on to one’s principles in the face of overwhelming odds. It is moral and political will.

"Competence means adequate education and experience in service to the people. Nothing less is required of the president, for he or she must grapple with the most complex problems a nation can ever have."

Concepcion makes a litany of our grave problems: the loss of people’s faith, massive poverty, rising unemployment, population explosion, deteriorating educational system, peace and order and rising criminality, to name some.

What about charisma? "It is more than popularity. The president must heal wounds, reach out, inspire the people, win their support, convince them to take sacrifices for the long term and the common good. Charisma is credibility. It is leadership."

Lopez asks: Do these criteria rule out Fernando Poe Jr., the actor and high school dropout? Concepcion merely smiles, painfully aware that a candidate may have the right stuff but lack charisma.

Lopez continues: "Corazon Aquino had integrity and competence in mathematics and in French. She majored in both in a N.Y. convent school. She ahd no experience as a politician except to serve coffee to Ninoy’s political friends. She sought the presidency in 1986. She became president not by election but by popular revolt. She made it. Why? Because she had charisma and credibility.

"FPJ’s case is an entirely different matter. Obviously, he has no competence as an experienced politician. Yet, he just might make it to the presidency. Which worries thoughtful businessmen like Concepcion. Which is why he wants to make sure the next president will deliver the goods as president.

"Why is Ronnie Concepcion doing what no other tycoon worth his salt would dare do and which could reap him political repercussions?"

Earlier, Lopez pointed out that "in a remarkable show of political activism, Concepcion had bought expensive newspaper advertisements detailing the qualificiations of a good president. Concepcion had asked fellow businessmen, newspaper readers and the public in general to rate the presidential candidate.

"I became worried for our country," Concepcion confides. "A lot of people have expressed concern about what could happen if we elected the wrong candidate. The election is the most crucial in our history. It is our last chance to catch up with the rest of the world. If there is good governance, you get a good economic environment."