Leaders are not made in the Philippines

Everyone in the Philippines who has anything to say is saying great things about former New York City mayor Rudy Giuliani and his speech at a leadership forum attended by many of the country's VIPs.

Never mind that the country's leading national newspapers couldn't quite agree among themselves on how to spell the name of Giuliani. That all of them featured him prominently on their front pages is testament to the impact he and his speech had on them.

And true enough, the speech, " Leadership in Times of Crisis, " was great, at least as far as what I can fairly deduce from the heaping quotes the newspapers ran of it. I myself was not at the forum, so I can only comment on what I was served in print.

Anyway, Giuliani must be an electrifying fellow. I recall they even made a movie about him. And the venerable Time Magazine could not have named him " Man of the Year " in 2001 if he did not deserve it.

In his speech, Giuliani challenged Filipinos that the only way they can hope to extricate themselves from their miserable lot ( of course he did not say it that way ) is if they can choose as their next leader someone they can truly trust.

" The very best way to do this ... figure out which one you can trust most for the future of your country. Filipinos may be in disagreement, but who do you trust the most? Who do you think is closest to what you want for the future of your country?, " Giuliani said.

You know, great speeches can be made by anyone. A Filipino could very well have made that speech for Giuliani without anyone of us getting any wiser. I have nothing against the man. In fact I admired Giuliani for his leadership in the aftermath of September 11.

But speeches alone do not make great leaders. Some of the best leaders in the world do not even know how to deliver one. On the other hand, some of the worst despots in the world have been known to rant for hours.

Great leaders are great men of substance who happen to be blessed with the right circumstances to shine. That is why great countries like America have had a long string of great leaders because the circumstances in which they found themselves allowed them to shine.

Not so in the Philippines. I doubt if a man like Giuliani, armed with the same kind of dogged resolve to haul New Yorkers out of the tragedy of 9/11, could ever survive the snake pit that existing and aspiring leaders inevitably find themselves in.

In America, leaders have their jobs cut out for them. That is because, no matter what their differences, no matter what their travails, Americans can always be counted upon to rally behind their flag. At the end of the day, Americans know what America is all about.

In the Philippines, people do not even stop for the flag when it is raised in the morning. You still need a policeman to blow his whistle to force a grudging acknowledgement for something that other people take to heart with their lives.

In the Philippines, there is no true leadership. The kind of leadership that exists is the one that is associated with political positions, nothing more. If you happen to be a mayor, then you happen to be a leader of a city or a town. But that is that.

In such a context, in such an understanding of how the complex mechanisms of politics works, no leader can rise above the pettiness of political demands. Instead, leaders are reduced to compromise, cutting corners, and corrupt practices.

How can a Giuliani survive his leadership demons when at six in the morning, as mayor of a fifth class municipality in some far flung island away from cosmopolitan Manila, dozens of people are already at his door asking for rice, medicine, trophies, basketballs, etc.

If he turns them away, he will no longer be the mayor next year. He will be back in the rice paddy where the only ones who will look up to him with some semblance of respect as a leader would be the croaking frogs darting from his plodding feet.