We need a dictator with a heart and soul
This country does not need a leader who keeps on smiling while his people are robbing the national treasury. We do not need a president who tolerates bureaucratic underlings who keep on refusing to perform their jobs in the service of the people. We do not need a leader who allows public service to deteriorate because he does not want to ruffle the feathers of powerful agency heads. We want a leader who kicks out people, even his friends for some shenanigans and ineptitude. We do not want a trapo who wants to please the gallery and gets a thunderous applause. We want one who does not care about his popularity or lack of it. Tue leaders are not expected to make people happy all the time. They are called upon to do what is right even if it makes people sad and even angry.
Since most Filipino private sector workers and government personnel are generally lacking in a sense of urgency, and mostly are without any client orientation, we need dictators who are authoritative, task-oriented, purpose-driven, and firm, as well as no-nonsense disciplinarians. We don't need some happy-go-lucky heads of private corporations and groups who compromise the rules, look the other way, and refuse to call the attention of subordinates who are lazy, inept and grossly and habitually negligent. This is especially true to governors and mayors. They should scold, reprimand, suspend or dismiss lazy people in the capitol and in the city hall, even if these are sons or daughters of their political leaders.
The performance of provincial, city and municipal governments depends on the leadership of the governors and mayors. The local chief executive should not consume all their time inside their cozy offices, nor going out “suroy suroy” and stand as sponsors to weddings, baptisms or parties that do not impact on good governance, much less on the people's satisfaction with government services. Mayors should go and see the long lines in front of the treasurer's offices, the licensing units, the civil registrars and the other agencies attached to the local government units. They should go out and micro-manage those neglectful heads of offices and their underlings who are doing Facebook while taxpayers are suffering under the heat of the sun, waiting for their papers to be processed and released.
We need a dictator in the capitol and in the city and municipal hall who is feared and respected rather than loved and esteemed. We need results; thus, mayors must be result-oriented. We need quick and correct service; thus, mayors should demand a sense of urgency among all functionaries working inside the city hall even if they belong to a national agency. But those dictators should have hearts, souls and consciences. We need a no-nonsense leader, manager and disciplinarian. The leader should make people do their jobs, respect the time and efforts of the people, and make subordinates become instruments of the people's faith in government.
The malady in government is not really on the character and competence of leaders. These social cancers of corruption and gross neglect are really down there in the lowest levels. But the leaders should be blamed for not kicking them out of their graft and complacency. We really need dictators who have hearts and souls.
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