Q&A with Francis Aquino-Dee

I have forwarded the questions to Francis Dee, Sen. Noy’s nephew and this is his response on behalf of his uncle:

1) Other than the “leadership by example” how exactly can he address corruption which we all know is systemic and ingrained in the bureaucracy. Shouldn’t he address the value systems of pinoys, patronage politics, etc.

Just to stress how important leadership by example is, I’ll share a quote from Batman Begins from then Lieutenant Gordon. “Like there’s anyone left to rat to.” There’s a reason why leadership by example works; it’s not just imitation from followers who are in awe of you. It is, as you said, systemic: if the top is dirty, there will be no one to check on the bottom, hence, an overall corrupt government; if the top is clean, on the other hand, there will be a check on the bottom, meaning there will be a higher authority to deal with corruption to which those below will be accountable to, hence, a less corrupt government.

Corruption is difficult to eradicate as you said, and while that is the end, it is unrealistic to say that it can be achieved in one term. However, a lot of difference can be made if we simply shift the paradigm of tolerating corruption to one of non-tolerance of it.

How will the president check those below? Constitutionally, the President is the chief executive, and most of the executive branch serves at his pleasure. He also makes most appointments, not only in the executive but in the judiciary (I’ll get to that later) and independent commissions as well. Second, the President approves the Congress’s pork barrel, one of the major sources of corruption. You’ve no doubt heard about the stories of representatives like Risa Hontiveros not receiving pork barrel for staunchly opposing the administration; imagine if that can be done to corrupt officials. The only hole left is the judiciary, which is why this midnight appointment case is so important. While the president does appoint members of the judiciary, the terms of those who’re already appointed end only when they reach 70.

(Just a side note. As far as I know, only Sen. Noynoy has spoken out against the midnight appointment, which is weird since not being able to appoint the chief justice would be a huge loss for the president no matter who he is. Hmm…)

Long story short, we have seen how much damage a bad president can do with all the position’s powers. Imagine, then, how much good a good president can do.

2) Why isn’t Noynoy keen on travelling abroad? (other than to be GMA’s exact opposite). But aren’t Presidents suppose to sell the goods and potential of the country and in return attract more FDI’s

Not sure. Off the top of my head though, even Gibo has admitted that the primary concern of the incoming president will definitely be local issues.

Similar to this whole issue on Noynoy turning around on his tax policy, however, this might just be negative spin. Saying that he might have to raise taxes doesn’t change the fact that, he won’t if he is able to recover enough (“enough” already being grossly conservative estimate by the admission of his economic advisers) revenue from anti-corruption. Not wanting to travel doesn’t mean that he won’t travel. It’s just that, in contrast to the current administration’s ridiculous travel expenses and favoring foreign interests over local ones overall, Noynoy brings a minimal travel budget and a foreign policy dictated by national interests to the table.

3) Does Noynoy believe that we should be a competitive nation…in all aspects (not just in addressing corruption) but in other indicators such as Infrastructure, Public Health, Innovation (availability of scientists and engineers), Production process sophistication (less of Sarao jeepneys), etc.

Also need more research.

At the very least, however, he plans to be competitive with agriculture based on his Makati Business Club Speech:

“When I read about countries that have invested in their agriculture sectors and succeeded, it always pains me to find that these countries – Vietnam and Thailand , to name just a couple – had started by sending their experts to be educated in the Philippines . It seems that we cannot implement among ourselves the lessons we successfully imparted to experts from elsewhere. This will have to change. We must be able to harness our homegrown talent in order to further our local industries.

When we change administrations, there must be a complete review of all the programs in the Department of Agriculture. We can do a lot for our farmers given the present budget of the Department if we eliminate the leaks and focus on the efficient use of resources. For example, we must stop eating up millions in mere administrative costs as in the case of NABCOR, which charged our government P60 million because it served as a useless conduit to regional offices. We will also support efforts such as supply chain management that minimizes losses, creates jobs, consults with stakeholders, and capitalizes on our competitive”

4) When will he ever “move on” and solicit help from those on the opposite side of the political fence – Will he ever be the President that will connect with Ilocanos (Marcos’ turf)? Or will continue to be vindictive about so-called “political justice”?

Sen. Noynoy pursues justice. I don’t know what “political justice” refers to, but for one thing, I know that he strongly holds himself and those he works with against his principles. His senate slate is the prime example of that. In Marcos’s or even GMA’s case, his stand has always been to guarantee all of his opponents the rights to which they are entitled to before the law. However, he also says that “To lead transformation, you cannot be part of the problem.” (Also from Makati Business Club speech) This is not to say that individuals are permanently part of the problems, rather it is an attack on the principles they continue to hold.

Marcos, for example, maintains that his father’s administration would have been best for the country and condemns that 1986 EDSA Revolution. I have no authority to judge on who is right and who is wrong, but how much help can someone who is of completely opposite principles (Sen. Noynoy, of course, holds the People Power Revolution on a pedestal) work towards the same direction.

This is also not to say, however, that Sen. Noynoy is closed to opinions. Paraphrasing his own words, he’s open to all points of view, even those directly opposing his own because having more ideas allows you a wider selection to choose from and even allows you to combine them. At the end of the day, however, the decisions he makes are those that he feels are most in line with the mandate given him by the people who elected him.

5) Noynoy mentioned that he will give a level playing field within the business groups (which I read as – Give Family A the advantage they missed during GMA, and Give Family B lesser because they gained a lot already during GMA). The question is When will or how will he give a level playing field to the poor and poverty stricken Filipino, whose condition has gone worse through the years (while the Oligarch Families now supporting him never had it so good in the last 80 years)….
I honestly don’t get the question. :p However, I’ll answer to the best of my ability.

The concept of level playing field, as I understand it, is not meant to antagonize anyone. Of course, groups or families that have benefited illicitly from the current administration will have to be brought to justice in the campaign against corruption. Other than that, however, I have yet to hear of any plans to burden the private sector. In fact, the plan to is work with the private sector to level the playing field for the poor?

How? Well, the obvious long term solution is better education. The 10-point education plan is already out in public, but I’d like to focus on his idea of partnering with private schools for government scholarships. It is dramatically cheaper to put a child through private school, the government shouldering half the tuition fee and the private school shouldering the other half, than to build a classroom. This a short term solution to complement the long term solution to education, which is fixing the public education system by investing in better textbooks, for example.

He also plans to level the playing field for small and medium businesses. The price of entering into business in the Philippines is so high because of corruption. With corruption removed, more businesses will flourish, leading to competition, which will reduce the prices of crony-controlled monopolies.

There are also projects to fix infrastructure, which will be done in partnership with the private sector, attempting to save the money lost by rich and poor alike to time wasted in traffic.

I could go on, but the common factor here is partnership with the private sector, and development for all. The very notion Sen. Noynoy wants to break is “the wrong kind of competitiveness” where parties each attempt to curry or sway the government’s favor. Development for all is possible, and many in the private sector, which as a whole is often unfairly antagonized, are willing to work towards this universal progress.

One last MBC quote to conclude:

“In a small-scale operation it is easy for everyone involved to visualize that entity as the combination of their collective efforts. As opposed to, say, when you are a bigger firm, and there is the management side and there is the labor side. In Tagalog, it’s even more dramatic. Kayo at kami, sa halip na tayo.
We must find a unity that transcends the divisions of today, based on a shared commitment to transforming our country into one that works.”

The Philippines has been criticized for “not being a nation” due to its social and ethnic divisions. Sen. Noynoy’s campaign, therefore, is, in the fullest sense of the word, nation-building.