Thursday, September 9, 2021
Duterte's Dream, Continuity and Building our Legacy
First of 2 parts
Dreams set the foundation for your life. You first dream about what you want to achieve in your life. Then you work on them to make it come true.
– Deepak Rajpal
EARLY in my childhood, I dreamed of becoming an engineer. Some people dream of becoming doctors, architects, and builders while others dream of entering into business. Dreams inspire us to reach a goal, a vision, or something we aspire for. My dream to become an engineer was personal, and to accomplish this dream, I prepared hard and focused on my dream. Eventually, I finished an engineering degree, and here I am.
I was fortunate to work with a good friend, lawyer Alex Lacson, who is the author and founder of Kabayanihan Foundation. Our group believed in the power of small steps and the importance of building Our Dream Philippines, and how and why Filipinos should be encouraged to dream big not only for themselves and their families but also for our country. I believe that if we dream to succeed personally, we also need to dream together, as Filipinos, to build a better Philippines.
Duterte vision
When President Rodrigo Roa Duterte (PRRD) became President in 2016, he shared his dream and vision for the Philippines - "a comfortable life for all Filipinos." Providing a comfortable life is not an easy task for any country, especially for a developing country like ours. However, let us take a look at what has been done by the Duterte administration since 2016 - from the war against drugs, crime and corruption, to the legislation on free health care and education and the Build, Build, Build infrastructure program.
Landmark laws have already been passed and are now providing comfort for the Filipinos. These include the Universal Access to Quality Tertiary Education Act, Increase in Base Pay of Military and Uniformed Personnel in the Government, Universal Health Care, and Malasakit Centers.
Legislation related to building a comfortable life is easier to implement and act upon unlike infrastructure, such as Build, Build, Build projects, which are complicated, need a lot of approval across different government agencies, and take years to implement. However, with plans and implementation from past administrations, several infrastructure projects have been completed thus far, such as the P2.2-billion Urdaneta City Bypass Road, TPLEx-Luzon Spine Expressway Network, NLEx Harbor Link and extension, Metro Manila Skyway Stage 3, Clark International Airport Expansion Project Phase 1, LRT-2 East Extension (Metro Manila to Rizal) and MRT-3 Rehab, among others.
Difficult as it may seem, the completion of other Build, Build, Build projects is within reach. Some of the projects to be completed from 2022-2028 include the PNR NSCR project, LRT-1 Cavite Extension project, MRT Line 7, Unified Common Station, Mega Manila Subway, Mindanao Rail Tagum Digos Segment, and PNR South Long Haul. These are some of the projects planned before and during President Duterte's administration that we look forward to seeing being continued by the next administration.
Need for continuity
In my opinion, six years is too short a time for a good president, and the continuity of leadership is important in the implementation of plans and programs. The United Arab Emirates would not be the modern and prosperous UAE it is today if the foundations laid down by its founding father, Zayed bin Sultan Al Nahyan, had not been sustained by his son, the current president of UAE and Emir of Abu Dhabi, Sheik Khalifa bin Zayed bin Sultan Al Nahyan, who assumed as successor in 2004.
History will likewise show some critical projects that could have been beneficial for the Filipinos but were discontinued due to differences in vision or dreams for our country. To name a few, projects like the Bataan Nuclear Power Plant and the Parañaque Spillway of President Ferdinand Marcos were scrapped and deferred by the Corazon Aquino administration; the Clark Expo (formerly Expo Pilipino) of President Fidel Ramos was scrapped by President Joseph Estrada; and the Laguna Lake Rehabilitation Project and the Makati subway loop, President Gloria Macapagal Arroyo's projects, were shelved during President Benigno Aquino 3rd's administration. These projects were well studied and could have done a lot to improve the quality of life of the Filipinos. This is what happens if there is no continuity of leadership. Projects which could be beneficial to the "comfortable life for the Filipinos" will and "might" be discontinued. Thus, continuity is important; it will provide fewer constraints, more flexibility, and coordination across administrations.
An example of continuity of leadership is Davao City. As the president of the Philippine Councilors League, who has served both under then Davao City Mayor Rodrigo "Digong" Duterte and incumbent Mayor Sara Duterte-Carpio (CMI), councilor Danny Dayanghirang has said the dream of a progressive Davao is both shared by Mayor Digong and CMI.
Dr. Paul Chua, Ph.D. MNSA is an advocate of continuous learning both local and foreign. He completed "Essentials of Policy Development" at the Lee Kuan Yew School of Public Policy, National University of Singapore; "Strategic Management of Regulatory and Enforcement Agencies" at the Harvard Kennedy School; and "Leadership and Management for Integrity" at the Central European University.