The Philippine Online Chronicles

“It takes a leadership and people to come up with a vision. A vision is nothing but a mental picture of a beautiful event that  is better than what is today. To get that vision, you have to aim high . That means you have to exact values.  If it is all vision, if it is all aiming high that is yabang. One should have the work ethic.  Bawal ang tamad lalo na bawal ang tanga.  We are not Juan Tamad nor Juan Stupid. Of course, I have a lot of emphasis with Bayani  (Fernando) on duty”.

Here in Blog Watch, we invite the presidential candidates to discuss with us their vision for 2010 . We want the candidates to  know that “he/she is being evaluated on a whole range of issues, a process based on merit” and not just based on a emotional reaction.

There  are many ways of stating the criteria for the 2010 elections but I chose to express it in three simple words in a previous article- character, competence and coherent platforms . I decided to add a fourth one, a clear idea of what vision and strategic agenda they will pursue together and  the  process they will undertake to arrive at that common vision and agenda.

Sen. Richard (Dick) Gordon and former Metro Manila Development Authority (MMDA) chairman Bayani Fernando envision the Philippines as an “enabled, engaged, and noble country”

Their vision is one grounded on values and volunteerism. In the Constitutional  Convention, Dick Gordon was the youngest delegate there while he was still in law school. He achieved attitude and a bill of duties and responsibilities of citizens.

Bayani Fernando tandem with Dick Gordon focused attention on the reputations as no-nonsense performers or as Gordon puts it “transformers”--people who change society.

Gordon continues on with his vision. “Create opportunity and atmosphere so that people can thrive. How do you do that?”

He wants an educated Philippines, a Philippines that knows its history, because “we cannot move forward unless we know the past so we can look forward to the future with pride and hope.”

“Constitution says education should be provided for. Children lose interest in going to school. The teacher is poorly paid. There are 150 students to one toilet on the average. The foundation should really based on this  You train the teacher and pay them well.

“We re-train the teacher and make sure that if Singapore can pay them  122,000, we pay them 40,000 pesos a month and we follow the UNESCO standard, We have an education-based citizenry because poverty is an absence of choice. When one is poor or uneducated one is able to discern.”

Gordon  aims to advance educational development programs where improvement in the country's education system is not limited to giving the educators a raise and going about the typical facilities enhancement. One suggestion he made was the implementation of “a Kindle for every public school student.” He suggested 50 centavos of every text message be allocated to the education budget and used for the purchase of these devices.

“You can put an entire curriculum in one Kindle. All the books needed from elementary until college, or even for graduate schools,” Gordon added.

Education is clearly the priority program under the “Transformers” administration. He explains that “If we can think , discern, then one can really know of  ones’ values and then you are all set. The government doesn’t have to take care of you because you will know how to find your future. It is better to know where you are going and not know how, than to know how you’re going and not know where.”

Bayani Fernando says that discipline still holds the key to the solutions of the country's problems.

“Follow the laws of the country, almost all our problems, the solution to them are already in our laws.”

His  short term dream is a government friendly,  happy and  productive working class Philippines. ‘We are all workers from the president to the last man, and we’ve got to be productive. That’s the key to solving the key of poverty. I will try my best to get our people to have that discipline.”

Gordon and Fernando have done all that they did in Subic and Marikina and  tells the electorate that they have the track record and political will to do it for the rest of the country.  They are willing to implement unpopular policies as long as it is for the common good.   A "strong political will”  was stressed  to effectively run the government while  decisions and policies “must be made regardless of public perception."

Butch Dalisay, the biographer of Dick Gordon adds that “ one just has to look at what Gordon has done in Subic and Olongapo, and what Fernando did to Marikina, to see how they have delivered on their word. Both places provide working demonstrations of what inspired leadership and political will can achieve”

“We are not a burden to our people. Ultimately, the Filipino voters would have to learn to select good officials to run this country.” Gordon concluded in his closing statement in our interview.

The present times call for a tough administrator, statesman and economic leader. Should we call in the “Transformers” to bolt in?

Adobe Flash Player not installed or older than 9.0.115!

Photo from http://mcoy.blogspot.com/2010/01/dick-gordon-and-bayani-fernando.html

Photo and video by author. Some Rights Reserved