The Philippine Online Chronicles

Here is a guide to presidential candidates and the platform matrix.

“Who are you voting for?” Friends and relatives ask me that question whenever they find out that I interviewed seven presidential candidates. I tell them that I am not supporting a candidate yet but I already have a short list based on a selection criteria. I rattle off three candidates: Manny Villar, Dick Gordon, and Nick Perlas, in that order.  A few eyebrows are raised as I mention an unpopular choice among the AB market.   But see, each one of us determines a criteria which can be classfied as WANTS and MUSTS. I decided to make my short list a bit more quantifiable by creating a score card and a set of criteria based on personal knowledge, information gathered from interviews, forums, and other research materials on the candidate’s website.

I discovered two bloggers who developed methods to evaluate and select a candidate to vote for as president of the Philippines in May 10, 2010. BenK used a sensible assessment method to choose a candidate which is similar to the Kepner-Tregnoe Matrix explained by BongV.  I decided to use the latter. I downloaded the voting matrix,  an application of Kepner-Tregoe methodology in selecting a candidate for the 2010 Philippine Presidential elections.

The Kepner-Tregnoe appealed to me more since it forced me to take stock, to review the candidates, to find out more information, to do research, to verify and validate information about the candidates:

1 .  what they want to do;
2 . what they have already done;
3.  what they have accomplished; and
4.  what they want to accomplish.

and score accordingly.

What is the Kepner-Tregnoe methodology?

Kepner-Tregoe decision making is a structured methodology for gathering information and prioritizing and evaluating it. It was developed by Charles H. Kepner and Benjamin B. Tregoe in the 1960s. This is a rational model that is well respected in business management circles. An important aspect of Kepner-Tregoe decision making is the assessment and prioritizing of risk.

So the idea is not to find a perfect solution but rather the best possible choice, based on actually achieving the outcome with minimal negative consequences. It is marketed as a way to make unbiased decisions in that it is said to limit conscious and unconscious biases that draw attention away from the outcome.

How did I fill in the voting matrix analysis ?

(Download the voting matrix excel file here)

1. I  followed  BongV’s mandatory requirement list which meant that any candidate must meet these criteria without exception in order to be considered for a position.

2.  I changed the desirable qualities based on What I look for in a president. The desirable qualities meant that once the candidate has met the Mandatory Objectives then he/she can be viewed and  rated as to how well he/she meets the Desirable Objectives, which have been prioritized on a 1-10 (Low-High) scale.

One of my top requirements was the Millenium Development Goals on primary education and maternal health and the ability to be both servant and inspiring leader.  It is so easy for candidates to lay out wonderful plans but my basis was also a previous track record to support this plan.

3.  I selected only seven candidates since I didn’t have adequate data for the other three.

4.  In computing the final score, the weighted score is the product of a Desired Criteria’s weight and the raw score that I indicated.

When all the Desired Criteria are tallied, I  compared the total points of each candidate.  The candidate who meets all the MUST criteria and has the highest score is the logical choice.

Lo and behold. The results surprised me! Based on the Kepner-Tregnoe Matrix, the top choices are

• Dick Gordon- 750
• Manny Villar - 717
• Gibo Teodoro- 619

Unfortunately, no one got a perfect score on the mandatory requirement.

Based on BenK’s assessment method, here are his results

Manny Villar – 31: I’m surprised that he scores as well as he does, because if I was doing this just based on personal impressions, I would write him off as a contemptible pig. A good example of why a rational, information-based process is better. Even so, I’m kind of glad he only finishes third on this list.

Gibo Teodoro – 32: A firm second choice in almost every respect, but really calls down suspicion on his ability to select an effective team with his choice of that yahoo Manzano.

Dick Gordon – 39: A clear winner, even without a proper platform (which I would still like to see, by the way – let’s do the whole job right, Dick, please). He has the qualifications, the experience, and the record of achievement to back them up. He’s already started to build a strong team by joining up with Bayani, and he has sensible ideas for what to do with this mess of a country once elected. If there’s any hope of progress for the Philippines to come out of the 2010 elections, it lies with Dick Gordon.

As you can see, we both came up with the same top three candidates but with varying scores.  Gibo Teodoro was never in my short list. I think I know why.  I removed the Gloria Macapagal-Arroyo (GMA)  factor in my criteria.  I should have added that but I didn’t think it was important. Just because a candidate is politically opposed to GMA does not mean he/she is  the better candidate who is efficient and effective and able to spur the economy. I found out GMA supporters are now all over the place. Think “balimbing.”

I want to add another factor that is not quantifiable. Gut feel. I just know when he/she is the one when election day arrives. I will decide on my candidate by combining the results of  the voting matrix and gut feel.

As the weeks pass, the voting matrix may change.  News about these candidates including mudslinging and other black propaganda will be thrown at my face. I need to filter this information in the weeks to follow.

Is my assessment accurate? I believe it is accurate as of today. Will I vote for Dick Gordon today? Maybe, but I won’t tell you who I will vote on May 10, 2010 .   I don't want to appear partisan in this Blog Watch project. Some readers can't distinguish me, as the voter and me, the editor of the project. The exercise of the voting matrix is to illustrate that YOU need to base your decision on a rational informed-based process.

This is not about who I will vote for.

The present times call for a tough administrator, statesman and economic leader.  The electorate need to make good informed choices.

Have you selected a candidate to vote for as president of the Philippines ?

Here is a Guide to Presidential Candidates and their platform matrix

Thank you BongV for the Voting Matrix.

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