Noynoy Aquino and his rivals

Grading the presidentiables


In his book, “The Art of War”, Sun Tzu said “Leadership is a matter of intelligence, trustworthiness, humaneness, courage, and discipline.” But he said:

“Reliance on intelligence alone results in rebelliousness. Exercise of humaneness alone results in weakness.
“Fixation on trust results in folly. Dependence on the strength of courage results in violence.
“Excessive discipline and sternness in command result in cruelty.
“When one has all five virtues together, each appropriate to its function, then one can be a leader.”
Sun Tzu is saying a leader must possess all qualities but with the right balance.
For instance, his supporters say Noynoy Aquino is trustworthy. But GE’s Jeff Immelt says to be trusted, one must be competent. You need competence to analyze problems, delegate, goad others into action, be able to make the right decisions and quickly.

On the other hand, Gibo Teodoro is perceived as highly intelligent and competent. But he trails in the survey simply because he hasn’t had enough exposure and for that reason, people aren’t sure whether to trust him.
Meanwhile, Joseph Estrada sometimes is not perceived as having a very high IQ but has a surfeit of EQ—emotional intelligence and plenty of executive experience in public office. He is charismatic and hugely popular despite his known habits of womanizing and drinking and early morning merrymaking. He has quit those, he says.
As commander-in-chief Erap is also the one who captured 46 camps of the MILF, the Muslim separatists. Had he lasted longer in the presidency, he would have broken the backbone of the communist New People’s Army. Therefore, he has courage. But courage, Sun Tzu warns, results in violence. And it did.
Dick Gordon and Bayani Fernando are advocates of discipline. But sternness could result in cruelty.
BizNewsAsia has graded the presidentiables, using Sun Tzu’s qualities of discipline and GE Jack Immelt’s practical concepts of leadership. Villar and Gibo Teodoro came on top of the heap with Noynoy Aquino having the lowest score.

Four things one can say about Aquino: One, Noynoy has had a lackluster record as a congressman of nine years and senator for three years; two, he has had very little management experience, except for a brief period as a salesman of Nike shoes, shirts and shorts; three, he has not even managed a household, because he has none; and four, yet, this is a guy who wants to manage the Philippines – the 12th largest nation on earth in population, with a government budget of P1.5 trillion and a work force of two million state workers, making it the country’s largest corporation; $54 billion in foreign debts, and two insurgencies – communism and Muslim separatism, both of them the longest-running in the world.

Also, has to account for the 6,400-ha. Hacienda Luisita. This huge estate was acquired with government loans (from the Central Bank and GSIS) by the Cojuangco family of Corazon Aquino, using their political connections, with the condition that it would be subdivided later on and given to its tenant farmers. After half a century, the estate still is owned and controlled by the Cojuangco family. Cory’s share of the Hacienda, about seven percent (or 448 hectares), has been divided among her children, with Noynoy getting a percent.

Noynoy keeps harping about corruption. Please note that corruption is not simply the direct stealing of money from government coffers, thru kickbacks and commissions and overpriced sweetheart deals. It is also about abuse of power. Abuse of power is a more pernicious form of corruption.

Abuse of power is like rape using a condom. It gives you a feeling of security while you are being – -you know the word. Screw.
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