National Holiday: When A Leader Is Celebrated

Today, June 30, 2010, my country is on a national holiday for the inauguration of the 15th President of the Philippines, Benigno Simeon “Noynoy” Cojuangco Aquino III.

So, in lieu of the time that I'm going to spend for my Organizational Behavior subject—a subject that made me want to just read the textbook rather than attend the class—I'm going to write down my thoughts about our newly elected president, the new beacon of hope.

People, from different walks of life and different lands, have written a lot about P-Noy—he prefers to be addressed that way—even days before he publicly announced (in 2009) his decision to ran for President. Whether it’s for a newspaper or a magazine or a blog, people published their gathered facts, thoughts, and opinions about him and his family. Every day, since the start of his last-minute campaign, we have heard and have read people talking about him. We can be most certain that people will continue to talk and write about him after today, especially after today. 

Confession: Yes, I did vote for Noynoy Aquino. Like many other bystanders, I, too, admit that Noy has not proven anything yet when it comes to leadership accomplishments. Nevertheless, over fifteen million Filipino—that's 42% of the voting population—voted for him, and that made him the new President of the Republic of the Philippines! 

I realized that despite the fact that P-Noy has not done much as he should have had as a former congressman and later as a senator, the people gave P-Noy another chance to prove his worth. Despite his detractors' judgment and criticisms about his ineptitude and his inability to run a nation (not to mention their highlighting of his vices and mental disorder), he fought a good fight and gave hope to many Filipinos—a hope of a New Philippines. 

P-Noy never desired to be President; moreso, he never dreamed of inheriting our nation's problems on corruption and poverty. But he has to. Not only because he is the son of his parents who were defenders of Philippine democracy, but greatly because he is destined to lead this nation, for such a time as this. It is his calling to be the country's CEO, and he courageously responded to the call. That, for me, is a mark of a transformational leader. 


When the Filipino people saw his determination and will to fight against corruption to stamp out poverty, they rallied behind him believing that with the people's power, P-Noy could trample those who financially gained from our country's wealth and liberate our country from moribund state. 

Now, my attempt to write about him is not to match those who have written (can write) better or have given (can give) better information and opinion than I. My writing about him is not even to pledge my allegiance to the heir of the yellow fever or to defend my voting for him as President. If any of the above were my reasons, I should have blogged about him few months back. My reason for writing is triggered by overwhelming support of the people who came to Quirino Grandstand this morning to witness personally his inauguration. There were about 500,000 supporters, including politicians and celebrities, who came to see P-Noy take his oath and to listen to his inaugural speech.  Not only that, about 200,000 people went to the street party at Quezon Memorial Circle this evening to celebrate the victory of our new leader. 

As I was reflecting on what I've seen—yes, on television!—I realized that it makes a big difference when a leader is loved…and is, more importantly, celebrated. It feels better to see people on the streets celebrating what is good and admirable rather than to see them going on strike or rallying against the government, or somebody in the government. It feels better to see a nation rejoicing because of a new hope rather than to see it crying out for help because of oppression and injustice. It feels better to see our leaders dying for our country's glory rather than to see them living for their own glories.

Confession: I believe that this new government can change the course of our nation. I have to. We all have to. Otherwise, there is no chance for us to reach our destiny as a nation. Our new leader needs all the help he can get to continue fighting for what is right, for what the people deserve, for what the Philippines ought to become. He needs you and me. 


My friends, especially my fellow MBA students, let us all do our share to help P-Noy lead our country by giving our best to our business organizations that will translate to economic stability and social welfare or by establishing business enterprises that will give more jobs and opportunities to the Filipinos. 

I sincerely hope that, at the end of his term, not only can President Noynoy Aquino repeat what his father, the late Senator Ninoy, once declared, "The Filipino is worth dying for," but he can further affirm, "The Filipino is worth both living and dying for."




Photo courtesy of www.spot.ph