Filipino populists are weak leaders
Analysis and Opinion
By Joe America
The Philippines is run by populists. The Senate is full of them. The President is one, a haunt of history elected by hook or crook. The former President is also one, “just one of us, rough and ready”. Even the House reps are populists, locally. Dynastic barons who easily pull in votes from the fawning locals who don’t know any different.
The problem with populists is that they are not business executives, or anything close. They are popular because they are good at currying favor from the powerful. Not running a great nation to benefit its citizens. Entitlement. Impunity. Rewards. Riches. These are the values of populists. Not achievement, productivity, or even fairness. Or honesty.
Color me out of step because I don’t like populists. I like capitalist sharks who are tough but honest. Wealth producers. Competitors. Innovators. Decisive bosses. I like them.
I like people who are conceptual, strategic, tactical, movers, shakers and impatient with fools.
The Philippines has these people. They are the oligarchs who crank out growth and profits with unabated enthusiasm. But they stay out of the political world. It’s dirty. And unprofitable unless you are corrupt. Are the oligarchs Philippine patriots? I don’t know. I have a hard time exclaiming “yes!” because I don’t think it matters to them what the politicians are doing. I don’t see nationalists in the business arena. I see capitalists.
The most successful business people with government jobs are the Villars. Father. Wife. Son. They seem to use their political jobs to write laws that favor their business interests. That’s not nationalism in my book. It’s capitalism with an advantage.
One is inclined to wonder who in government is for the nation? Populists are for themselves. Business people are for themselves. Dynasts are for themselves. Citizens are just the poor schmucks who are used, abused, and tossed aside. It’s why the Philippines has a notoriously poor record in global rankings for labor well-being. Bottom ten!!!
Well, my job here is not to wail and weep. It’s to describe the scene and figure out who might be able to break out of this greedy morass of incompetent populist despair and put the nation on a saner footing. A productive footing. A wealthy footing that does much better at taking care of workers.
This person must be smart and dedicated. Determined. Capable in the style of a business shark. Leni Robredo seems to be smart, but is not a shark. I look around and only one person catches my eye.
Gilbert Teodoro, Secretary of Defense. Lawyer. Politician. Businessman.
There are those who say, but yeah, he was with that corrupt President Arroyo and lost some rubber boats. And was going to run as VP to Sara Duterte until she conceded to Marcos and went for VP herself. And I say, yes, that is the school of hard knocks that shapes leaders. If you are looking for a perfection, you are just another populist. You are a part of the problem.
His credentials include:
- Brains, bar top-notcher
- Aggressive Western mindset, read his pronouncements on China’s actions
- Close to the US, full speed ahead on EDCA and building defense
- Experienced in government, under Arroyo and now Marcos
- Business acumen, sits on boards of prominent companies
- Has integrity, lost to Aquino because he refused to do dirty politics
- He is for the Philippines, he could be anywhere else, making money
Instead, he’s the Secretary of Defense. At a very difficult time.
You’d prefer Duterte or Tulfo? You’d prefer Robredo? You’d prefer Hontiveros?
Okay, tell me how they are better than Secretary Teodoro.
___________________
Photo from Binar News, Indonesia, May 14, 2019. Current Senators Dela Rosa and Go then featured on President Duterte’s list of favored senatorial candidates.
The Society of Honor by Joe America 
I remember the feeling then failure of Mar and failure of Gibo. By not wanting photo ops the narrative was written for them not by them. https://www.gmanetwork.com/news/topstories/specialreports/190321/gibo-teodoro-wages-lonely-battle-to-win-malaca-ang/story/
It dawns on me from a comment on another thread that winners in politics HAVE to be populists, or have populist “skills”, and it’s the lack of dedication to having those skills that produces loss after loss.
all elections are popularity contests. so if you wanna get elected you have to be a populist first and foremost. then once elected get things done. just watching youtube videos of him , he seems too polished, Joe. maybe if he went to the South China sea and get himself video’d pissing on a Chinese vessel or better yet a Chinese naval officer. that would do it. i think.
Yes, populism is a skill Democrats, yellows, and pinks need to perfect. That “too polished” assessment reminds me of Filipino attitudes toward success. Successful people are disliked because they “are trying to show my failed ass up”. The Philippines needs polished people. Lee Kuan Yew was polished. Leni Robredo is polished. But Sec. Teodoro is also a shark. He speaks directly. No one intimidates him.
actually, Joe, and chempo can correct me here, LKY was gangsta as fuck thus widely respected. its not really about success i don’t think, Joe, just the ability to have that common touch is respected. in the end that’s what people respect, you can be successful but if you have that common touch and not parade dogs as people and such, then you’re on that right path. once you parade pet dogs like that corgi and communist dumbass, people puke in their mouths. its as simple as that. like when Bush Sr. pretended to do groceries and it became evident he never does groceries or when Hillary went on a black talk show podcast and took out a hot sauce bottle from her purse. just obvious pandering. people like successful people who keepz it realz. LKY did just that. he wasn’t polished at all. smart successful yeah sure, but not polished.
Lee Kuan Yew was determined, smart, stubborn, and successful. You can spin it how you want and it won’t change those facts. Tony Blair sums it up nicely. But then you probably don’t consider him polished.
the problem with gibo is that there are other sharks too, quick to open their fat traps and apparently gives unsolicited opinions. take martires for example, he reportedly spoke out of turn and preempted gibo, saying the ayungin shoal toss up was accident. gibo then played catch up and corrected martires that the toss up was planned and deliberate attempt by the chinese at piracy on the high seas, confiscating properties that belong to the republic of the philippines like registered guns owned by armed forces, and smashing navigational equipments used by our coast guard. we want those properties returned, the damage done to our boats paid, and injured mariners paid compensation.
so now pbbm is in quandary, too many loose mouths in his gabinete speaking on things not really in their jurisdiction and contradicting one another. fortunately for gibo, he and pbbm are of the same opinion: it was no accident.
if martires is indeed a professional and not a marites, he’ll apologise to both the president and gibo.
are successful people hated, I dont think so, though it appear that way. envied yes, but hated, not so. successful people are copied, admired and put on pedestal. though at close range some of them can be so damn irritating and a disappointment too. in the sense that they often cannot readily repeat their success, struggle to make headway and pitied at times. maybe they were given far too much credit.
They are not hated. Their success is taken as a put-down. It’s complicated.
President Marcos yesterday corrected his remarks to align with Teodoro.
she may not be populist but senator hontiveros is getting there. she was seen singing ‘my favorite things’ in the internet and her voice is spot on, she got it right the gap between the notes. she sang with ease too! yes, more singing please, people need to see her as well rounded sort of person, one that can relax and take things easy, aside from the person who can hit the floor running and whose bite can be lethal.
She is rising, I’m guessing. She is the real opposition senator so is getting good press coverage.
Neither do I like populists Joeam. What can you say about those plans of the Dutertes in 2025? I say enough of a duterte face. They are insatiable.
Yes, I compared them to a fungal rash on X. They go away . . . such relief . . . then return when they need attention.
ttps://manilastandard.net/news/national/314464583/chiz-says-bato-can-decline-invite-to-ejk-hearing.html
ahem, this could well be fungal infection in the making: senate president and wannabe fungal escudero presumably lawyering for fungal bato, haha, hik.
in his capacity as senate president, escudero adviced bato he dont need to attend house inquiry. ay nanlaming ako! truly, fungal escudero could have said to fungal bato he doesnt need to attend fungal house inquiry but that fungal escudero would appreciate if fungal bato – does attend.
you know, keeps house fungal growth to the miminum, coz if unabatted, fungi in the house could grow exponentially and create havoc to the whole environment that is the philippines.
ay naku, it’s just talk, fungal bato can surely fungal talk his way in and out of house full of fungus much like the chinese with multiple personalities, alice gou who fronted senate inquiry. now that lady can fungal talk, left, right and center.
Bato should be considered a nobody.
ay, the duterte may have emasculated pbbm and have utter hold on him. the marcoses owed duterte humongous favor na habang buhay pagbabayaran. wasnt it duterte who made possible the internment of apo bangkay in libingan ng mga bayani, given apo bangkay a national heroes burial complete with 21 gun salutes, dignity at last! apo’s name added to the roll call of the nations top heroes, there for all to see, generations after generations, his name enshrined forever.
pbbm who so wanted to emulate his father in both legacy and fame, cannot possibly have his father’s burial and heroism be talked and questioned about and be speculated on like it was some game of jueting. for where would that leave pbbm?
so here he is again: pbbm harping about de lima’s acquital that our justice system does work, hence no need for ICC probe. except that de lima is not duterte and duterte is hostile witness who may very well ignore ICC let alone our courts of law.
de lima may have been given justice, not victims of ejks though. already bato on escudero’s advice is not attending house inquiry, duterte as well. these people are seemingly above house inquiry and apparently dictating their own terms. that if justice is to be serve, house would just have to forego their inquiry. and for victims of ejks to file criminal cases anew vs duterte et al here in philippines instead of at ICC.
and of course, pbbm would go along with that rather than oppose duterte.
Thank you for this most convincing article Joe. For some time now, I have indeed developed a soft spot for Sec. Teodoro. I just hope time will tell on his moral consistency.
Virgil Ventura
Good of you to visit, Virgil. Good to know you share the vibe.
In olden days, all people needed was a “strong chief” to lead the tribe into battle and make sure everyone had enough to eat. The instincts we all have are Stone Age, with a thin veneer of education above it. LCPL_X might sing “baby, we ain’t nothing but mammals.”
A Dutch anthropologist named Wolters defined the expectations of leadership in Southeast Asia with “men of prowess” after having known a Sultan somewhere in what is now Indonesia or Malaysia. The question is, how is prowess seen by different people.
I glanced once on an article that also saw Indonesian technocrats as “men of prowess,” so it seems that they don’t see the likes of Roxas or Gibo as weak over there. Don’t know if fewer working class Indonesian women get pregnant from tricycle drivers than Filipinas do..
..jokes aside, but still in a culture that values competence, it is easier. Indonesian peasants are said at times to admire deceased President Habibie, the engineer who created Indonesia’s aircraft and boat industry as a “magician.” At least their magical thinking is a step further.
Some Filipinos TODAY still see the infrastructure oligarchs are building as a Marcos Jr. legacy, reflecting the legacy of Marcos Sr., his “magic.” Hawaiians and Maori of New Zealand believe traditionally that “maná” or power of chiefs is inherited and broken only by defeat or failure.
As the people of the Pacific have similar roots, one should not be surprised that there were attempts throughout three decades to paint the era started by Cory Aquino as a “failure.” Filipinos drop those whose fortune is seen as sinking, whether it is stars or “rulers.”
Prof. Xiao Chua defines that Filipino mindset by way of the Visayan word gahum, aka power. MLQ3 uses the terms malakas and mahina. Malakas is someone who is perceived as someone good to hang on to (kapit) for favors. Indeed, few Filipinos see the entire nation. As of now.
The danger in fact is that Dutertes might be seen as close to Chinese wealth, even as Marcos shows that he is close to American power. That is how it looks like at this point. Competence is seen as something one can order or hire like Aguinaldo had Heneral Luna working for him.
Tulfo calls upon lawyers and other experts in his shows. Gothic Kings saw literate Romans as weak but useful after conquering Rome. Medieval European Kings thought the same of priests, men useful for writing, but not “real men” who fought and f..ed like they did.
Much of the attitudes of Filipinos are those of tribal people or of Medieval peasants. Or a mix. Thus, former ministers of Kings rarely become Kings, well minister used to mean servant. Lords of the Realm aka Senators become Kings. Local barons can also become Kings.
Don’t know if Gibo Teodoro can get to the point where he is seen as a “magician” like Dr. Habibie who built his reputation in Suharto’s time. Tulfo is a Senator and therefore by definition a potential President. So as one can see I have way more questions than answers.
Because of the China conflict, I think Secretary Teodoro is getting “launch time” visibility. But I suspect he would poll poorly because he is just a worker, not a politician, and he’d have to launch himself in late 2027. I drafted this article about a week ago. Since then, I read that he is direct and firm in Cabinet meetings. His recent messaging “clarified” President Marcos’ statement that China made a mistake, which led to the latest confrontation. Teodoro said it was no mistake. China intended to wreak havoc. Today he said there is no basis for bilateral talks because China does not deal in good faith. This while DFA Sec Manalo says they are trying to meet with China.
I think if Teodoro starts channeling Lapu-Lapu in the South China seas, Joe. he will propel himself. but at most I see him again as just another VP to my beloved Inday Sara. he does have that whole Dick Gordon air to him though, same energy i think. been watching youtube videos. i hope he doesn’t have any fancy pet dogs or at least don’t feature them in some Lifestyle article. thats my only advice. but as bad cop to PBBM’s good cop, he’s filling that role perfectly. he needs to embrace it and push it further imho. I imagine Lapu-Lapu pissing towards Magellan as Magellan and his men were wading thru to talk some sense into Lapu-Lapu and surrender to Jesus and Spain and his cousin Humabun. i just saw a recent trailer of this movie called Heretic looks good. Teodoro needs to look like he’s setting up an eloborate trap. like Lapu-Lapu and Hugh Grant. he’ll need to sacrifice some Filipinos make China look aggressive. then parade their bodies like martyrs ala Gaza style. really stir up that victimhood sentiment ala Jesus cuz Filipinos love that shit.
if gibo wants to be taken seriously, he has to channel himself and stick to his principles and his mandate. and because he appears courageous, smart and unshakable, and if people thinks he embodies the spirit of lapulapu, that is a bonus.
Agree.
Don’t overthink it, or ascribe character to people you don’t know. I have to keep telling my son that as he is inclined to judge quickly, deploying ignorance at the expense of others.
you are a good parent, joeam.
I was so impressed with what a motorcycle taxi driver said in an article I read yesterday. He’s put one daughter through college, reasoning that “education is something you can give that no one can take away.” So I keep shoving my lifelong learnings at my son whether he likes it or not. 😁
“You’d prefer Duterte or Tulfo? You’d prefer Robredo? You’d prefer Hontiveros?
Okay, tell me how they are better than Secretary Teodoro.”
Duterte and Tulfo are populists. And you are correct that Robredo, while smart and decent, is no shark—lacks the teeth, the killing instinct for politics. But I am rather surprised that Hontiveros has not caught your eye.
Secretary Teodoro is very talented and smart—topped his exams, has considerable post-graduate qualifications—and is considered highly qualified, often described as a “technocrat.” For instance, he has repeatedly served as Secretary for National Defense.
But it is worth noting that he has not won a national election—his highest elected post being that of a congressman from Tarlac. And it is also worth noting that much of his reputation comes from his performance in offices that he was *appointed* to. He is a technocrat, through and through. This is not a bad thing. We need solid technocrats, qualified people to run and direct our bureaucracy. Sec. Teodoro has done an excellent job steering our defense sector as Secretary of the DND—of ensuring that the modernization of our army is implemented well and of safeguarding our nation’s sovereignty as a whole.
However, national leadership (and the ability to push for substantial reforms) doesn’t just require talent or brains—that’s just half of what’s needed; the other half is a keen instinct for politics, for what appeals, what catches the eye, what ought to be said, what inspires. Technocrats are limited in that they mostly have the talent or brains, but not enough of the other half. Populists are flawed in that they have good political instincts—know exactly what to say—but not much else in their noggins.
My case for Hontiveros is that she has both the talent and the keen political instinct—and that additionally, she’s the only one who can navigate (and unite) both left and right flanks of the opposition with ease given her unique background.
With respect to talent and expertise, Hontiveros has filed many bills and ensured the passage of several laws pertaining to her advocacy for the rights of women and children. Moreover, she’s also used her position as a Senator and as Chairwoman of the Senate Committee on Women, Children, Family Relations and Gender Equality to act as a fiscalizer—spearheading several investigations wherein she has been thorough and well-prepared.
With respect to Hontiveros’ political instincts—after repeated attempts, she has managed to get herself into national office (as Senator) and has used her position to stay close to the pulse of public discourse; the investigations she has spearheaded (Quiboloy, Alice Guo) show not only her expertise (in her thoroughness and focus on substantial issues, rather than mere soundbites and stunts unlike Tulfo) but also show her willingness to make a niche for herself in the public discourse. It is also a testament to Hontiveros’ good political instincts that she straddles an excellent position between the right and the left of the opposition, even as a self-professed feminist democratic socialist; her policy advocacies are progressive, focusing on women’s rights, gender equality and rights for LGBTQ+ and economic support for the marginalized but at the same time she has been extremely firm in defending our sovereignty in the West Philippine Sea against the incursions of China (a position that the right would be more comfortable with). This is due to her unique background, which I think sets her apart from the rest of the PH Left; she is a military widow, and at the same time has a long experience as an progressive activist (which started, if I recall correctly, in Ateneo, which probably gives her progressiveness a more moderate tone).
Honestly, even with all this, I am not sure whether Hontiveros will be victorious 2028 as a potential presidential candidate for the broad left + liberal (anti-Marcos/anti-Duterte) opposition. But she’s probably the only one as of this moment who actually may stand a chance in 2028.
Addendum:
Also worth citing as proof of Hontiveros’ good political instincts:
1. In Facebook, compared to other Senators, her FB page is presently generating huge engagements. This is even when compared to some re-electionist senators, who post a lot but only garner average engagements. See: https://x.com/DeusXMachina14/status/1802887764129784270
2. In Leni and Kiko’s Senate Slate (Team TROPA) in 2022—she was one out of three (Hontiveros, Villanueva, Escudero) who won. And the only one who could be considered genuinely of the broad left + liberal opposition.
Thanks Francis!
FVR and Magsaysay were SNDs before becoming presidents.
Enrile and Orly Mercado who were also SNDs only reached the Senate.
Mercado used his public service show to jump start his political career.
An excellent argument. Where Sec. Teodoro has business aptitude, Senator Hontiveros has political aptitude, of the elected, not appointed, kind. Hers is perhaps more impressive for being carried out in full public view. Secretary Teodoro heads AFP, not a small position, but it is, as you say, a technocrats job, to listen to the generals, his own capable brain, and the President, and craft a direction. Which leads me to believe he’d be an excellent President, for the ability to listen and draw intelligent lines. Senator Hontiveros has similar skills but they are rather unattached to the physical world of guns and death and generals. They are attached to lawyerly arguments. Other than Dear Alice Guo, who is tangible. Well, I’m rattling around a bit. I think Senator Hontiveros would be a fine President. She does not yet rise to the stature of Robredo for me. She doesn’t work outside as much, in disasters and places where people are. But she is more of a shark than Robredo, so maybe she’ll get there in her own way.
Delima and Hontiveros rejects Trillanes’ proposal.
https://www.philstar.com/headlines/2024/06/29/2366394/de-lima-risa-reject-unity-ticket-marcos-camp