MANILA, Philippines–President Benigno Aquino III walked the talk when he lined up at the Land Transportation Office to renew his driver’s license.
In his inaugural speech, the President said the Filipino should do away with what he called the wang-wang mentality or the use of one’s position or influence to get ahead of the crowd.
It’s very refreshing to know that we have a Chief Executive who leads by example.
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Had President Marcos done what he preached, this country would have been “great again” as he promised in his first inaugural speech in 1965.
Had Marcos and his wife, Imelda, led by example through his “New Society” edict, perhaps he would have become a hero.
To be fair to Marcos, his New Society made Filipinos line up for a bus or jeepney ride, traffic rules were strictly enforced, most policemen in Metro Manila were scared of abusing civilians as punishment was immediate, and crime incidence was lower than it is today.
I should know; I was a police reporter during most of the martial law period.
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The problem with the Marcoses was that they abused their absolute power. They were the epitome of corruption instead of exemplars of good behavior.
Imelda’s relatives and friends became profligate rich while most of the people lived in poverty.
In short, Marcos said in effect: “Do what I tell you to do, don’t do what I do.”
Now, we have a leader, Noynoy, who says “follow what I do.”
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But P-Noy’s anticorruption drive at the Bureau of Customs could only be believable if he chose the right people.
For example, the deputy commissioner for assessment, operations coordinating group (AOCG), Agaton Teodoro Uvero; and the director for import assessment services (IAS), Arnulfo Gambayan, reportedly run a customs brokerage firm.
In short, there’s conflict of interest.
Their rival brokers are complaining because they allegedly apprehend shipments that are not handled by their brokerage firm, First Logistic, which was set up after they were appointed to their present positions.