by Eric Santillan I am now part of a group called Heroic Leadership Philippines. The group got its name from the book by Chris Lowney. Chris was an ex-Jesuit who became managing director of JP Morgan and Co. He held senior positions in New York, Tokyo, Singapore and London. While managing JP Morgan, he realized … Continue reading Heroic Leadership
What Kind of Country Will Our Children Be Born Into?
by Eric Santillan The other day, I attended my friends' daughter's first birthday. My godson is turning three this year. And my nephew will be born in a few months. Reading about the news on FB, Rappler and Google News, I cannot help but ask myself what kind of world we are bringing our children … Continue reading What Kind of Country Will Our Children Be Born Into?
Soap Operas
Originally written in TACKED THOUGHTS for The Freeman by Nancy Unchuan Toledo Inasmuch as I would like to believe (and I would like everyone who reads this column to also believe) that I have a very cultured and highbrow taste in arts and literature, I must admit that I really do enjoy a good telenovela/soap … Continue reading Soap Operas
A Crisis of Leadership
by Eric Santillan A few years ago, the President of the Philippines was impeached. It was a difficult time. And while the president that came after him was not impeached, she went down in infamy, and the office of the President was never the same again. The underlying question at the time was: if you … Continue reading A Crisis of Leadership
A Country in Desperate Search for the Heroic
The Filipino word for hero: "bayani" comes from the word bayan (country). Bayani gives us the sense that in this country, heroism is not a thing only one person does. Heroism is the unified act of a community. The Katipunan is testament of that. While personalities like Bonifacio and Aguinaldo were there, the Katipunan is really the revolt of the "anak ng bayan" (the Children of the Motherland); and everyone who was part of it was rightly considered BAYANI: the fighting men who manned the trenches of General Trias, the women who brought medicine and food to the hidden camps, the children who secretly smuggled messages from one town to another. It is history--written with some Western slant that always focuses on the individual hero--that has not been too kind to the bayani and focused on personalities.
The Legacy of the Two Aquinos
Today, Corazon Aquino, eleventh President of the Republic of the Philippines, first female President of the Philippines and of Asia, the Woman who took over the Presidency after a 20-year dictatorship, the wife of national hero Ninoy Aquino, mother of five, Mother of the nation, will be sent to her final resting place.
The Real Work Begins: Skills Needed to Run Government
When the stress of the campaign, the media circus, the awkward dancing, starlets and comedians fed to bored men and women, and the results of the elections are out (we had the first ever digital/automated elections a year ago and this will help cut down on the stress of having to wait for the election results for months and months on end as well as the potential election protests that stretch for years), and someone is declared winner, the real work of governing begins.
Philippine Political Skill Sets: Or Why We Vote the Wrong Persons to Power
Years ago, when I was in high school, I was one of the winners in a writing contest sponsored by the Department of Trade and Industry. During the awards ceremonies, I was congratulated by the DTI Secretary named Gloria Macapagal Arroyo.
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