"A TYCOON OR CEO AS PRESIDENT?
OR A GENERAL?"
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By Atty Alex Lacson
Last 20 February 2025, Iris Gonzales wrote in her Philippine Star column an article entitled "How about a Tycoon or CEO for President?"
Two weeks later, on 7 March 2025, Boo Chanco also wrote in his Philippine Star column a similar article, "A Tycoon or CEO as President?"
Both of them stressed certain qualities of a leader they claim our nation badly needs today - - good managerial skills, technical expertise, love of country, and genuine empathy for the poor.
Boo Chanco sees no tycoon or CEO in the country who can be a good president, except Ramon S Ang of San Miguel Corporation, although RSA has earlier said he has no interest in running.
Somehow I sense that both columnists are soft-selling to us the possibility of an RSA presidential run. Let's see in the months ahead.
However, the 4 qualities they raised are valid.
But they also missed several important considerations.
First is history.
There is no country in Asia or in the world who had a tycoon or CEO as president who brought economic miracles or transformation to his country.
But military generals, there are many.
In South Korea, it was Army General Park Chung Hee who, as President from 1961 to 1979, ushered economic miracles and transformed South Korea to what it is today.
In Taiwan, it was General Chang Kai Shek and his son Chang Ching Kuo who, from 1949 to 1988, ushered development to their country.
In Singapore, it was Lee Kuan Yew who, although not a military general, ruled his country with an iron hand.
In Japan, from the Meiji Reformation of 1868 up to World War II, the Emperor tapped the Samurai leaders and generals to run the government.
In Vietnam, since 1975 up to the present, the communist party leaders and military generals have ruled the country and have brought economic transformation to Vietnam.
Same in China. The communist party leaders and generals ushered in economic transformation after the death of Mao Zedong in 1976.
In America, out of their 47 Presidents, 31 had served in the military, and 12 were military generals, including George Washington, Ulysses Grant, and Dwight Eisenhower.
In Asia, the only tycoon that comes to mind who became his country's leader is Thailand's Prime Minister Thaksin Shinawatra. But his leadership did not bring economic miracles to Thailand but political division and chaos that resulted in his ouster and exile in 2006.
In the US, the famous business tycoon who became President is Donald Trump, aided by another tycoon, Elon Musk. But look at all the disaster and havoc they are wrecking now, not only to their country but to the global community.
But history is not the only factor that does not support a tycoon or CEO for president.
More important are the realities in our nation.
Can a tycoon or CEO discipline the country's over 200 political dynasties with their armed private armies, like Chavit Singson, the Pinedas of Pampanga, the Mangundadatus of Maguindanao, the Dutertes of Davao, the Marcoses of Ilocos?
Will the dynasties in Congress and the provinces fear a tycoon or CEO as president?
Can a tycoon or CEO dismantle the cartels and smuggling syndicates in the rice industry, in sugar, onions, fish, fertilizer, and other industries?
Can a tycoon or CEO put fear into the hearts of corrupt mayors and police officers involved in illegal drugs, the drug lords, the jueteng lords, the illegal loggers, the big mining violators?
Can a tycoon or CEO have the stomach to handle death threats to himself and his family members?
Can a tycoon or CEO have the guts to push for genuine political reforms that will affect dynasties, for radical economic reforms that will adversely impact his fellow tycoons and major business leaders?
Is a tycoon or CEO really willing to destroy his family and business relationships with the other oligarchs and business families?
Will a tycoon or CEO really risk the destruction of his family's business empire?
Will a tycoon or CEO really put his love of country first and foremost, over and above his family's business empire? Over and above his and his family's safety and security?
What I understand about tycoons and CEOs is that their family's business empire is topmost in importance. All other factors are second or third in importance.
The heart and soul of a tycoon or CEO is monetary gain or profit. It is his basic nature. A tycoon or CEO will do anything and everything to protect the family business, and to maximize the earnings.
I dread the scenario where a tycoon or CEO as president will treat our country's natural resources as commercial items in the usual conduct of business.
The last thing our nation needs is a leader who will manage the country as a business, selling or treating our nation's natural resources like products to be sold to the highest bidder who comes along.
Overall, I am not convinced that a tycoon or a CEO is what our nation needs as a leader. I am not convinced that a tycoon or a CEO is the kind of leader who will radically reform and transform our country.
We need someone who has no major business or political interests to protect. Someone who was trained all his life to make decisions based on patriotism, public service, and especially for the greater good of the people.
In my view, the nation needs a military or police general, preferrably a retired one, with a strong sense of honesty, integrity, meritocracy, accountability, patriotism, toughness or iron political will, and a deep sense of sacrifice for the greater good of the nation.
We, the entire nation, need to go back to the basics of honesty, integrity, meritocracy, respect for one another, unity, sacrifice for greater good of society, and genuine love of country.
Preferrably a retired general who believes in genuine democracy in his heart, not the kind of jungle democracy we now have. Someone who believes in a free market economic system, but not the rapacious and oligarchic economic system we have, but like the one being practiced in Singapore, Taiwan, Japan, Germany, Sweden, Switzerland, Denmark, and Norway, where the free market economic system is infused with socialist programs, particularly in the following seven areas: food, water, housing, electricity, healthcare, transportation, and education. In these 7 areas, their governments intervene with programs to ensure that the prices of goods and services in these 7 areas are affordable to the people. In all other areas of the economy, there is free enterprise.
A retired general who is known for his integrity, who has not enriched himself in power, and who is highly respected by his peers and subordinates in the military community.
We need a leader who has a strong sense of what is right and wrong. Someone who is willing to put everything on the line to uphold what is true and good, to right what is wrong, to fix our broken system, to put righteousness and morality in the center of our nation, to save the soul of our nation.
The Filipino people want a strong leader. They have been yearning for a strong leader. But strong not in the sense that it would lead to human rights violations or disregard the legal due process. But strong in implementing the spirit of the Philippine Constitution, unrelenting in the pursuit of social justice as mandated in the Constitution, strict and blind in implementing the law against the corrupt, the syndicates in government agencies, the cartels in certain industries, the greedy dynasties, the rapacious oligarchs.
I am convinced that only a military or police general will have the guts, the iron political will, to introduce the radical political and economic reforms that our country desperately needs.
A general as president will be feared by the big business families, the corrupt officials, and the dynasties in Congress and the provinces. They know that the president general has the support of the military community.
A general president, with the support of the military community, is the only one who has the muscle and iron will to discipline the big business families, the dynasties, the corrupt, the cartels, the illegal drug syndicates, the jueteng lords, the big mining violators, the illegal loggers, among others.
More and more, I am convinced that our nation's path to a functional and genuine democracy is through a military leadership, preferably a retired general who understands the importance of a true democracy.
This was what happened to Singapore, South Korea, Taiwan, Thailand, Japan, Vietnam, and China. It was the military generals or strong leaders who built their respective functional democracies in these countries.
By the way, there is also democracy in Vietnam and China, albeit a limited one. They also hold regular elections for mayors, governors, district representatives, and city council members. But all the candidates must also be members of the same communist party. The military takes a major role only in the national leadership.
To make this happen, there is a need for the members of the military and uniformed community to come together, unite on the idea of fielding the best of their own in 2028, to save the nation from the perditius greed and selfishness of political dynasties and business oligarchies, to save the people from their ignorance, most of whom do not know how to choose the best leaders for themselves and their children, much less for the country, as they have been made ignoramus by years of corruption by politicians.
The retired military community must seriously consider forming their own political party, build it as a genuine political party, and offer the Filipino people a genuine alternative.
One of the problems of the Philippines is that it has no genuine political party.
China has one political party. The party leaders and generals have been doggedly pursuing their party's vision for decades.
For over 30 years, Vietnam has only one political party. But in the past 20 years, it has allowed a second party to participate in local elections. But the second party is also pursuing the socialist vision enshrined in their country's constitution.
People’s Action Party was the party that Lee Kuan Yew and his successors used in building Singapore.
United Malays National Organization or UMNO Coalition was the party that Mahathir Mohammad used for 23 years to build and develop Malaysia.
Christian Democratic Union or CDU Coalition was the party that Konrad Adenauer and his successors used to rule and build Germany since 1947 upto the present.
The above political parties are based on principles and programs, with party discipline against erring party members.
In the Philippines, every governor has his own political party. More than 200 political parties are registered with the Comelec. Each one is based on generalities, and without party discipline. Each party is but a vehicle to get elected.
It is now clear as the April summer sky, our system is terribly broken. It works only for the dynasties, oligarchs, and those who are willing to be corrupt. The system benefits only 20% of the population. It is a big failure for the 80%. The present system has made 80% of Filipino people poor.
The system must be radically reformed.
Maybe it's time for the retired military community to form a genuine political party and field one of its best to run for president in 2028.
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