Age and the Philippine Presidency

President Aquino, a man of no great ambition, was thrust into the Presidency of the Philippines by the death of his mother and his determination to do good originating from the courage and principles of his murdered father. He has achieved a remarkable remake of foundational values of Philippine governance. The remake is not set in cement. Indeed, it is fragile and under attack. Even his best friends seem to weigh in against his values of honesty and good work.

But his is a break-out from the old tradition of public service for private gain. His cabinet is stocked with capable secretaries who also pursue his aim for a cleaner, more productive government.

The past, not the future?

The nation is benefitting from this refreshing, newfound honesty and the work underway to do a better job of taking care of the Philippines. It is seeing more investments, economic stability, confidence, growth.

Mr. Aquino's presidency illustrates the point that the fates sometimes have more to do with how things turn out than do manmade plans.

There are no guarantees for any presidential candidate. A president can be highly capable and have on his hands a war that kills hundreds and hundreds of thousands of citizens (Lincoln; American Civil War). Or he can be asleep a lot of the time and oversee economic revitalization and defeat of a nation (Reagan; Russia).

It raises the interesting question, can we shape the fates to our favor?

When we vote for a candidate, we know maybe 25% of what we could or should know about him or her. So 75% is guess or unknown. And beyond that is the unpredictability of natural disasters and bully nations and the global economy and political gangs within the Philippines (NPA) that shape the landscape. I'm convinced Gilbert Teodoro was marked down as a presidential candidate in 2009 because he lost the rubber boats that were needed when Ondoy struck.

Undone by a typhoon.

Fate.

JoeAm's perspective on the Philippine presidency is shaped by a very broad idea that continuation of the Aquino breakout requires a president who is not motivated by the "old values" of personal gain, but the "new values" of honorable service and result.

Old dogs. They don't learn new tricks easily.

I see the productivity of young Sonny Angara in the house and I say "here is a young guy more interested in his future than immediate wealth." And I like it. In an environment that prizes honest behavior, the winners will be those who shoot straight rather than behave crooked. Those who do not gum the system up with favor and self-enrichment. Their enrichment will come from personal achievement. The money will follow that, naturally and cleanly.

So I like young Filipino politicians. They have not been turned into peddlers of favor over public interest.

Is it age bias? Is it bias to believe that old age traps us in inflexibility, and narrows us? Makes us more conservative? Reduces our energy. Makes us wiser but slows our problem solving? Gives us cultural values that are hard to shake?

Or is it perceptive? Real. Factual. Or at least "strategic" considering the dynamics of what it means to project a Philippines "going straight."

President Aquino, before he became president, lived a leisurely lifestyle, rich and connected with the movers and shakers of the Philippines. Including the Church. But he had no striking ambitions. Not to rule. Not to get rich. He probably would have been happy to find a wife and have kids and drive the expressways in a Porsche, a quiet man living a quiet life.

That changed in 2009. Now he has better things to do, and he will have them to do for three more years. He has grown in maturity during his three years at the helm. He projects more confidence. He's more relaxed. He is firmer in his views.

President Aquino was born in 1960. He was 50 when he took office in 2010. He has the vigor of a man in the prime of his life. He is no recalcitrant old fossil unable to deal with the stresses of an important job, locked into values that hold the Philippines back.

What about some of the people listed in various categories on JoeAm's preview of the 2016 presidential election? How old will they be in 2016?

PROSPECT	DOB	AGE
Bam Bam Aquino	1977	39
Sonny Angara	1972	44
Jun Abaya	1966	50
Atty Alex Lacson	1965	51
Gilbert Teodoro	1964	52
Grace Padaca	1963	53
Kim Henares	1960	56
Mar Roxas	1957	59
Sergio Osmeña III	1943	73
Jejomar Binay	1942	74
Conchita Carpio Morales	1941	75
Ramon "Jun" Magsaysay	1938	78

Does it matter? Can a 39 year-old be wise enough, schooled enough to handle the presidency? Maybe not. Maybe he has simply not been tested enough. Has not had enough time to show what he can do.

And How about a 78 year-old? Will he have the energy and health and alertness to manage a nation that presents huge challenges? Maybe not. Maybe that is at the outer edge. Mr. Magsaysay would be 84 upon leaving office.

John Kennedy was 43 when he became president of the United States. Barak Obama was 48. Their youthful vigor undoubtedly contributed to their attractiveness as leaders. The presidency makes you old. The long hours, the stresses, the relentless reading to study up on issues. Do before and after photos of American presidents and you can see the toll they pay.

Vigor. Youthful vigor. It's a job qualification, I think.

But there are other advantages to having a young president than simply energy. There is the marketing advantage, the "presentation" of the nation to a world that has long looked at the Philippines as a hamstrung disappointment, an underachiever locked into the dysfunction of strife and inefficiency.

Today, for this time in history, the Philippines needs to project its youth to the outer world. It's vibrancy, its new blood, its vigor, its brains.

It needs to make a statement. We are the future. Here now. Fresh. Clean. Young. Ambitious.

No longer tied to the past. No longer muddled in confusion and coups and corruption.

It continues the breakout for honest values, purposeful work and achievement. Begun by Noynoy Aquino, carried forward by the young, the capable, the intelligent and the good.

That's why you will find that JoeAm assigns an advantage to youth as he works to identify First Class presidential prospects.

photosources: gulfnews