Applying The 5Cs of Execution to Philippine Election by

Josiah Go
The National election is coming in few days, and everyone has their own opinion on who deserves to be
in the top national leadership positions of our country. There have been many talks about converting
knowledge to action and that one presidential candidate in our May 9, 2016 election positioned himself as
one good in execution (no pun intended). I respectfully disagree. Consider the 5 Cs of
execution on getting things done:
1)

Clarity of strategy Execution comes after strategy; a strategy entails understanding

complex interactions of many variables and understanding the bigger picture as well. For a
country, it involves not just peace and order but equally important factors like the economy
and foreign policy. An important aspect of execution is knowing what strategy to execute. The
Philippine economy has grown tremendously with each president building on the gains of their
predecessors, successfully getting out from being the sick man of Asia when Marcos left the
country in 1986 to being Asias brightest economy under the term of President Noynoy Aquino.
Today, the Philippines is the 29th biggest economy in the world in gross national product
(GDP) and we cannot afford to lose what we have gained through the years. A single-minded
focus on crime needs a doable strategy what exactly is the doable strategy to suppress
crime within 3-6 months on a national scope? Having nationwide death squads is not legal. An
example of a clear strategy is the Oplan Lambat-Sibat of the Aquino government, resulting in
arresting 716 of the 946 most wanted, high profile criminals in the country. A clear strategy,
with attention to details, weekly follow through meetings and accountable
metrics becomes sustainable.
Today, the Philippines is the
29th biggest economy in the
world in gross national
product (GDP) and we cannot
afford to lose what we have
gained through the years. A
single-minded focus on crime
needs a doable strategy
what exactly is the doable
strategy to suppress crime
within 3-6 months on a
national
scope?
Having
nationwide death squads is
not legal. An example of a
clear strategy is the Oplan
Lambat-Sibat of the Aquino
government,
resulting
in
arresting 716 of the 946 most
wanted, high profile criminals
in the country. A clear
strategy, with attention to
details, weekly follow through
meetings and accountable
metrics becomes sustainable.

2) Communication
The president of a country is the
role model of the nation and
chief diplomat worldwide. He or she
must be clear and inspiring yet
tactful and respectable. One cannot
keep saying one thing today and
changing to another tomorrow. One
communicates to gain allies, not
alienate different segments of
society on a weekly basis foreign
customers last week, rape victim
this week, disabled people next
week.
For
sure,
good
communication is not about using
foul language and tasteless jokes. If
it is the new norm, we should all be
concerned about the implication to
national culture. The machismo
communication style may be needed
and effective for Mayor Duterte in
Davao in Mindanao but certainly not
necessarily nationwide. LP candidate
Mar Roxas and running mate Leni
Robredo have their platform
Kalayaan sa Gutom, Kalayaan sa
Takot,
Kalayaan
Mangarap
(Freedom from Hunger, Freedom
from Fear, Freedom to Dream)
translating the vision to clear
projects
to
gain
Philippines
momentum if they win the election.

3)

Coordination Getting things done is not just an executive prerogative, it entails coordinating
and convincing other equal parts of the government the legislative and judiciary. A president
belonging to PDP-Laban and legislative belonging to Liberal Party may be harder to coordinate,
as there is still the need to cross party lines to get things done. A look at some countries like
Indonesia will reveal barriers to get things done if the president is different from the ruling
party in congress. The government may have the best of intentions, but it needs the
cooperation of others to form a team, even harder if a president is elected as a minority
president. Think of the scenario if on May 9, 2016, over 70% of the masa and over 60% of
those belonging to ABC are not in favor of the new president. It is important that after the
elections, the success rate of the President and VP will be based on how he or she manages to
coordinate the 3 branches of government, and engaging the constituents to support his or her
administration.
Existing coordination barriers need to be removed. In the 3rd and final presidential debate, it
was Mar Roxas who identified specific coordination issues such as the merger of DPWH and
DOTC, an advantage from one who has been part of the team that helped in implementing
laws resulting to the highest growth rate of the Philippines, yet, seeing areas of improvement
not available immediately to neophyte without national executive experience in governance.

4)

Commitment It is about starting and staying in a relationship. It is about a promise, in

fact, a covenant for an election. One cannot make a stand only to keep changing. A leader
must say what it means and mean what it says and not allow its followers to end up being its
apologists. Reality check is that on short-term, it may be possible but on long-term, it may be
hard for a leader to sustain the commitment of competent people if he or she does not show
consistent commitment to a promise. We have seen the declining rating of another presidential
candidate, Senator Grace Poe, on ground that she pledged alliance to the United States before
and until recently, her husband was an American citizen. Even countries like Myanmar
disallowed anyone to become president unless the immediate family and their spouses are
natural born citizens of the country, a signal of consistent commitment.

5)

Competencies Different people have different strengths. Competencies in good governance

is doing what matters. For example, the BPO industrys turning point came about when tax
incentive previously given to product sector in EPZA was extended to service by virtue of
amending Republic Act 7916 so that buildings or floors in buildings could register as an ecozone. This simple insight under the time Mar Roxas as secretary of trade and industry
convincing congress to amend the law resulted to a US$25 billion industry with over 1.3 million
jobs, 78% being male, 61% married, 57% not college graduate given another chance in
life, trickling down to the poor sector with over US$6.7 billion in salaries and benefits,
creating new growth opportunities for other industries. It is noteworthy to mention that Manila
has overtaken Mumbai as the worlds no. 2 BPO destination and contributes to some 6% of the
countrys GDP.

While these 5 Cs of Execution seem to stand alone, these are interdependent and interact with each
other. For example, a good commitment will reflect an effective communication approach. A clear
strategy if not communicated properly can lead to mistakes in coordination. It is impossible for a leader
to have successful execution overnight, while experience and track record in the government can surely
make a leader qualified to lead the country.