THE COVID-19 ECONOMY, LEADERSHIP COMPETENCY AND THE NEED TO MODIFY

QUALIFICATION STANDARDS AS PROVIDED IN THE PHILIPPINE CONSTITUTION

I – INTRODUCTION

Great leadership is the most important element of public administration, without it, a

country is just a mere archetype of dysfunctionality. Effective public administration is always

dependent to the power and competence of the key person forerunning the country. A

President’s ineffectiveness will result to sluggish passing of legislations, bad decisions, slow-

economic growth, etc., in totality ineffective public governance. The challenges amidst the

COVID-19 pandemic clearly shows that the Constitution being the body of rules and maxims of

the State in accordance with which the powers of sovereignty are habitually exercised, shall not

only provide for the organization of the entire government but also must be comprehensive

enough to provide for every contingency.1 This is the main thrust of the State to be always ready

to perform its vital functions to all its inhabitants for every contingency. This research believes

that preparedness for every contingency can only be provided through great leadership. Great

leadership can only be achieved if the country will establish qualification standards to be met by

its political leader most especially the President of the Philippines.

This study highly advocates that a leader to be effective shall portray what genuine

leadership is about. This means that leadership per se is what a leader should be. Further, this

connotes that public administration is not what it is, if there are no effective leaders comprising

it. Specifically, in this study, implies that, Philippines would not be considered as government if it

could not carry-out the embodiment of the maxim and rules of the Philippine Constitution which

is at its core to provide for contingency to its inhabitants. Moreover, the Constitution itself could

not carry-out its own rules, if what it requires to the key person managing it is only minutus of

1
Nachura, A. (2014). Outline reviewer in political law.
file:///C:/Users/acer/Documents/political_law_nachura-libre.pdf
what the ideal and essential qualifying standards should be for its leaders. As the world is

evolving fast and with the present situation of the new normal economy amidst COVID 19, it

becomes paramount to revisit the Constitution and modify what it lacks in order to achieve

effective public governance.

This research believes that the need to modify Section 2, Article 7 is very crucial in order

to cope up with the challenges of the pandemic as well as the changing of time. The provision

states that: No person may be elected President unless he is a natural-born citizen of the

Philippines, a registered voter, able to read and write, at least forty years of age on the day of

the election, and resident of the Philippines for at least ten years immediately preceding such

election. This study advocates, that a qualifying standard for the Presidency, that a person

applying therefor should be able to read and write only is very much outdated and such is a low

level standard required of competency, because almost anybody can read and write. A person

with low level of excellence and competency cannot make calculated decisions, and such is

very vital during this time of emergency. If a President cannot make calculated decision during

time of crises, he would be exposing this country to more risks, and such would be fatal in the

long run.2

According to Nevins (2020) the reality of life post-COVID-19 has not fully sunk in yet,

and its consequences for our businesses, organizations, economy, and society will play out over

the rest of 2020 and beyond.  Right now, we really need sober, smart, values-driven, and

focused leadership.  As the old adage, “Crisis does not build character, it reveals it.” There’s no

“playbook” for leadership when the stakes are high, and there’s certainly no playbook for what to

do in the face of a 21st Century pandemic.  We are all facing threats on multiple fronts at once:

to self, family, employees, customers, suppliers and business partners, governmental and

2
Philippine Gazette (1987). The Philippine Constitution. https://www.officialgazette.gov.ph/constitutions/
financial systems, and potentially our social fabric.   This means, we need real leaders for us to

cope-up with the challenges of the pandemic.3

Ahern and Loh (2020), states that the year 2020 will be remembered as the year of the

most significant global pandemic since the Spanish influenza. As Severe Acute Respiratory

Syndrome coronavirus 2 (SARS-CoV-2) gradually encompasses the globe, it leaves a trail of

destruction in its wake. Hundreds of thousands of direct lives lost, millions of persons affected

with the disease, potentially with long-term health consequences, disruption to global travel and

trade, and dislocation of communities and individual lives. At an international, national and

community level, leaders across all sectors have been required to respond to both direct and

indirect effects of this crisis, with little time for preparation, and in a constantly changing

environment. For leaders, this significant uncertainty exacerbates the challenges associated

with decision making and requires a rapidly adaptive response not usually associated with

leadership in more ‘business-as-usual’ times. Leadership examples and frameworks during

crises exist from the military and emergency management sectors. However, a key challenge of

a pandemic is that an effective management of the situation requires large-scale human

behavior change. When adoption is insufficient, collective benefits are not guaranteed.

Definitely, with all these challenges right now, the provision of the Philippine

Constitution, Article 7, Section 2 becomes repugnant of its ultimate thrust to the public. A leader

who is able to write and read, cannot be presumed to have a highly demeanor adaptive

persona, who can make effective decision fast, who has the capacity to adopt a very exemplary

frameworks of thinking outside the box and who can embrace resiliency in every move he

makes. The abnormality of the situation we have today demands that the Philippines itself shall

rethink its rules and maxims to meet the very function of the State to its people. We cannot just

say, it’s alright not to be effective, because in emergency associated with high risks, there is no
3
Ahern, S.and Loh, E. (2020). Leadership during the COVID-19 pandemic: building and sustaining trust in
times of uncertainty. https://bmjleader.bmj.com/content/leader/early/2020/09/29/leader-2020-000271.full.pdf
room for ineffectiveness. Thus, this is the main purpose why this study is conducted in the first

place.

This study will formulate an ideal qualification standard for the President of the

Philippines. To be able to achieve this ideal, this study will utilize the five leadership theories,

namely: Great Man Theory, Trait Theory, Contingency Theory, Situational Theory and

Behavioral Theory. Furthermore, this research is optimistic in its view, that when modification of

Section 2, Article 7 of the Constitution would be instigated, the Philippines would be able to

bounce back fast from the negative impact pandemic.

II - DISCUSSION
Theoretical Background

This study is anchored to the leadership theories, namely, Great Man Theory, Trait

Theory, Contingency Theory, Situational Theory and Behavioral Theory.

Great Man Theory

Great man theory can be explained as the impact of great men or heroes to the society.

The great man theory is a 19th-century idea which recognizes the highly influential and unique

individuals who, due to their natural attributes, such as superior intellect, heroic courage,

extraordinary leadership abilities or divine inspiration, have a decisive historical effect to leadership.

The theory is primarily credited to the Scottish philosopher and essayist Thomas Carlyle who

presented a series of lectures on heroism in 1840, later published as On Heroes, Hero-Worship, and

The Heroic in History. This advanced that "Universal History, is of what man has accomplished in

this world, is at bottom the History of the Great Men who have worked for its betterment. They were

the leaders of men, these great ones; the modelers, patterns, and in a wide sense creators, of

whatsoever the general mass of men contrived to do or to attain; all things that people see standing

accomplished in the world are properly the outer material result, the practical manifestation and

embodiment, of Thoughts that dwelt in the Great Men sent into the world: the soul of the whole

world's history, it may justly be considered, were the history of these." 4

This theory lies on two main assumptions, as pointed out by Villanova University : (1)

Every great leader is born already possessing certain traits that will enable them to rise and

lead, on instinct; and (2) The need for them has to be great for these traits to then arise,

allowing them to lead. This theory, and history, claims these great leaders as heroes who were

able to rise against the odds to defeat rivals, while inspiring followers along the way. Theorists

say that these leaders were then born with a specific set of traits and attributes that make them

ideal candidates for leadership and roles of authority and power. This theory relies then heavily

4
Carlyle, T. (1840). The Hero as Divinity" in: Heroes and Hero-Worship  (1840)
on born rather than made, nature rather than nurture and cultivates the idea that those in power

deserve to lead and shouldn't be questioned because they have the unique traits that make

them suited for the position.

James (1880) in his lecture states that if anything is humanly certain it is that the great man's

society, properly so called, does not make him before he can remake it. The mutations of societies,

then, from generation to generation, are in the main due directly or indirectly to the acts or the

examples of individuals whose genius was so adapted to the receptivity of the moment, or whose

accidental position of authority was so critical that they became ferments, initiators of movements,

setters of precedent or fashion, centers of corruption, or destroyers of other persons, whose gifts,

had they had free play, would have led society in another direction. James then argues that these

impulsive variations of genius, i.e. the great men, which are causally independent of their social

environment, accordingly influence that environment which in turn will either preserve or destroy the

newly encountered variations in a form of evolutionary selection. If the great man is preserved then

the environment is changed by his influence in an entirely original and peculiar way. He acts as

ferment, and changes its constitution, just as the advent of new zoological species changes the

faunal and floral equilibrium of the region in which it appears. These great men exert new influences

on their environment which either embraced or rejected existing superior practices and embraced

new paradigms. The products of the mind with the determined esthetic shift may please or displease

the community. For James, then, there are two distinct factors that cause social evolution: (1) The

individual, who is unique in his "physiological and infra-social forces, but bearing all the power of

initiative and origination in his hands;" and (2) The social environment of the individual, "with its

power of adopting or rejecting both him and his gifts". He thus concludes: "Both factors are essential

to change. The community stagnates without the impulse of the individual. The impulse dies away

without the sympathy of the community." James asserts that Spencer's view, conversely, ignores the

influence of that impulse and denies the vital importance of individual initiative is, then, an utterly
vague and unscientific conception, a lapse from modern scientific determinism into the most ancient

oriental fatalism.

Trait Theory

Trait Theory in psychology, also known as dispositional theory is an approach to the study of

human personality. Trait theorists are largely interested in the measurement of traits, which can be

defined as habitual patterns of behavior, thought, and emotion. According to this perspective, traits

are aspects of personality that are relatively stable over time, differ across individuals, for instance,

some people are outgoing whereas others are not, are relatively consistent over situations, and

influence behavior. Traits are in contrast to states, which are more transitory dispositions. In some

theories and systems, traits are something a person either has or does not have, but in many others

traits are dimensions such as extraversion vs. introversion, with each person rating somewhere

along this spectrum. There are two approaches to define traits: as internal causal properties or as

purely descriptive summaries. The internal causal definition states that traits influence our

behaviours, leading us to do things in line with that trait. On the other hand, traits as descriptive
5
summaries are descriptions of our actions that don't try to infer causality.

Gordon Allport was early pioneered the study of traits. His early work was viewed as the

beginning of the modern psychological study of personality. He also referred to traits within his work

as dispositions. In his approach, "cardinal" traits are those that dominate and shape a person's

behavior; their ruling passions/obsessions, such as a need for money, fame etc. By contrast,

"central" traits such as honesty are characteristics found in some degree in every person - and finally

"secondary" traits are those seen only in certain circumstances (such as particular likes or dislikes

that a very close friend may know), which are included to provide a complete picture of human

complexity. Although both major trait models are descriptive, only the three-factor model offers a

detailed causal explanation. Eysenck suggests that different personality traits are caused by the

5
Adler, F. and Allport, G. (1952). A comparison on certain topics in personality theory.
https://search.proquest.com/openview/8bf99aa9b92cd48af4a112ceb7a01078/1?pq-
origsite=gscholar&cbl=1816607
properties of the brain, which themselves are the result of genetic factors. In particular, the three-

factor model identifies the reticular system and the limbic system in the brain as key components

that mediate cortical arousal and emotional responses respectively. Eysenck advocates that

extraverts have low levels of cortical arousal and introverts have high levels, leading extraverts to

seek out more stimulation from socializing and being venturesome. Moreover, Eysenck surmised

that there would be an optimal level of arousal, after which inhibition would occur and that this would

be different for each person.

In a similar vein, the three-factor approach theorizes that neuroticism is mediated by levels of

arousal in the limbic system and that individual differences arise because of variable activation

thresholds between people. Therefore, highly neurotic people when presented with minor stressors,

will exceed this threshold, whereas people low in neuroticism will not exceed normal activation

levels, even when presented with large stressors. By contrast, proponents of the five-factor

approach assume a role of genetics and environment but offer no explicit causal explanation.

Given this emphasis on biology in the three-factor approach, it would be expected that the third trait,

psychoticism, would have a similar explanation. However, the causal properties of this state are not

well defined. Eysenck has suggested that psychoticism is related to testosterone levels and is an

inverse function of the serotonergic system,[23] but he later revised this, linking it instead to

the dopaminergic system.

According to Carlyle, history is molded by extraordinary leaders. This capability to lead is

something that people are simply born with, Carlyle believed, and not something that could be

developed. Carlyle's ideas inspired early research on leadership, which almost entirely focused

on inheritable traits. Carlyle's theory of leadership was based on the rationale that: (1) Certain

traits produce certain patterns of behavior; (2) Patters are consistent across different situations;

and (3) People are “born” with leadership traits.

 According to the researchers, the traits most commonly associated with great leadership

include:

Adaptability and flexibility: Effective leaders have flexible personalities; they change

paradigms, and always embrace continued change and development. They have high tendency

to think outside the box and adapt quickly to changing situations.

Assertiveness: A great leader is direct and assertive without coming without being too

impulsive and highly aggressive in providing task to people. He can be extra-ordinarily calmed

even during storm and chaos.

Capacity to motivate people: A great leader is a great motivator and influencer, the

have the capacity to inspire others and motivate them to do their best.

Courage and resolution: The best leaders are brave and committed toward achieving

goals. They do face challenges and rarely show fears.

Creativity: Most importantly, great leaders not only possess their own creativity, but they

are also able to foster creativity among others, most especially to the people they lead.

Decisiveness: A great leader is capable of making effective decision and is confident in

his or her choices for betterment of the majority.

Eagerness to accept responsibility: Strong leaders take on responsibility and don't

engage in blame storming. They stand by their success and take ownership of their mistakes.

Emotional stability: Great leaders are dependable, they have strong demeanor and

can control their emotions and avoid overreactions.

 Intelligence and action-oriented judgment: Great leaders are smart enough tommake

choices to move the group forward.

Need for achievement: Strong leaders have the inner need to succeed and help the

others to achieve goals. They sincerely care about the success of the group and are dedicated

to helping the group reach these milestones.

People skills: Excellent interpersonal skills are essential for leading effectively. Great

leaders know how to interact well with other leaders as well as with team members effectively.

They know what approaches to use to manage different kinds of personality traits.

Perseverance: Strong leaders don’t easily give up, they have the inclination to struggle

even if others around perceive goals and things to be difficult to achieve.

Self-confidence: Many of the best leaders are extremely self-assured. Because they

are confident in themselves, followers often begin to share this self-belief, they are contagious,

and make others to trust on their capabilities as individuals.

Task competence: A great leader is skilled and capable, they are not only good in

making others follow, and they set examples by making themselves good followers. Members of

the group are able to look to the leader for an example of how things should be done.

Trustworthiness: Group members need to be able to depend upon and trust the person

leading them. They believe that trust begets trustworthiness.

Understanding their followers and their needs: Effective leaders are empathetic, they

pay attention to group members and genuinely care about helping them succeed, they want

each person in the group to succeed and play a role in moving the entire group toward

achieving goals.
Contingency Theory

A contingency theory is an organizational theory that claims that there is no best way to

organize manners of leadership, or to make decisions. Instead, the prime course of action is

contingent, this means dependent upon the internal and external situation. Contingent leaders

are flexible in choosing and adapting to concise strategies to suit change in situation at a

particular period in time in the running of the organization.6

Contingency approach to leadership was predisposed by two earlier research programs

endeavoring to identify effective leadership behavior. During the 1950s, researchers at Ohio

State University managed extensive questionnaires measuring a range of possible leader

behaviors in various organizational contexts. Though multiple sets of leadership behaviors were

originally identified based on these questionnaires, two types of behaviors proved to be

especially typical of effective leaders: (1) consideration leader behaviors that include building

good rapport and interpersonal relationships and showing support and concern for subordinates

and (2) initiating structure leader behaviors that provided structure (e.g., role assignment,

planning, scheduling) to ensure task completion and goal attainment.

About the same time, researchers from the University of Michigan's Survey Research

Center conducted interviews and distributed questionnaires in organizations and collected

measures of group productivity to assess effective leadership behaviors. The leadership

behavior categories that emerged from the University of Chicago were similar to the

consideration and initiating structure behaviors identified by the Ohio State studies. The

University of Michigan investigators, however, labelled these leadership behaviors relation-

oriented behavior and task-oriented behavior. This line of research was later extended by

Robert Blake and Jane Mouton in 1964 to suggest that effective leaders score high on both

6
Fiedler, F. E. (1993). The contingency model: New directions for leadership utilization. In Matteson and
Ivancevich (Eds.), Management and Organizational Behavior Classics (pp. 333-345).
these behaviors. They suggested that previous theories such

as Weber's bureaucracy and Taylor's scientific management had failed because they neglected

that management style and organizational structure were influenced by various aspects of the

environment: the contingency factors. There could not be "one best way" for leadership or

organization. Historically, contingency theory has pursued to theorize broad generalizations

about the formal structures that are typically associated with or best fit the use of different

technologies. The perspective originated with the work of Woodward (1958), who argued that

technologies directly determine differences in such organizational attributes as span of control,

centralization of authority, and the formalization of rules and procedures.

In Fiedler’s  (1993), he defines how two main factors contribute to effective or successful

leadership and points them out as “the personality of the leader and the degree to which the

situation gives the leader power, control and influence over the situation.” Leadership

personality can be broken up into two main motivation schools of thought for leaders. Leaders

can be task motivated or relationship motivated. The way that Fiedler suggests individuals

determine their motivation preference is through the Least Preferred Co-Worker Score or LPC.

The second aspect that Fielder says determines success is the specific situation and the degree

to which the leader feels in control of the outcome of their actions.

Gareth Morgan in his book Images of Organization summarized the main ideas

underlying contingency: (1) Organizations are open systems that need careful management to

satisfy and balance internal needs and to adapt to environmental circumstances; (2) There is

not one best way of organizing. The appropriate form depends on the kind of task or

environment one is dealing with; (3) Management must be concerned, above all else, with

achieving alignments and good fits; (4) Different types or species of organizations are needed in

different types of environments

 Fred Fiedler's contingency model fixated on a contingency model of leadership in

organizations. This model encompasses the relationship between leadership style and the

favorable-ness of the situation. Fielder established a metric to measure a leader's style called

the Least Preferred Co-worker. The test consists of 16-22 items they are to rate on a scale of

one to eight as they think of a co-worker they had the most difficulty working with. A high score

indicates the test taker is relational in style and a low score indicates the test taker is more task

orientated in style. Situational favorable-ness was described by Fiedler in terms of three

empirically derived dimensions: (1) Leader-member relationship – high if the leader is generally

accepted and respected by followers; (2) Degree of task structure – high if the task is very

structured; (3) Leader's position power – high if a great deal of authority and power are formally

attributed to the leader's position.

Situations are favorable to the leader if all three of these dimensions are high. How to

apply Fiedler’s Contingency Model: (1) Understand your leadership style - this information can

be obtained by completing a Least-Preferred Co-Worker Scale. Low LPC indicates a task-

oriented leader and high LPC indicates a relationship-oriented leader; (2) Understand your

situation - you have to describe your situation using the empirically derived dimensions; and (3)

Decide which leadership style is best - this is mostly determined by which characteristics of a

certain situation are low, unstructured, or poor, so the best fit leader can come in and make that

characteristic better in that circumstance.

Situational Theory

Situational Leadership Theory, or the Situational Leadership Model, is a model created

by Paul Hersey and Ken Blanchard, advanced while working on Management of Organizational

Behavior.[1] The theory was first introduced in 1969 as "life cycle theory of leadership". During

the mid-1970s, life cycle theory of leadership was renamed "Situational Leadership Theory."

Hersey and Blanchard's model are regarded as part of the larger Situational and Contingency
Theories of Leadership of which Fiedler's Contingency Model of Leadership Situation is also a

part.

Situational Leadership emerged as one of a related group of two-factor theories of

leadership, many of which originated in research done at Ohio State University in the 1960s.

These two-factor theories hold that possibilities in leadership style are composed of

combinations of two main variables: task behavior and relationship behavior. Various terms are

used to describe these two concepts, such as initiating structure or direction for task behavior

and consideration or socioemotional support for relationship behavior. Related leadership

models include Blake and Mouton's Managerial Grid and Reddin's 3D Theory.

In the late 1970s/early 1980s, Hersey and Blanchard both formulated their own slightly

divergent versions of the Situational Leadership Theory: the Situational Leadership Model

(Hersey) and the Situational Leadership II model (Blanchard et al.).

The fundamental principle of the situational leadership model is that there is no single

"best" style of leadership. Effective leadership is task-relevant, and the most successful leaders

are those who adapt their leadership style to the performance readiness (ability and willingness)

of the individual or group they are attempting to lead or influence. Effective leadership varies,

not only with the person or group that is being influenced, but it also depends on the task, job, or

function that needs to be accomplished. The Situational Leadership Model has two

fundamental concepts: leadership style and the individual or group's performance readiness

level, also referred to as maturity level or development level.7

7
Blumer, H. (1966). The mass, the public, and public opinion, in B. Berelson and M. Janowitz
(eds.), Reader in Public Opinion and Communication, 2nd ed. New York: Free Press.
Behavioral Theory

Behaviorism is a highly organized approach to understanding the behavior of humans

and other animals. It adopts that behavior is either a reflex evoked by the pairing of certain

antecedent motivations in the environment, or a consequence of that individual's history,

including especially reinforcement and punishment contingencies, together with the individual's

current motivational state and controlling impetuses. Although behaviorists largely assent the

important role of heredity in determining behavior, they focus primarily on environmental events.

Behavioral Theory of Leadership is a leadership theory that ruminates the observable actions

and reactions of leaders and followers in a certain condition. Behavioral theories focus on how

leaders behave and assume that leaders can be made, rather than born, and

successful leadership is based on definable, learnable behavior.

In the 1950s Dr. Rensis Likert led a study at the University of Michigan attempting

to find characteristics (behaviors) of effective leadership. He discovered three common

behaviors. The first two backed up the LBDQ findings to show that task-oriented and

people-oriented leaders are common effective examples. The third they identified was that

of participative (also known as “democratic”) leadership. As the name suggests,

participative leaders are those who consult their entire team when creating systems and

methods for achieving the team’s goals. This means that work becomes much more

collaborative, allowing the entire team to take part ownership of their work and the

procedures behind it. This, in turn, means that they will be more motivated to carry out

processes more consistently and accurately. By including the team in the decision-making

process a leader helps them to understand their work, why it matters, and motivate them

to take appropriate action. One of the biggest benefits of this behavioral leadership theory

is that it allows the team to take advantage of everyone’s strengths. Every team member’s

voice is heard, encouraging creativity and engagement. It also provides an avenue for new
leaders to show their abilities and for everyone to make the most of everybody’s strengths.

This encourages communication and collaboration, which can often lead to a thriving

company culture. The downside is that participative leadership takes much more time than

other methods. Having to speak to everyone means that there will be a much greater delay

before action is taken. 8

Legal Bases

Article VII of the Philippine Constitution

The Executive Branch is the branch of the government that exercises enormous

significant powers towards attainment of national policies and the protection of national interest.

The President as the Chief Executive of the State is bestowed with all the executive authority in

managing the State. He is the Commander-in –Chief of the Armed forces, the Head of the State,

the Head of the Government and the Highest Ambassador and the Highest Lawmaker. His

primary function is to ensure the faithful execution of laws. 9

Republic Act 9485 or Anti-Red Tape Act of 2007

Provided in Section 2 of Republic Act 9485 is that: It is hereby declared the policy of

the state to promote integrity, proper management of public affairs and public property as well

as to establish effective practices aimed at the prevention of graft and corruption in government.

Towards this end, the State shall maintain honesty and responsibility among its public officials

and employees, and shall take appropriate measures to promote transparency in each agency

with regard to the manner of transacting with the public, which shall encompass a program for

8
Cherry, K. (2021). History and Key Concepts of Behavioral Psychology.
https://www.verywellmind.com/behavioral-psychology-4157183
9
Philippine Gazette (1987). The Philippine Constitution. https://www.officialgazette.gov.ph/constitutions/
the adoption of simplified procedures that will reduce red tape and expedite transactions in

government. 10

Republic Act 11032 or Ease of Doing Business Act

Section 2 of the Republic Act 11032 or otherwise known as Ease of Doing Business

Act expressly provides that: It is the policy of the State to promote integrity, accountability,

proper management of public affairs and public property as well as to establish effective

practices, aimed at efficient turnaround of the delivery of government services and the

prevention of graft and corruption in government. Towards this end, the State shall maintain

honesty and responsibility among its public officials and employees, and shall take appropriate

measures to promote transparency in each agency with regard to the manner of transacting with

the public, which shall encompass a program for the adoption of simplified requirements and

procedures that will reduce red tape and expedite business and nonbusiness related

transactions in government.11

Analysis

The Philippine COVID-19 Economy

Mapa (2020), states that the Philippine economy is stuck in a recession with year-to-date

GDP at -10% as eminent Covid-19 infections force an ongoing 9-month-long partial lockdown in

the capital and surrounding provinces.     Economists predict that growth will contract sharply on

a year-on-year basis in 2020 but continue to bet on a quick recovery in 2021 (6.5 to 7.5%) and

2022 (6.0%) touting the economy’s “solid fundamentals”. 

Per analysis of the ING, the growth will likely enter a lower trajectory as current trends

point to a very different scenario heading into 2021 with the Philippine economy missing

10
Official Gazette. Republic act 9485. https://www.officialgazette.gov.ph/2007/06/02/republic-act-no-9485/
11
Official Gazette. Republic act 11032. https://www.officialgazette.gov.ph/2018/05/28/republic-act-no-
11032/
contributions from every sector of the economy.  Worrisome trends for consumption, capital

formation and government spending will not likely reverse quickly even as lockdown restrictions

are relaxed.   Household consumption delivers the bulk of Philippine economic output and

expected that this sector will struggle given escalating issues on unemployment, virus concerns

and fading remittance flows. Overseas Filipino (OFs) remittances could augment domestic

incomes with households receiving Php59,295 annually, roughly 19% of the average income in

the Philippines.  Land-based remittances will likely slide down as global lockdowns are

reinstated while a downturn in maritime traffic should impact remittances sent by seafarers. 

Authorities estimate that up to 300,000 Filipinos will be repatriated due to the pandemic,

depleting the stock of 2.2 million Filipino contract workers based abroad.       

Mapa (2020), further states that ING forecasted a 5-10% drop in remittances this year

considering the renewed lockdowns and negative prospects for maritime traffic.  This will

translate to a drop of up to $3.1 bn in 2020 and 2021 with consumption missing the integral

boost from these inflows. 

Capital imports plunged sharply in April and have recovered somewhat but remain below

the 5-year average of $3.5 bn per month.  It is expected that the recent downturn in capital

goods to weigh on potential output as corporates are likely to put off large scale investments

given the recession to protect cash and weather the downturn.  Meanwhile, we also expect

households to defer investment plans given the challenging job market, reflected in a steep fall

in road vehicle sales, which are down 44.6% for the year.   

In the meantime, declining investment momentum is echoed in trends for commercial

bank lending, which has now been decelerating for five months through August.  Loan

disbursements to retail trade and manufacturing have turned negative with manufacturing

activity now in contraction (October PMI: 48.5) while retail trade plunged as vacancies in mall

space hit 14%, the highest level reported since the Asian financial crisis.  Prospects for a pickup
in lending to real estate are not particularly upbeat with office space vacancy rising to 8.3% as

Chinese offshore gaming operators close shop. 

The response of the central bank, the BSP, to the pandemic has been impulsive,

resorting to both conservative and alternative measures, such as quantitative easing and de

facto debt monetization.  The net effect of BSP’s unconventional moves was a heave in excess

liquidity, now at Php1.4 trillion, roughly 7.2% of GDP and 8.9% of money supply, resulting in a

flatter and lower yield curve.  Inflation (2.5%) is not expected to accelerate in the next few

months given depressed demand conditions and a stronger currency.   

Inflation is expected to be benign through to 2022 and BSP is not expected to exit from

unconventional policies soon, so we expect the yield curve to remain flat with rates suppressed

unless government borrowing picks up substantially next year.    

Trends in government spending also point to a downward trajectory for growth. The

fiscal response, however, has been modest with authorities recently passing additional Covid-19

funding worth Php140 bn, to bring the total Covid-19 response spending to roughly Php590 bn

or 2.7% of GDP.  After seeing an initial surge in spending, noted is a sharp slowdown with

September expenditures falling 15.5% as authorities clamped down on efforts to manage the

budget deficit.  Government officials have repeatedly turned down calls for additional fiscal

packages in 2021 and it appears that the economy will not be able to count on government

spending to help offset the slowing growth momentum.        

The Philippines is composed to remain in recession for a couple of more quarters with

trends pointing to sustained weakness across key sectors.  Government officials remain

confident of a quick turnaround, but signs of soft consumption, decelerating investment and

lackluster government spending all suggest otherwise.  Unless a reversal in these trends, the
Philippine economy is on pace to enter a lower growth trajectory, failing to return to the pre-

pandemic growth average of 6%.12         

Obviously with the worsening situation, the Philippines is no exemption of the anguish

experience by many countries around the world caused by the COVID-19 pandemic. At the

peak point of this emergency crisis, the government’s economic response was to cover the

needs of the extreme medical measurers which could last three months. Congress enacted in a

special session additional powers to enable the President to confront the new crisis. This is

Republic Act 11469 known as “Bayanihan to Heal as One Act.” The law gives the President the

power to reallocate and to reprogram P275 billion (or 62 percent) of the previously approved

P438 billion budget for 2020.Generally, this is to enable the government to cope up with the

budgetary requirements of providing a comprehensive social protection network for the citizenry

and to toughen the fight against the COVID-19 pandemic. The efforts taken will grant subsidies

to those deprived of income resulting from loss of work due to the lockdown measures of

government. The money is intended to replace the wages they would have earned in

employment. It also includes some supplements for the targeted Pantawid program to help very

poor families due to the COVID-19 crisis. In short, the subsidy is like “helicopter money” to help

those who have lost purchasing power arising from the lockdown measures. If implemented

quickly and in a timely manner for those in need, the measure would make up for lost demand

(or purchasing power) in the economy. In addition, the law would allow the government to

temporarily take over or direct the operations of public utilities and privately owned health

facilities, including the distribution and storage of medical relief during the public emergency.

The inevitable impact of the lockdown measures was to create dislocation of the economy.

Much more than amelioration of the economic conditions, is the need to protect the economy to

restore economic activity and to resume growth. Demand needs to be restored and the sinews

12
Mapa, N. (2020). Economic slump in the Philippines to continue as momentum fades.
https://think.ing.com/articles/philippines-economic-slump-to-continue-as-momentum-fades/
of the economy have to flex somehow. With many developing countries facing the prospects of

a deep recession, the Philippines could further turn to institutions that will assist in weathering

the storm. The government could take advantage of the facilities that multilateral global

institutions are offering to mitigate the impact of COVID-19 and help restore economic growth.

The IMF and the World Bank, and other development banks are improvising programs to help

those severely affected by the pandemic. Government economic managers are studying how,

with the assistance of these institutions, the path toward growth might be helped. The

government has to adopt important fiscal and monetary policies to help restore the path of

growth. Finance Secretary Carlos Dominguez is studying the preparation of such programs to

improve the economy’s recovery. Much more needs to be known, he says, on the nature of

economic support from the assistance programs. The COVID-19 pandemic, however, has

changed the outlook for many economies. For the Philippines, the threat would likely be

centered on a failing Balance of Payments position that has to be bolstered up. Or a relief must

be provided while the escalation of government spending and the fall of revenues which had

weakened the fiscal position of the government. In such cases, support from the external

institutions would be justified. Such support would also aid to bounce back the economy of the

country. Such programs would make it possible to continue the Build Build Build programs of

infrastructure expenditure. These major projects could be finished more quickly if the
13
government had much more support from multilateral lending institutions.

Recommended Qualifications Standards of the President

13
philstarGlobal, 2020. The Philippine economy and COVID-19.
https://www.philstar.com/business/2020/04/08/2006118/philippine-economy-and-covid-19
 Leadership Characteristics Knowledge Skills Abilities
Theories Required

Great Man Superior Intellect Attorney-at-Law Leadership and Change Catalyst

Theory Managerial Skills
Heroic Courage Master in Great Influencer
Management or Policy Formulation
Extra-Ordinary Public Societal Advocate
Leadership Administration Policy Making
Abilities Extra-ordinary
240 hours training Policy capabilities
in Leadership Implementation

Or any other Superior

superior qualities Communication
distinct from and Presentation
ordinary person Skills

Trait Theory Great Personality Emotional Creative Thinking Team player

Traits: Intelligence
Critical Thinking Ability to manage
Adaptability and different kind of
flexibility, personality
Assertiveness,
Capacity to
motivate people,
Courage and
resolution,
Creativity,
Decisiveness,
Eagerness to
accept
responsibility,
Emotional stability,
Intelligence and
action-oriented
judgment, Need
for achievement,
People skills,
Perseverance,
Self-confidence,
Task competence,
Trustworthiness
and Understanding
their followers and
their needs.
Contingency Consideration Risk Management Problem-Solving Resiliency
Theory leaders behavior
Crisis Analytical Skills Providing Support
Initiating structure Management
leader behaviors Business Good interpersonal
Understanding Relationship
Negotiation and Role assignment
Diplomacy
 Scheduling
Planning
Situational Task Behavior Flexibility Self-Management The ability to align
Theory leadership styles
Socioemotional Relationship to existing situation
Support Management
The ability to
manage
relationship to
impact good
performance
Behavioral Task-Oriented Technical Technical Skills Ability to manage
Theory Management tasks
People-Oriented People Skills
Human Resource Ability to manage
Participative Management Motivational Skills organizational and
Leadership human behavior
Managing High- Collaborative Skills
Performing Teams Ability to move
people toward
achievement of
goals.

The Great Man Theory advanced the idea that leaders need to be extra-ordinary with

superior intellect and heroic courage. Leading a country is not easy most especially if the

situation is beyond normal. In the midst of the COVID-19 pandemic, leaders are expected to be

adaptive and decisive. Decision to be made in this time of crisis should be highly organized and

technical because if the decision makers fail to give effective decision, many lives are at stake.

Everything should be calculated, especially if the country is facing enormous risk, such that, this

ideal cannot be achieved, if the country will not formalize the qualification standards of its

elected leaders. This study believes that changing the content and aligning the stipulation under

Section 2, Article 7 of the Philippines to the primary function of the State to its inhabitants

through undertaking upgrade, the very thrust of the Constitution will be effectively carried-out.

Thus, this study entails that the elected President for the year 2022 should be extraordinarily

tough and should have superior qualities if this country really wants to achieve fast recovery

from the pandemic and embrace genuine prosperity.

 Trait Theory on the other hand advanced the theory that leaders need to possess model

personality traits. Leaders who are heroic with superior capabilities are of no use if they don’t

possess pleasing personality traits. Philippines does not need leaders who treat inhabitants as

lesser in value, these leaders must at all times know that they are in their position to provide

public service, no more, no less. A person with superior character is powerful enough to move

mountains by just using its charm, the reason why this study also embraces trait theory as

consideration in formulating the qualification standard of the 2022 President Elect.

Contingency Theory argued that leaders need to be a great problem solver, analytical,

critical thinker, planner and organizer. During emergency situation, contingent leaders are vital

for resiliency and recovery. Every leader is expected to decide fast and give effective decisions.

There is no playbook in today’s pandemic, however if the leader possessed the contingent

qualities every process would be free flowing. If the leader has these qualities, framework of

actions is already in mind and at hand if needed when matters come out most specifically worst

situations. COVID 19 is still far from ending, the situation in the Philippines is worsening at the

moment, the Filipino people are at high hopes that the next President would be contingent

enough to resolve the escalating problems.

Situational Theory is also very important because one vital quality of an effective leader

is the ability to shift from one leadership style to another. A leader to be effective shall not only

focus on one applying one style, he should be flexible to know what style to apply to every

situation to be able to connect with people and achieve goals. Not only in the Philippines where

we need this kind of leader but also all countries in the world.

Behavioral Theory deals with ability of a leader to manage different personality. This

theory advocates that tasks would be accomplished effectively and efficiently if the leader

knows how to apply the best motivational strategy for every situation. Task-oriented and people-

oriented qualities should be mixed up to achieve participative leadership. A leader with high
collaborative skills has the innate and unique capabilities of encouraging people to move in one

direction to achieve common ideals.

III – CONCLUSION

The COVID-19 pandemic has given realization to humanity that the world needs

effective leaders in order to overcome its underlying challenges. This research is highly
optimistic that the stipulations of the Constitution regarding the qualifying standards for its

elected officials most especially the Executive of the State is very much outdated. This research

believes that in order for this country to overcome the negative impact of the COVID-19

Pandemic, the State needs to challenge the applicability of the stipulations of the Constitution,

specifically Section 2, Article VII of the Philippine Constitution. The qualification standard of

Presidency that the candidate is able to write and read can be considered as repugnant and

prejudiced to its main thrust to its inhabitants in providing for contingency. Wherein, the

Constitution as the embodiment of the State is designed to provide for contingency in case of

emergency. The Philippines is now pacing for the 2022 election, if the law of this country is

lenient on the competence and capability of its elected officials, nothing will change. Although

the current President is effective as far as the fighting to combat the current challenges caused

by the pandemic is concerned based on the world’s benchmark as every country of the world is

struggling, however, helm of leadership would be much better if every detail of qualification

standards needed for an elected official shall be well laid-down before-hand and organized.

The theories in this research, namely, great man theory, trait theory, contingency theory,

situational theory and behavioral theory demand that in order for a leader to be effective he

should be a total package. This study believes that a leader should embrace the distinct

qualities in all of those theories which anchored in this research. The qualities to be applied

involved superior intellect, heroic courage, extraordinary capabilities, Adaptability and flexibility,

Assertiveness, Capacity to motivate people, Courage and resolution, Creativity, Decisiveness,

Eagerness to accept responsibility, Emotional stability, Intelligence and action-oriented

judgment, Need for achievement, People skills, Perseverance, Self-confidence, Task

analytical, creative thinker, critical thinker, conflict manager, risk manager, crises manager,

flexible, collaborative, task-oriented and people-oriented.

 The duties and power of the President as mandated under Article VII of the Philippine

Constitution support the theory of this research that there is a need to revisit the stipulation of

the Constitution regarding the qualifying standard of the President, and such is suitable for

judicial review14. The President who is only required to be able to read and write cannot be

presumed to effectively and efficiently carried-out all its duties and powers vested by the

Constitution. Being the highest policy-maker of the State, the President is not only expected to

read and write but also to know comprehensively about legislation and its entire embodiment.

Being the Commander-in-Chief of the Armed Forces, he should not only read and write, but he

needs to be strategist, analytical, critical thinker, problem-solver, organizer and a planner. Being

the Head of the State he needs to possess, exemplary character such as ideal personality traits

and effective managerial and leadership skills. Finally, being the highest ambassador of the

State, he needs to have superior intellect, heroic courage and extra-ordinary capabilities.

The stipulations under R.A. 9485 and R.A. 11032 give enormous support to the theory of

this research. A President who is ineffective would not be able to manage its instrumentalities

and agencies. Wherein, it is the obligation of the President being the Head of the State to carry-

out the organization, and operations of the governmental organs of the State and defines the

relations of the State with the inhabitants of its territory. It is the main task of the State

spearheaded by the President to maintain proper balance between its three inherent powers.

The President cannot influence best management of public affairs, instigate integrity, honesty

and stop graft and corruption if he is not extra-ordinarily tough and capable of eradicating

dysfunctionalities. He needs to be extra-ordinarily able to be considered as effective President.

The current situation in our economy amidst the COVID-19 Pandemic is far from light

and hope, the situation at the moment is worsening. The capital of the country, Metro Manila, is

currently at worst-situation, the current administration is almost out of time to put resolutions to
14
Agpalo, R. (2009). Statutory construction. ISBN 978-971-23-5286-7. Rex Printing Company, Inc. 84 P.
Florencio St., Quezon City
the current societal problems. The effect of the COVID-19 pandemic is all-encompassing from

the GDP rate stability down to health crisis management; this just indicates that the job of the

next President of the country is not easy, he needs to do extensive overhauling job, from

recovery, resiliency to bouncing back. Thus, this country really needs an extra-ordinary

President in the year 2022. We can only achieve this ideal if the legislature will consider this

transcendental significance of conducting judicial review to revisit the stipulation under Section

2, Article 7 of the Philippine Constitution.