OPINION

An unsolicited draft (1)

HINDSIGHT - JOSE DALISAY - The Philippine Star
June 13, 2022 | 12:00am

Having had a hand in crafting presidential speeches and messages for many
decades now, I thought I would give it the old try and produce an unsolicited
draft for our presumptive president’s inaugural speech, just in case he wants
to broaden his options.

In fact, I’ll write two drafts: (1) for this week, the win-them-over version,
representing a radical departure from what his detractors expect from him, a
total refashioning not only of the Marcos image but of its substance as well;
and (2) for next week, the thunder-and-lightning version, which those who
dread the imminence of another Marcos presidency probably hear in their
nightmares. (And before the trolls feast on me, kindly look up “satire” in the
dictionary and double your erudition in three minutes.) So here we go.

My countrymen:

I acknowledge that I have come to this high office with much to prove, not only
to the 31 million who have invested their hopes in my presidency, but also,
and just as importantly, to the 81 million more who could not and did not vote,
or preferred another candidate. Having chosen “unity” as the theme of my
campaign, I am now obliged to realize that ideal and to take concrete steps
that will prove the sincerity of my ambition.

Many of you know me only as “the dictator’s son,” a privileged wastrel who
squandered your hard-earned money in youthful frivolity, a man bereft of
substantial ideas and a genuine vision for our country’s future. Today I shall
aim to correct that impression, with the adoption of several key measures that
should smoothen the road to national reconciliation.

As far as I am concerned, the time for rancor and divisiveness ended on May
10. I take the overwhelming mandate you have given me not as a license to
persecute my enemies, but rather as a vote of confidence in my dream of
unity. I will use this historic opportunity to address and reverse the injustices
of the past, to chart a new course for our people and for my family, and to
direct the energies and talents of my supporters to positive, nation-building
pursuits. At the same time, I ask my detractors and former opponents to set
our differences aside, and judge me for what I will do, and not what you
thought I could not.

I am under no illusion that the measures I will announce will please everyone,
not even within my own family. To those who were expecting a shower of
favors and largesse, that will not happen. Henceforth we shall eschew political
patronage and favoritism, and adopt merit and performance as the measure of
one’s fitness to serve, which I hope will compensate for any personal
shortcomings of mine in this respect.

Today I am announcing seven important measures that should set the tone for
my administration.

First, I am directing the abolition of the PCGG, because it will no longer have
a function, having been created to go after the assets of my family said to
have been ill-gotten. Here before you today, I am signing a check to the
Philippine treasury in the amount of P203 billion that should settle our tax
liabilities once and for all. (Pause for ceremonial signing and applause; hold
up signed check for cameras.)

Second, I am directing the abolition of the NTF-ELCAC, and replacing it with a

People’s Peace and Development Council that will coordinate with NEDA and
be its citizens’ arm in the planning and implementation of community-based
development programs. All funds appropriated for the NTF-ELCAC will be
transferred to this council. I am also pleased to announce that this PPDC will
be headed by none other than my esteemed fellow candidate, former Vice
President Leni Robredo, whom I thank deeply for responding positively to my
invitation. (Pause for VP Leni to rise and acknowledge the crowd’s applause;
go over and shake her hand for photo opportunities.)

Third, I am asking Congress, as their first priority, to pass a law abolishing

political dynasties. My relatives to the third degree now occupying elective
office will not serve beyond one term. None of my relatives to the third degree
will be appointed to any government position, in any agency or GOCC, under
my administration.

Fourth, for greater transparency and accountability, I am directing the

immediate release of the SALNs of all government officials, both elective and
appointive, above Salary Grade 28 or bureau director. My own SALN will be
published in all major news media and online within 48 hours. I am also
granting a blanket waiver to enable the appropriate government authorities to
access information on all my personal accounts.

Fifth, as a gesture of reconciliation, I am directing the immediate release from

detention of former senator Leila de Lima. Her persecution has gone on long
enough. Furthermore, I will direct the Secretary of Justice to review all cases
of political detention and to expedite the release of the individuals concerned.
National unity cannot be achieved if those we wish to unite with have to speak
through prison bars.

Sixth, I will adopt a pro-Filipino foreign policy that will assert our sovereignty
over what has been rightfully ours, and resist all encroachments in unity with
ASEAN and our other multilateral partners. My first visit will be to China to
impress upon their leadership the seriousness of our intentions. Incidentally, I
am appointing former Justice Antonio Carpio as our ambassador to China,
given his mastery of the issues and his desire for their peaceful resolution.

Seventh, I am personally guaranteeing the academic freedom of the

University of the Philippines and of all other universities and colleges in the
country, toward which I am directing the establishment of a P100-billion
endowment fund for UP that will help ensure its fiscal autonomy and help it
achieve even greater excellence. In token return, I will request our esteemed
historians and political scientists from that university to write a revised and
updated Philippine history that will faithfully and factually record the period of
martial law, leaving no stone unturned, as well as the aftermath leading to my
election. This history will be taught in all high schools.

Unless our people fully understand our past – and unless I myself confront
and accept its dark reality – they will not appreciate the significance of what I
am doing today, in the spirit of reconciliation, restitution and redemption.
Never again, so help me God.
OPINION
An unsolicited draft (2)
HINDSIGHT - JOSE DALISAY - The Philippine Star
June 20, 2022 | 12:00am

Last week, I indulged in some wishful thinking to imagine what a truly different
and refreshing BBM presidency would be, with the rosiest inaugural speech I
could confect. This week, as we edge closer to the real inauguration of
Ferdinand Marcos Jr. as our 17th president, I’m going to try my speechwriting
hand one more time at a grimmer version of what he might say.

Again, friends, this is all fun and games, a finger exercise, not to be confused
with the real draft that a roomful of gifted (and expensive) wordsmiths, some
of whom I probably know, are probably toiling over this very moment. (For
those who missed last week’s installment, again, please look up what “satire”
means, and smile.) This is what you get from a fictionist posing as a political
pundit, with no spicy gossip to share and no entrée to the corridors of power.

And so, meaning no disrespect to No. 17, here we go with the kind of speech
his most ardent followers, some more BBM than BBM, might want to hear. His
language won’t be this fancy, of course – his dad’s would have been – but
since this is make-believe, let’s turn up the volume.

My countrymen:

Let me thank you, first of all – the 31 million of you, most especially – for
entrusting me with this loftiest of honors. Not too long ago, our opponents
laughed when one of you presented the prospect of my presidency as “an act
of God.”

I seem to hear no laughter from that corner now. Instead I hear the anguished
sobs of defeat from those who cast themselves as the angels of the good, and
us as evil incarnate, an army of witless orcs streaming across the plain. Why,
they may be asking, has their God forsaken them? Could it be that in their
self-righteousness, they forgot that pride is the most capital of the Seven
Deadly Sins, because it usurps God’s judgment and arrogates unto oneself
the inscrutable wisdom that He alone possesses?
How could they have presumed that they were right and we were wrong – that
you, my faithful friends, were bereft of all moral discernment in selecting me
as this country’s leader for the next six years? Put morals aside – they called
you stupid, unthinking, unable to make intelligent decisions on your own
behalf.

But let me ask anyone who cares to answer: is it not a supreme form of
intelligence to vote to win, to choose someone who offers the best hope for
your survival, to cast your lot with someone who has proven his ability to
endure, to bide his time, and then to seize the right opportunity and prevail
over a motley legion of adversaries? With this victory – our victory – you have
vindicated yourselves, and you can stand proudly before anyone – before any
priest, any professor, any employer, anyone who ever lectured you about right
and wrong, or pushed you down to your humble station – and declare: “You
have nothing to teach me. I won.”

And let me tell you something else: it is not only the unschooled, the hungry
and the unshod that I have to thank for today. All over the country, I found
doctors, lawyers, businessmen, teachers and community leaders who may not
have been as vocal in their support, perhaps for fear of persecution by the
pink mobs, but for whom the name “Marcos” promised the return of discipline
and progress to our benighted country. Now I say to you, my dear brothers
and sisters: “Step out. Step up. We have a Strong Society to rebuild, and you
will be its vanguard.”

But let us be magnanimous in triumph. To anyone who voted for someone

else, even the most rabid of my detractors, I offer the hand of unity. “Unity”
was the overarching – indeed the only – theme of my campaign, and I pledge
today to ensure that it will be far more than a vapid slogan.

National unity is every Filipino citizen’s choice: you are either for it, or against
it. Any Filipino who rejects our generous invitation to unity and insists on
treading the path of unbridled individualism and anti-authoritarianism will only
have himself or herself (note how we observe gender sensitivity in our Strong
Society) to blame. Self-exclusion by these disuniters – let’s call them DUs –
will mean their willful abdication of social services and other resources that
can be better devoted to patriotic citizens.

To this end, I am creating a National Unity Council – to be chaired by the Vice

President, with representatives from the DND, DILG, NTF-ELCAC, CHED,
DepEd and NCCA – to formulate a National Unity Program that will be
undertaken at all levels of government, from the LGUs and the military to our
schools and cultural agencies. Its aim will be to forge and promote a truly
Filipino culture, based on a truly Filipino ideology, that de-emphasizes conflict,
promotes discipline and conformance, and upholds respect for duly-
constituted authority.

For this purpose, for example, we will practice mass calisthenics, sponsor
competitions for patriotic songs extolling unity and discipline, and conduct
workshops and seminars for the proper identification of DUs at the barangay
level and their subsequent re-education and reintegration. We will review our
curricula and our educational materials to ensure that they contain only our
best stories as a nation, to instill pride in our people and to remind ourselves
that, as my father said, this nation can be great again.

Half a century ago, we stood on the edge of that destiny, in a bold experiment
that would have transformed the Philippines into a bastion of democracy
against communism and a beacon of development in Southeast Asia. That
dream was thwarted by a perverse alliance between the CIA and the
communists and their Yellow cohorts that resulted in my family’s forced exile.
Today we resume that march to greatness, and we will brook no more
interruptions, no more distractions, no more needless delays. A society’s
strength radiates from its leader, and I vow to be that leader for you, so help
me God.