Sincerity alone isn’t a one-stop shop

 “I am not afraid of an army of lions led by a sheep; I am afraid of an army of sheep led by a lion.”

—Alexander the Great

 

By Alex P. Vidal

 

CANDIDATES vying for various local and national positions in the May 9, 2022 election in the Philippines must prove to the electorate that beyond their oft-repeated “I am very sincere” shibboleth, they should be, at the same time, competent or capable, honest, qualified, healthy, mentally and emotionally stable.

No leader in the world can be effective and succeed if he is only armed with a “sincerity”, which basically should be his No. 1 quality.

A sincere but dishonest leader is a poison to the nation.

A sincere but incompetent or unqualified leader is a disaster to the nation.

A sincere but mentally and emotionally infirm leader is a liability to the nation.

A sincere leader with a deteriorating health is useless. Health is not only wealth both in private and public life, it’s a must if one will tarry in a public office and solve the people’s basic problems, which are always endless and bottomless.

A feeble leader is outright unfit for any office as he will easily succumb and fade away if walloped by stress and pressures.  

 

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If he is insincere but honest, he can’t lead and govern effectively and efficiently. 

Along the way, he will lose his enthusiasm and end up altogether losing his fire in the belly to lead and govern.

If he is both honest and sincere, he may still be incomplete as a leader, especially if he is incompetent or unqualified and, to compound the matter, emotionally and mentally debilitated.

A public office demands tortuous and arduous tasks; a leader is always blamed for everything under his tutelage, including the shenanigans and failures of his subordinates.

We aren’t asking or expecting a perfectly assembled human being to lead us. 

It’s not easy to find one, or, if we can find one, it’s not an assurance he can win in a frenetic but warped electoral system.

Thus, it is not easy or a joke to become a leader.

 

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ALL that was needed to fire up and add prestige and decency to the presidential race was the announcement of Vice President Leni Robredo that she would run. 

She finally beat the October 8, 2021 deadline for filing of the COC in the Commission on Elections (Comelec).

Her followers have been waiting with bated breath since October 1, 2021. 

The people weren’t satisfied with the initial batch of presidential aspirants, who had filed their certificates of candidacy (COC) this week.

Many Filipinos have been anticipating on tenterhooks that Bongbong Marcos and Robredo would tangle once again, this time, for the highest position of the country.

The die is cast. 

(The author, who is now based in New York City, used to be the editor of two dailies in Iloilo)