8 Characteristics
We Need Our Next President
To Possess
by Tim Henares

We understand that nobody is perfect, and being president of the Philippines is a tough and thankless job. Everyone will accuse you of being corrupt. Or of being incompetent. Or of not doing anything. Or doing too much. Or trying too hard. Or not trying hard enough. Let’s face it: aside from the election itself, the president can’t win when it comes to the judgmental world we now live in.

All the more reason why our next president needs to have the following 8 characteristics, right?

We can’t have short-sighted leaders who aren’t aware of the impact their platforms have for us. We certainly can’t have leaders who have no platforms to speak of, either. Foresight is a must.

Without It: A presidency without foresight would mean having someone who can’t prepare for anything and will never see anything coming. We need people who act, rather than people who react, and do it at a point that’s way too late.

When a leader commits to something, by Jove, we need that leader to make it happen. The last thing we need is someone who runs on a platform that assures us of something, only to deny us of that very thing they assured us upon victory. Like, say, the FOI Bill?

Part and parcel of having resolve is, of course, consistency. Whatever else we search for in our leader, we need them to be consistent in their beliefs–we deserve to have the kind of leader who cannot be bought nor swayed. Hard-nosed? Be consistently so. Clean? Be consistently so. Whatever the case may be, we need consistency along with resolve.

Without It: A presidency without resolve is a wishy-washy leadership that nobody would take seriously, least of all, the foreign community. If we want to uphold ourselves as a sovereign power that can handle its business, we need a leader who can and will make the decisions that need to be made–even if sometimes, they’re not necessarily the most popular of decisions. We should be able to count on him for that, at least.

All the planning and the resolve in the world will be useless without compassion. We need a president who is willing to adjust plans for things that deserve his or her ability to intervene.

Without It: A presidency without compassion would be rigid. A presidency without compassion could also open itself up to being Draconic. Perhaps some people believe we need Draconic measures to get anywhere, but compassion also goes a long way towards allaying the fears of a populace, when applied liberally where it is more than welcome.

We need a leader who is open to being challenged and corrected, rather than someone who will double-down on issues they are clearly wrong on. We’ve had enough of posturing and bravado when it is done only to save face, instead of for the betterment of the nation.

Without It: A presidency bereft of openness is one that will be inured to criticism and will go its own way. It will be every bit “insensitive” and “heartless” not because it is inherently cruel, but because it is unwilling to listen. We need a presidency that listens–even to those that don’t favor it.

We need a leader who can be held accountable, and knows the breadth and width of his or her purview. If our leader knows what he or she can accomplish within the powers bestowed upon their office, then he or she should have the humility to accept the criticism and take responsibility for their actions–especially if they possess the ability to be transparent to the people they govern.

Without It: A presidency that has no accountability is one that operates with no regard for the consequences. We can’t have that any longer, because we know all too well that a lack of accountability is the brewing ground for impunity.

We need a leader who knows how to choose their words carefully. They can say something outrageous, but if they know how to say it well, it would probably go down easier. We need someone who will choose discretion over impulse.

Without It: A presidency with no sense of diplomacy would be one that is relentlessly partisan, and more concerned about settling scores than fixing problems.

Yeah. You heard that right. Ingratitude. The next president needs to be willing to look at those who helped him or her win and say, “no thanks, the country comes first.”

Without It: Favors, favors, and more favors. The presidency would owe so many different masters, a second or third presidency wouldn’t even be enough to pay all those interests back.

More than anything else, our next leader should possess unshakable moral and ethical integrity. They must be able to consistency uphold their principles and stand by their plans and actions, and they must be truthful and transparent in doing so. They must uphold their integrity as an elected official if they are to do justice to their role as someone elected to serve the public.

Without It: One candidate becomes as good as the other, because a lack of integrity means that the things we expect from our leader cannot be reliably counted upon.

What other characteristics and qualities do you think our next leader should possess? Sound off in the Com