Political capital

Last Saturday my mother and I attended an afternoon seminar on how to franchise a business. At P1,950 per head, the event organized by franchise consultancy Francorp was full.

At the ground level of the SMX Convention Center at SM Mall of Asia, the Franchise Asia Philippines 2016 also had an overflow crowd.

Francorp CEO Ma. Alegria Sibal-Limjoco, vice chairman of the Philippine Franchise Association, opened the seminar with a recollection of the start of the most successful Pinoy franchise. Once upon a time, Limjoco related, Tony Tan Caktiong was a franchisee of Magnolia fastfood outlets who dreamed of developing his own business patterned after a top US chain.

Tan Caktiong’s Jollibee surpassed the US chain a long time ago in the Philippines, in terms of size and revenue. Efficient franchising contributed to this. Potato Corner is another Pinoy success story, with franchise outlets now in several countries including the US.

Tony Tan Caktiong, the original jolly bee, has inspired countless other Pinoy entrepreneurs. Unfortunately, in many cases, the difficulty of doing business in this country has nipped in the bud the Pinoy entrepreneurial spirit.

So Limjoco, a member of the Philippine Chamber of Commerce and Industry, was glad to inform the seminar that their group met recently in Davao with President Duterte. He told the PCCI that he intended to make good on his promise to drastically cut red tape and make it easier to do business in the Philippines.

Opening a business in the country will henceforth take only a day, as it is in Davao City, Duterte promised the PCCI.

If this most welcome change is implemented and sustained, this President is bound to keep his dizzyingly high trust ratings until his last day in office.

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Duterte is starting his presidency with an unusually high level of public support, as indicated by the latest poll. His 91 percent trust rating in the July 2-8 survey conducted by Pulse Asia is the highest ever for a president since the pollster started such surveys, with only 8 percent undecided and 0.2 percent distrustful.

The high trust rating was registered across all classes – 89 percent among the ABC, 92 percent for D and E – and was highest at a jaw-dropping 97 percent in Mindanao. Even in Metro Manila, where alleged drug suspects are being gunned down daily as if they are vermin, the figure was an impressive 92 percent.

It’s an enormous amount of political capital whose use Duterte must maximize.

Joseph Estrada also started his presidency with immense popularity. He could have led his masa to swallow bitter pills. Instead he wasted his mass support and indulged in bacchanalian pursuits and the perks of power.

Noynoy Aquino ended his presidency with the highest ever approval ratings among previous chief executives since his mother, and he enjoyed high ratings throughout his term. He had his weaknesses, but he invested this political capital in getting contentious pieces of legislation through Congress, among them the sin tax reforms, reproductive health act, and the anti-trust and cabotage laws.

Duterte’s numbers can only be further enhanced by his recent moves to eschew the trappings of power. No more “excellency” for him; we’re still waiting for members of Congress to also ditch their “honorable” appellation, especially since many of them bring dishonor to public service.

Noynoy Aquino banned wang-wang. Dirty Rody is taking simplicity further, by eschewing VIP treatment at the airport (the better to see all the glitches), flying coach on commercial airlines, sporting “maong Tagalog” and calling for an end to the fashion show at the State of the Nation Address (SONA).

President Duterte so far seems to be taking his sky-high numbers as a cue that he remains on the right track, including in his brutal war on criminality.

That’s one campaign promise that has been delivered without question: drug suspects have been killed, and will continue to be killed.

The fact that this promise has been delivered, people like to believe, should put the fear of Dirty Rody into the hearts of the others who make life hell in this country: the crooks at Customs and other offices who deliberately make doing business with government an obstacle course so they can collect grease money.

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Cutting red tape was Duterte’s marching order No. 1 to all government agencies. His high trust rating indicates that people believe he can deliver. Last Saturday night, again as promised, he signed the order for freedom of information in all executive offices – something that Noynoy Aquino, for all his vaunted straight path or daang matuwid, failed to do.

When Limjoco told us about the one-day wait for starting a business, she obviously believed it was going to happen.

Business confidence is high. Last Thursday the Philippine Stock Exchange index surged to a 15-month high on bullish sentiment with the approach of Duterte’s first SONA.

The business community clearly expects more positive announcements, including the specifics of the presidential commitment to “really level the playing field.”

Duterte and his team may want to take a closer look at the proper implementation of the anti-trust law. There are still too many laws and rules designed to favor the nation’s .001 percent at the expense of micro, small and medium enterprises.

Those rules, combined with the stiff competition posed by the start of the ASEAN economic community, can kill the Pinoy entrepreneurial spirit.

As we await Duterte’s first SONA today, his image is that of a man who is keenly aware that he is the nation’s top dog only for a limited time, and intends to make full use of every moment, without the distractions of the perks of power.

It’s an image that invites strong public support and trust. Rodrigo Duterte must make sure the trust is not squandered.