Training presidents-elect

P-Noy’s second address to the nation about the Mamasapano killing of the SAF 44 has already been the subject of so many adverse and negative reactions and criticisms. There is no need to add to the severe flaks he has been receiving after delivering such address especially considering that he just celebrated his 55th birthday yesterday. I just hope that he will still be able to recover from the cruel backlash he has been suffering after that tragic and unfortunate incident and really do something for the common good during his last five hundred seven days in office.

A very important positive step he could resolve to take during his remaining days in Malacanang is to be more sincere to the Filipino people. He should talk to them directly in a straightforward, clear, humble and unequivocal manner. And the best way he could do this is to refrain from talking through his mouthpieces especially about something as personal as telling us on the occasion of his birthday that he draws strength from our prayers for him “to lead our country and to bring about significant improvements in the lives of everyone.”

Speaking through his mouthpiece as “father of the nation” somehow smacks of another attempt at projecting an image that will endear him to the nation through public relations gimmicks which have been one of the distracting features of his administration. Indeed telling us that so many people are praying for P-Noy can even be interpreted to mean that these prayers have not been effective in view of so many failures and mistakes he has committed while in office that has brought so many miseries in our land.

Readily noticeable in this latest gimmick of P-Noy’s rah-rah boys in Malacanang is the absence of the more appealing statement that P-Noy draws strength in leading our country and improving the lives of his people mainly through his own prayers. It would appear here that P-Noy himself has not relied so much on prayer to make the right decisions as President of this country. For if he has done so, chances are we would not, by this time, be still mired in so many anomalies, corruption and even tragic happenings through mis-governance.

It is useless at this stage to still promote and project P-Noy as a competent, capable and qualified person to hold the position and carry out the functions of President of this country. People already know that he was not ready and well trained to occupy the position. They are just looking forward to his last day in office and are starting right now to look for better prepared and properly trained leader.

As I write this piece, I cannot help but recall once more, a private worldwide humanitarian service organization that I have written about so many times before. It is indeed one of the non-governmental organizations that has proven itself to be a good training ground for leadership. This is the Rotary International. Admittedly, there is a big difference between running the affairs of the government and running a private organization like the Rotary. But it has some useful methods and practices which can be adopted by our government in order to prepare and train our elected President before he assumes office.

In this organization, the incoming Rotary International president and the presidents of the numerous clubs all over the world who will succeed the incumbents are elected one year ahead of their term to give them time to acclimatize themselves and prepare for the position they will assume. This practice may be worth looking into with respect to preparing the elected President of our country before he assumes office. It may prevent a repeat of what is happening to us now.

In fact yesterday February 8, 2015 starting 7:30 am and for the whole day, the Philippine Rotary Multi District Special Presidents-Elect Training Seminar was held at the Philippine International Convention Center for purposes of training the presidents of the clubs in the various Rotary Districts in our country.

The guest of honor and speaker on that occasion is no other than the Rotary International President-Elect himself for the Rotary year 2015-2016 starting in July, Mr. K.R. Ravi Ravindran from Sri Lanka. A third generation Rotarian and a member since age 21, Ravindran has served on the Rotary International Board of Directors and the Rotary Foundation Board of Trustees, and as Rotary International Treasurer.

He is Sri Lanka’s national Polio-Plus Chair who headed the joint task force of the Sri Lankan Government, the UNICEF and the Rotary that successfully negotiated a ceasefire with northern Militants during the National Immunization Days such that by 1994, Sri Lanka has already reported its last case of polio.

He also chaired Sri Lanka’s Rotary District 3220 Schools Reawakening project raising $12 million to rebuild over 20 tsunami devastated schools benefitting 14,000 children. He continues to play a role in his club’s project to build cancer prevention and early detention center that will offer comprehensive screening and early cancer detection services once completed. He is also the founding president of the Rotary sponsored largest Sri Lanka agency called Anti Narcotics Association.

During his country’s civil war, Ravindran was involved in the business community efforts to find peaceful solutions to the conflict and was a featured speaker at the United Nations-sponsored peace conference in New York for the Sri Lankan Diaspora in 2002.

Ravindran is a recipient of the Rotary Foundation’s Citation for Meritorious Service, Distinguished Service Award, and Service Award for a Polio Free World. He is a successful Businessman and founder of Print care PLC a public listed printing, packaging and digital media solutions company. He is married to Vanathy since 1975 with two children and one grandchild.

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