Disruptive leaders

At one time, the unfiltered mouth of Albay Rep. Joey Salceda nearly got him into trouble with former president Gloria Macapagal-Arroyo. As the then sitting president whose administration had become unpopular, Salceda described Mrs. Arroyo – his former economics professor – as a “bitch… but she is one lucky bitch.” Salceda was then Governor of Albay who spoke before the graduate school of his alma mater, Ateneo de Manila University on Feb.13, 2008.

In his own words, Salceda subsequently clarified he merely sought to praise Mrs. Arroyo for the country’s economic growth in 2007: “Usually, in the spirit of intellectual discourse, you don’t exaggerate your statistics but you tend to exaggerate your comments.”

Fast forward to 2022. Salceda has campaigned for his fellow Bicolano outgoing Vice President Leni Robredo during the last May 9 presidential election but supported Davao City Mayor Sara Duterte as his vice presidential candidate.

Alas, it was not meant to be. More than 31 million Filipino voters cast their lot to the UniTeam of former Senator Ferdinand “Bongbong” Marcos Jr. (PBBM) and Mayor Sara to become the country’s new President and VP, respectively. PBBM formally takes over tomorrow noon from President Rodrigo Duterte, father of VP-elect Sara. Among the first Cabinet appointees, PBBM named his VP-elect to be his Department of Education (Dep-Ed) Secretary.

She originally preferred to head the Defense Department portfolio and declared her first policy would be to restore the Reserve Officers’ Training Corps (ROTC). Supposedly to rekindle to the Filipino youths the spirit of patriotism and nationalism, she wanted the ROTC to be restored in the colleges and university curriculum.

Despite not getting the Defense post, Salceda sees VP-elect Sara will be a “team player” in the Marcos Cabinet as DepEd Secretary in concurrent capacity where she will be in charge of the country’s primary and secondary education institutions. The incoming DepEd Secretary perhaps might consider to require instead the Citizens’ Military Training. It was an optional subject before in the high school if the student did not want to join the Boy Scouts or the Girl Scouts as extra-curricular activity.

Interviewed last week in a radio/TV news program, Salceda looks forward to the assumption into office of the VP-elect. He described both President Duterte and daughter Sara as the “most disruptive leaders” the Philippines ever had. Like father, like daughter is how Salceda believes the incoming VP would exercise the same kind of “disruptive leadership.”

Disruptive is a term often associated in a positive light.

To be “disruptive,” the Collins English Dictionary defines it an action taken to prevent from continuing or operating in a normal way. In its traditional use, the word “disruptive” has a negative tone. In the language of business, a “disruptive leadership” can be briefly described as a management style which constantly seeks better solutions and new ways to improve businesses and processes, and which is not afraid of shaking the established systems to reach necessary goals.

A “disruptive leadership” in a government setting is when the disruption or innovation saves money, makes an organization more efficient, allows the organization to be more flexible, or all three. However, a “distruptive leadership” can become a problem when well-intentioned leaders delude themselves by downplaying disruptive threats or over-estimating the difficulty of response. Especially so when leaders lie to themselves, disruption becomes not just an innovation challenge, but also a leadership challenge.

During our Tuesday Club breakfast gathering last week, Salceda insisted the VP-elect has demonstrated the positive type of “disruptive leadership” during her tenure as Davao City Mayor. Salceda cited the declared plans of restoring the ROTC course as example of her “disruptive” thoughts. Hands down, however, Salceda points to President Duterte as having exercised fullest his “disruptive leadership” that brought drastic changes in our country.

Methinks, too, President Duterte did a lot of disruption not only in the bureaucracy, but also to the private sector in doing business with the government, and how the entire Philippine society now behaves.

Enjoying popular support from the majority of Filipinos, President Duterte got the job done in his avowed policy to break the back of the oligarchs in our country. He tested his vast powers under our country’s Constitution to go after the big business interests from the non-renewal of the ABS-CBN franchise and tax cases against social media Rappler online to the renegotiations on the two Metro Manila water concession contracts; and speeding up the internet services of big telecommunication companies.

As the Commander-in-chief, President Duterte directed the Armed Forces of the Philippines (AFP) in waging the war against the Maute terrorists that laid siege in Marawi City in Lanao del Sur. But his most unpopular war against illegal drugs carried out principally by the Philippine National Police (PNP) now threatens his retirement life. He faces the “crimes against humanity” case filed by his political nemesis before the International Criminal Court.

Long before the COVID-19 pandemic struck, President Duterte ordered Boracay’s total closure from tourists for more than a year to clean up the “cesspool” of the beaches. Similarly closed from the public was the Manila Bay to implement a Supreme Court clean up mandamus. Its controversial transformation has been turned into now dolomite-filled beach attraction.

Despite his unorthodox leadership style, the outgoing Chief Executive can pride himself as the country’s first President still enjoying a 60 percent net approval during his last days in office at Malacanang.

Tomorrow, the 77-year old President Duterte formally bows out from being a “disruptive leader” during his six-year watch of our country. From the same mold of a “disruptive leader,” his daughter Sara comes into the national scene empowered as the country’s VP for the next six years.