Leadership lessons from Marcos

Serve your country, serve your people.

That, according to President Ferdinand “Bongbong” R. Marcos Jr., is the most important lesson taught to him by his dad and namesake. It is a lesson taught to him not in a formal lecture or class, but “through experience and leadership,” PBBM said yesterday in Ilocos Norte, marking the 109th birth anniversary of Ferdinand Edralin Marcos Sr. “Make the country a better place when you leave it than when you found it,” said the young Marcos.

Incidentally, Marcos Jr. celebrates his 69th birthday tomorrow, Sept. 13. He marks it by being overseas, in New Delhi, India, Sept. 12-13, to participate in the 18th BRICS summit, upon the invitation of Indian Prime Minister Narendra Modi.

The 11-nation BRICS is the international grouping originally formed in 2009 by Brazil, Russia, India and China, as a counterfoil to the American hegemony. BRICS has expanded to include South Africa, Egypt, Ethiopia, Indonesia, Iran, Saudi Arabia and the United Arab Emirates. Outside the UN, in combined population, resources and continental reach, BRICS+ is the world’s largest and richest grouping of nations – 3.9 billion people, or 46 percent of the world’s population; 40 percent of internet users and 36 percent of global GDP, in purchasing power parity (PPP). Marcos Jr. was invited to the 18th summit as the chair this year of the 10-nation Association of Southeast Asian Nations.

Marking Marcos Sr.’s 109th birth anniversary, Marcos Jr. said, “It is an extremely important day for the family and for the province and, for that matter, for the history of the Philippines. It also serves as an occasion to remember the life of service and the lessons that he left us.”

Bongbong said: “Of course, I first knew him as my father, and many of the lessons that I remember were the ones he taught me when I was still very young.

“And it is remarkable because now I find myself in the position of President. Once in a while, I surprise myself when I’m confronted with a situation and have a solution or at least a response, a proper response to those situations.

“I also asked myself, ‘How is it that you knew how to address the challenges that were put before you?’ And I look back on my life and I say, it is remarkable because my father never sat me down and said, ‘The lesson for today is that you must learn this, that and the other thing.’ Hindi ganoon ang style ng aking ama. His way was to teach by example and to teach by leadership. And even when I was just talking to him, even when I was just spending time with him, what a rare time that was, I did not know it, but he was already teaching me, that he was already training me.

“And he was training me not to become an important public figure, not to reach the heights of political leadership and position, but he taught me about public service.”

BBM elaborated on lessons from FM:

“The most important lesson that I learned from him was that public service must be about your country and your countrymen. It is a principle that guided him throughout his life. From his service as a soldier to his years in public office and eventually as president.

“I today carry the responsibilities of that office. But the same principles continue to guide me every single day. And he always would say that – ‘nothing worthwhile is achieved without great sacrifice.’ So, one lesson immediately that I remember was he would say, ‘do not ever take the easy way out.’ ‘Do what is right, no matter how difficult that may be.’

“It is not a lesson only for those in government. It is something that all of us must carry into our everyday lives.  Because in every decision that we make, we must exercise judgment, put the national interest first and ask what will best serve the Filipino people.

“Because what we do in service of our people is not for ourselves. It is for the country; it is for the people. And you must always remember that there is no sacrifice too great for your people and for your country.

“We must serve our fellows. We must do our part to leave the Philippines a better place than when we found it. And it is also fitting today that in honoring my father, we also celebrate the people and the place that remain so close to his heart throughout his life.”

Ferdinand Marcos Sr. (1917-1989) was the country’s longest-serving president (November 1965 to February 1986), a strongman and its most controversial leader.

To me, Marcos Sr. did four things:

1. He pursued a bold foreign policy. He recognized the People’s Republic of China in June 1975, far ahead of the United States. In 1976, he established, with India’s help, diplomatic relations with the then USSR (today the Russian Federation), thanks to his discernment that the US would lose in Vietnam. Marcos Sr. ended the 99-year lease on the US bases, reduced the lease to 25 years and demanded rentals for them.

2. He prevented the Philippines from being torn asunder. He defeated the violent Muslim separatist movement that would have resulted in the dismemberment of the republic.

3. He prevented the Philippines from falling into communist hands by defeating the world’s longest-running communist insurgency.

4. He inspired in his people a sense of history, a sense of purpose, a sense of nationhood. “This nation can be great again,” he said. That declaration probably inspired Trump’s slogan, “Make America Great Again.”

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