Applying The 5Cs of Execution to Philippine Election by Josiah Go The National election is coming in few days, and everyone has their own opinion on who deserves to be

in the top national leadership positions of our country. There have been many talks about converting knowledge to action and that one presidential candidate in our May 9, 2016 election positioned himself as

one good in execution (no pun intended). I respectfully disagree. Consider the 5 Cs of execution on getting things done:

1) Clarity of strategy – Execution comes after strategy; a strategy entails understanding complex interactions of many variables and understanding the bigger picture as well. For a

country, it involves not just peace and order but equally important factors like the economy and foreign policy. An important aspect of execution is knowing what strategy to execute. The

Philippine economy has grown tremendously with each president building on the gains of their predecessors, successfully getting out from being the ―sick man of Asia‖ when Marcos left the

country in 1986 to being Asia‘s brightest economy under the term of President Noynoy Aquino.

Today, the Philippines is the 29th biggest economy in the world in gross national product

(GDP) and we cannot afford to lose what we have gained through the years. A single-minded focus on crime needs a doable strategy – – what exactly is the doable strategy to suppress

crime within 3-6 months on a national scope? Having nationwide death squads is not legal. An

example of a clear strategy is the Oplan Lambat-Sibat of the Aquino government, resulting in arresting 716 of the 946 most wanted, high profile criminals in the country. A clear strategy,

with attention to details, weekly follow through meetings and accountable metrics becomes sustainable.

Today, the Philippines is the 29th biggest economy in the

world in gross national product (GDP) and we cannot

afford to lose what we have gained through the years. A

single-minded focus on crime

needs a doable strategy – – what exactly is the doable

strategy to suppress crime within 3-6 months on a

national scope? Having

nationwide death squads is not legal. An example of a

clear strategy is the Oplan Lambat-Sibat of the Aquino

government, resulting in arresting 716 of the 946 most

wanted, high profile criminals

in the country. A clear strategy, with attention to

details, weekly follow through meetings and accountable

metrics becomes sustainable.

2) Communication –

The president of a country is the role model of the nation and

chief diplomat worldwide. He or she must be clear and inspiring yet

tactful and respectable. One cannot

keep saying one thing today and changing to another tomorrow. One

communicates to gain allies, not alienate different segments of

society on a weekly basis — foreign customers last week, rape victim

this week, disabled people next

week. For sure, good communication is not about using

foul language and tasteless jokes. If it is the new norm, we should all be

concerned about the implication to

national culture. The machismo communication style may be needed

and effective for Mayor Duterte in Davao in Mindanao but certainly not

necessarily nationwide. LP candidate Mar Roxas and running mate Leni

Robredo have their platform –

―Kalayaan sa Gutom, Kalayaan sa Takot, Kalayaan Mangarap―

(Freedom from Hunger, Freedom from Fear, Freedom to Dream)

translating the vision to clear

projects to gain Philippines momentum if they win the election.

3) Coordination – Getting things done is not just an executive prerogative, it entails coordinating and convincing other equal parts of the government — the legislative and judiciary. A president

belonging to PDP-Laban and legislative belonging to Liberal Party may be harder to coordinate, as there is still the need to cross party lines to get things done. A look at some countries like

Indonesia will reveal barriers to get things done if the president is different from the ruling party in congress. The government may have the best of intentions, but it needs the

cooperation of others to form a team, even harder if a president is elected as a minority

president. Think of the scenario if on May 9, 2016, over 70% of the ‗masa‘ and over 60% of those belonging to ABC are not in favor of the new president. It is important that after the

elections, the success rate of the President and VP will be based on how he or she manages to coordinate the 3 branches of government, and engaging the constituents to support his or her

administration.

Existing coordination barriers need to be removed. In the 3rd and final presidential debate, it

was Mar Roxas who identified specific coordination issues such as the merger of DPWH and DOTC, an advantage from one who has been part of the team that helped in implementing

laws resulting to the highest growth rate of the Philippines, yet, seeing areas of improvement

not available immediately to neophyte without national executive experience in governance.

4) Commitment – It is about starting and staying in a relationship. It is about a promise, in

fact, a covenant for an election. One cannot make a stand only to keep changing. A leader must say what it means and mean what it says and not allow its followers to end up being its

apologists. Reality check is that on short-term, it may be possible but on long-term, it may be hard for a leader to sustain the commitment of competent people if he or she does not show

consistent commitment to a promise. We have seen the declining rating of another presidential

candidate, Senator Grace Poe, on ground that she pledged alliance to the United States before and until recently, her husband was an American citizen. Even countries like Myanmar

disallowed anyone to become president unless the immediate family and their spouses are natural born citizens of the country, a signal of consistent commitment.

5) Competencies – Different people have different strengths. Competencies in good governance

is doing what matters. For example, the BPO industry‘s turning point came about when tax

incentive previously given to product sector in EPZA was extended to service by virtue of amending Republic Act 7916 so that buildings or floors in buildings could register as an eco-

zone. This simple insight under the time Mar Roxas as secretary of trade and industry convincing congress to amend the law resulted to a US$25 billion industry with over 1.3 million

jobs, 78% being male, 61% married, 57% not college graduate given another chance in

life, trickling down to the poor sector with over US$6.7 billion in salaries and benefits, creating new growth opportunities for other industries. It is noteworthy to mention that Manila

has overtaken Mumbai as the world‘s no. 2 BPO destination and contributes to some 6% of the country‘s GDP.

While these 5 C‘s of Execution seem to stand alone, these are interdependent and interact with each

other. For example, a good commitment will reflect an effective communication approach. A clear

strategy if not communicated properly can lead to mistakes in coordination. It is impossible for a leader to have successful execution overnight, while experience and track record in the government can surely

make a leader qualified to lead the country.