Presidential candidate Ferdinand Marcos Jr greets supporters as he arrives at the campaign heaquarters in Manila on May 11, 2022. The son of the late Philippines dictator Ferdinand Marcos on May 11 claimed victory in the presidential election, vowing to be a leader "for all Filipinos", his spokesman said. Ted Aljibe, AFP
MANILA - Leading presidential candidate Ferdinand "Bongbong" Marcos Jr must transform popular support into a Cabinet reflective of his message of unity, an analyst said Tuesday.
Governing is different from elections, according to Dindo Manhit, president of research firm Stratbase ADR Institute.
Marcos needs the "best, most able, most confident people to play a role in key Cabinet positions," Manhit said.
"He had a strong message of unity, it worked and brought about that strong support from the public. Now transform that legitimate support into a government that's formed with technocrats," he told ANC's Headstart.
"He will be inheriting a government that is challenged with debt, demand of the Filipino people to address what I consider economic consequences of this pandemic so we need really technocrats, we need people who are qualified on one hand, not political in nature because you will need to make decisions that’s not political."
He added, "Create that environment where people are ready to serve and remind ourselves that competition is outside. How do we compete with our neighbors, how do we protect our national interests against our neighbors. Let’s work together as a Filipino nation."
Presumptive vice president Sara Duterte-Carpio can make the Department of Education "more responsive to its stakeholders" as she has experience managing the education system at a local level as a former Davao City mayor, Manhit said.
"People don’t realize that mayors are experienced in running the education system at a local level. You need to work with local, that's where the frontline is," he said.
Manhit added that the experience of running a local government unit can be brought to the Department of the Interior and Local Government (DILG) by Benhur Abalos Jr, former Mandaluyong mayor and former chairman of the Metropolitan Manila Development Authority.
"Maybe it’s time to put a mayor to run our DILG so we can experience local autonomy. We need to empower our local government units and maybe the experience and understanding of challenges of running local units can be brought by former mayor Benhur Abalos," he said.
Meantime, consensus building is important for the next Senate President, Manhit said.
"I hope the Senate President will not only follow the agenda of the incoming president. There could still be checks and balances but on one hand you want them to be cooperative so we can move forward," he said.
Reelected Leyte 1st District Rep. Ferdinand Martin Romualdez, who is being pushed as House Speaker, must be "seen not as a relative" of Marcos, Manhit added.
"I believe he has the numbers to be House Speaker and he has built himself a coalition there so it was not surprising he would aspire or he would successfully build a coalition to push the agenda of the incoming government," he said.
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