The 2016 Philippine general election is upcoming and ever just as sure as the sun will rise, the posters and ads that our eyes and ears have to endure looking and listening to will beastly be dominated by names of legally qualified but unsuitable people for public office. The Philippine political scene is rotting with old names symbolizing incompetence through time – and it’s not just in the national level. Our local government units are throbbing with power-hungry families looking to expand their already growing businesses. Aside from people elected into office, the cabinet is a crucial and a highly-political position. The next chief executives (national to local) are likely to appoint friends or party-mates into their respective cabinet posts and other top positions even without the necessary aptitude for the office. The cycle of nepotism will never end unless the democracy will gain consciousness to embrace meritocracy not as a discriminating and elitist idea, but a concept that will help the country free itself from the shackles of the system ran by not just corrupt but incompetent, stupid, and heartless Filipino officials.

Although it is of blow-to-the-moon proportions, my list of non-politicians who I want to be in the government would be my manifest of rubrics I see befitting for our next set of leaders. If you question their leadership ability and efficiency for execution, I think that their innate leadership qualities have led them to where they are today. All of them are famous – it’s just that their scope of fame differs.

Let’s start the list with a household name:

10. Mel Tiangco

Known for: GMA Kapuso Foundation; former ABS-CBN Foundation Executive Director

Alma Mater: University of the Philippines

Even during her ABS-CBN stint, her other title as Executive Director of ABS-CBN Foundation’s Lingkod Bayan is of philanthropic nature. Mel Tiangco is one of those names in broadcast that Filipino millennials have grown to consider as credible. Her name seems as clean as the detergent she endorsed (which caused her mid-1990s termination at ABS-CBN). Unlike her original TV patrol anchor Noli de Castro, and several other prominent broadcast personalities such as Loren Legarda, Ted Failon, Teddyboy Loscin, Rissa Hontiveros, Winnie Monsod, Korina Sanchez, and rumored-lover Jay Sonza, you will find it difficult to link her to politics or any other negative issue. Her social work is also outstanding as evident in GMA’s Kapuso Foundation getting to disaster-stricken areas earlier than others. Also, Mel Tiangco is so respectable that even other celebrities would hesitate to talk to her or make friends with her. She’s not necessarily a female-dog but she definitely knows how to show class, grace, and power altogether.

9. Atty. Jose Jesus Disini, Jr.

Known for: Principal Drafter of the RA 8792 (eCommerce Act) IRR

Alma Mater: University of the Philippines; Harvard University

There are more chances that you do not know him. His name is not as reverberating as his colleague Harry Roque, but this brilliant Technology Law expert could be considered the “Thomas Jefferson” or “Don Bosyong” of the eCommerce Act. Although the execution is still a bit patchy and unfamiliar to many, the first step for more fruitful electronic trading in the Philippines was taken through Atty. Disini and other micro-entrepreneurs in the country. The micro-entrepreneur sector is a budding part of the population composed of businessmen, activists, public intellectuals, and bloggers geared towards helping people, social media audiences primarily, to be business-oriented through new technologies with considerations on sustainable development and service-oriented leadership. Aside from being a trade and technology law expert, he is influential in reversing the implementation of the irrationally intrusive Anti-Cybercrime Law back in 2013. In this day and age, you can see the necessity for lawyers with expertise on technology.

8. Rodne Galicha

Known for: 2013 DENR Hero for the Environment Awardee

Alma Mater: University of Santo Tomas; Catholic University of Louvain

A native of Romblon, he always introduces Sibuyan Island as the “Galapagos of Asia” in his talks. Personally trained by Al Gore, Galicha is not only an effective communicator, academe, and an environmentalist, but he has connections we do not have in the international environmental fora. He is a Loren Legarda without political ambition. Also, he is knowledgeable of the local and international sociopolitical intricacies surrounding the issue. His profile includes membership in the Haribon Foundation, Alyansa Tigil Mina, and Save Palawan Movement. His experience as an environmentalist is more renowned abroad since the Philippines doesn’t seem to care much yet. The country is waiting for the grand chorus of monsoons, typhoons, and volcanic eruptions before it realizes that environmental problems could be solved and most are not of natural causes.

7. Efren Peñaflorida, OLD

Known for: 2009 CNN Hero of the Year

Alma Mater: San Sebastian College – Recoletos de Cavite, Cavite State University

Nakaligo ka na ba sa dagat ng basura? Not that I look at Efren as a squatter but he basically grew up in the slums. What strikes me most about Efren is his humanity – son of a tricycle driver with a small mamihan. His being CNN Hero of the Year makes it possible for me to stay idealistic and believe that a greater sense of heroism in the country is just sitting or sleeping somewhere, waiting to be rekindled – just like the lives of the many youngsters he and his team have brought back to productivity. At this era, to be heroes, we would not need to train with guns and bolos, but with pens, books, and karitons instead – not because of Jose Rizal – but because the greatest enemy within the country is the lack of education. Efren was a World Vision scholar and he paid it forward big time when he started his small project which has led him to join the ranks of world leaders and national icons even without a big league degree. Imagine if he was given more power to do good.

6. Dr. Willie Ong, MD

Known for: “Salamat, DOK!”; Health Tips on Facebook

Alma Mater: University of the Philippines; De La Salle University; Massachusetts General Hospital; University of Wisconsin – Madison

If you’ve been watching Salamat, Dok! On ABS-CBN, you are familiar of Dr. Ong. He might be too off-the-grid for politics but what if he can execute more projects in a government post related to his expertise on health. Also, include his character. DOH secretaries are known to be media-friendly and you can see it in their infomercials. As for Dr. Ong, the government would not have to spend too much as his and his wife’s health tips are posted in his Youtube channel and circulating on Facebook among the health-conscious middle-aged, Filipino netizenry. Living in a house with old family members who wants to live longer without stem cell treatments, I have been accustomed to hearing ‘Willie Ong’ and my aunts and uncles consider him as Ernie Baron of Health. Imagine if more Filipinos can prevent diseases and can be healthier without having to spend much. Thanks to Dr. Ong.

5. Atty. Harry Roque

Known for: controversial cases

Alma Mater: University of Michigan, University of the Philippines; London School of Economics

For millennials, his face is as familiar as Lorna Kapunan’s as we always see him defending controversial cases in the Philippines (although he has not guested at Gandang Gabi Vice, yet). This UP Law professor who took his undergraduate where Miriam Santiago took her post-grad is definitely more than just a lawyer. He is a public servant sans official government post. He is among lawyers with balls to break the norms of etiquette (just like Miriam Santiago) to profess the outrage of the public over the government facilitated by incompetent people who value demureness over truth (Thus, the disbarment thrust of the AFP against him). Aside from being involved in the Maguindanao Massacre and the Laude-Pemberton case, his profile includes: graduating with honors and merit at University of Michigan and London School of Economics respectively; being the first Asian admitted to practice before the International Criminal Court (This is not Miriam Santiago’s profile); and being the Director of UP Law Center Institute of International Legal Studies. If you are as keen, you can check his blog, harryroque.com, and you’ll get to see his latest post and understand the need to forward the Mamasapano ‘misencounter’ to the International Criminal Court!

4. Gang Badoy – Capati

Known for: RockEd Philippines founder

Alma Mater: Assumption College; University of the Philippines

Pedagogy is a talent. You may have had all the medals in the world for finishing all Doctorate Programs in Education and yet you cannot make a mark in the young’s consciousness, your teaching styles cannot adapt to the students, and in the end, your students will just see you as a museum of theories. Gang Badoy is certainly not this type of teacher. She walks the talk. She uses great sense of humor, music, and her expertise of pop culture and artistry. Gang Badoy could do so much more if she was given an official government post. She is among those intellectuals who can send the message across people of different wavelengths. Education solves everything. And if education is the message, and the medium is the message, we might see a balik-eskwela thrust among out-of-school youth as inspired by a beacon like Gang.

3. Arch. Felino Palafox 

Known for: Founder of Palafox Associates

Alma Mater: University of Santo Tomas; University of the Philippines: Harvard University

It would be easy to mudsling Palafox because he is a corporate person. He is to architecture as Manny Villar is to real estate. However, his corporation, I would say, is more efficient, more loyal to its vision-mission, and more environment-friendly than his client – self-declared eco-friendly SM. Urban planning is definitely a big issue for a country of natural disasters and large population density – and that is where Palafox is king. On a side note, royalties have gained from Palafox’ work as planner of the City of Dubai. This A+++ city, home to the world’s tallest building, was a project of Palafox. Going back, well-executed urban plan will solve traffic issues; prevent floods; improve human settlements; ease flow of basic social services; apply eco-friendly principles on public works; and will mobilize the people to make better their standards of living. If a Filipino can make a city in the desert, what more in the blessed tropics?

Known for: investigative journalism; founder of Rappler

Alma Mater: Princeton University; University of the Philippines

Filipinos usually apply for the Fulbright scholarship to be in an American university. In her case, she applied for Fulbright to be in the UP Diliman Journalism Master’s Program. A former Ivy League molecular biology student turned journalist extraordinaire, Maria Ressa, whether you like her or not, is a driving force in the global media. She is not just representing the Philippines but she is that big voice in Southeast Asia.  She was also instrumental in freeing Ces Drilon from the hands of the Abu Sayyaf as she was ABSCBN News Chief then. Her connections to the terrorist network and to other institutions in Asia and the United States would help in security administration. She can be the Philippine Ambassador to Bangsamoro should things go really bad.

1. Raissa Robles

Known for: her blog

Alma Mater: University of the Philippines; International Institute for Journalism – Berlin

I thought she was a law professor. She is not. She is a journalist with tons of knowledge on jurisprudence (as evident in her blogs). She might even be better than many of those who have passed the bar. She would have made a good member of the legislature. Her impressive profile is definitely a lot better than many congress people and it is more likely that she understands the job of the legislature better than many of the members of the congress – both houses. Aside from her opinions, her ‘news’ give us both sides of the coin. Although opinionated, as a stalwart of true reportage, Raissa shows the good and bad – and she leaves the decision to her audience on which side to stand for after seeing what she has written. 

 Do you know these people? If you were president, which offices will these people hold?