The right of political will

March 31, 2018 Opinion Sideglance

The internet has in one way defined Political will as “the exercise of an abstract feature of political authority to enforce certain act for the benefit of its intention, usually for the public welfare.it is an unconditional use of political power.”

The last sentence of the definition is what political will really is and it is the unconditional use of political power to achieve an objective or an end that redounds to the benefit or the welfare of the people.

This is what President Rodrigo Duterte and his administration has done so far, and I believe will continue to do so until the popularity surveys will say otherwise.

This is why President Digong is such a wily and astute politician as well as a very decisive leader. From his viewpoint there are no half measures or half-baked decisions and only forceful, incisive, determinative and conclusive actions. It is high time that those highly critical of his decisions and actions finally realize that as long as the president enjoys unprecedented popularity among the masses he can do as he pleases so long as there is the perceived benefits that will accrue to the people as a result of his decisions.

While others might say that the president, by his actions, has been alienating other sectors of society or more critically risking long time friendships with other nations, no amount of criticism or coercion will sway the mind of the president once he sets himself to do something that he believes will offer a solution to the multitude of problems that our country is suffering from.

This is political will.

Take the case of Boracay and other famous and well known beach resorts and tourist spots in the country that has been the object of manipulation, exploitation and degradation by various big businesses and right now has transformed into environmental risks and a danger to a healthy ecosystem. It only took one word from the president to set everything into motion towards the eventual, hopefully, rehabilitation of these much abused environmental wonders of our country. That word is “cesspool”.

By that word alone President Duterte shocked the public into vigilance and concern by revealing to them the extent of abuse done to various famous resorts and tourists sites in the country. This is environmental degradation at its worst and it had to take the political will of the President to push for the much needed rehabilitation and reforms in order to bring back the healthy atmosphere of these natural wonders.

If the president did not pay attention to such concerns and exercise his political will would the public and other concerned groups and agencies taken the necessary steps to rectify such errors?

Such is the nature of political will and when wielded by a decisive and forceful leader augurs well for the people and the community.