Alvarez: Next prexy has no OJT
This is purely a voter’s education advocacy… to educate people how important choosing the next president is. We are not endorsing any political personality
In choosing the next head of state, the Filipino people should elect the one who can already hit the ground running as soon as one assumes the presidency, a former top House leader said on Saturday.
In a phone interview with the Daily Tribune, former House Speaker Pantaleon Alvarez said the next president should already understand
by now the immensity of the current national problems.
“The next president must hit the ground running. No time for practice. No time for on-the-job training. One must already know what one will do to resolve the problems that we are facing,” Alvarez said.
The Davao del Norte congressman explained that aside from the Covid-19 pandemic, many businesses have shut down, many lost their jobs, many faced hunger, and on top of that, the problem with the West Philippine Sea.
Such territorial dispute is even more dangerous than the pandemic, he noted.
These are the very reasons why he initiated “We Need a Leader 2022,” a voter’s education campaign launched in January 2021.
The campaign will run until the end of September, or before the filing of certificate of candidacy begins.
“We will send this message through all possible communication channels in order to reach the people, even those in the marginalized sectors,” the lawmaker disclosed.
Alvarez’s group is tapping local government units, mayors, governors and barangay captains to reach wider audience. He shared that his group is also asking celebrities to join the campaign.
“This is purely a voter’s education advocacy… to educate people how important choosing the next president is. We are not endorsing any political personality,” he stressed.
Alvarez visited Cagayan de Oro City on Saturday as part of his nationwide campaign.
Here, he reiterated his concern that if the next leader fails to address the current crisis, the country will be running like a headless chicken with no direction, no delivery of basic service and no infrastructure.
“We need a leader with a brain, a heart and has courage to grasp and address the problem of hunger, the P14-trillion foreign debts, massive unemployment, hunger in the country today,” he said.
The former House leader said the members of the revived Reporma Party are also working with his advocacy group for this campaign.
When asked to assess the current administration, Alvarez declined to respond, saying it should be the public who must judge.
“I am sorry I cannot assess the Duterte administration, let the people give their judgement,” he said, emphasizing that he’s more concerned on the search for the leader who is truly capable of leading the country in the next six years.