On the eve of his second state-of-the-nation(SONA)-address on Monday , two highly important matters for the nation are on President Bongbong Marcos’s plate: the rebranding campaign for the Philippines and the decision by the International Criminal Court (ICC) to resume its investigation on the alleged crime against humanity of the previous administration.
Both are not mutually exclusive. The success of the former is partly dependent on the success of the other. The President’s signing into law of his pet legislation, the Maharlika Investment Fund, almost becomes irrelevant in view of his administration’s uncooperative, even defiant, posture about ICC’s legal mandate.
The options for the president are simple: be a statesman or a politician.
Rebranding is simply about repositioning in a highly competitive environment. Image is important because respect and trust are indispensable in any human transaction, national or international. It’s no wonder that, from Day One, PBBM has underscored it in presenting a wholesome Philippines in his various trips abroad, especially in the United States and in world meetings.
PBBM is too well aware of his demanding task to refurbish the country’s image—the Marcoses, too– given the historical stigma when his late father imposed martial law in 1972 and then ended up being kicked from power by his own people in the 1986 EDSA Revolution. In between, widespread human rights violations made the country a pariah in international stage.
Fortunately, many Filipinos believe in a proverbial second chance, and the only son of the former dictator reclaimed Malacanang after more than a quarter of century in political doldrum. Still, the 2016 presidential election remains in the shadow of doubt as electoral issues about possible fraud have been raised in the Supreme Court.
The government’s tourism aim under his watch is moving to reclaim its pleasant image in the world through a new audio-visual project. The project ran awry with netizens’ uproar over the use of “borrowed” footage from other countries’ advertising campaigns . It was a step backward, instead of a step forward, in promoting the Philippines as a tourism destination because of the flagrant misrepresentation.
The practice of rebranding or remaking an image is not a new strategy ,whether in politics or marketing. It is a bounce back approach to regaining an old footing in the marketplace of competition. A It is as old as martial law, at least in the Philippines’case. When it was imposed, a new society was launched as the overarching vision with national discipline at its core value. This was so stressed in a popularized slogan” sa ikauunlad ng bayan, disiplina ang kailangan”. In its early inception, word got around that a well-known TV personality , Ariel Ureta, was allegedly arrested by military men for lampooning the slogan. “ Sa ikauulad ng bayan, bisikleta ang kailagan,” he allegedly uttered in good humor on TV. He was thereafter said to have been ordered to spend the day biking at Camp Aguinaldo.
Shortly before the older Marcos was overthrown by People Power, an American senator was quoted as saying that the Philippines, at the time, had 35 million nincompoops ruled by one SOB. The wry remark turned out to be , as one American author said, grossly exaggerated as the Edsa Uprising showed before the world. For once, as Rizal predicted in his article “ The Philippines a Century Hence”, Filipinos will rise up, even peacefully, against oppression and say ‘enough is enough’.
How PBBM aims to achieve what his father had failed to accomplish in building a new Philippines in his time is yet to be unveiled on his second SONA engagement. The ICC ruling to probe his predecessor, former President Duterte ,will certainly complicate his objectives. While he may be pleased with the passage of the MIF to push his investment agenda, standing pat on his earlier declaration not to cooperate with the ICC probe will compromise the government’s integrity in honoring its international obligation, especially treaties , let alone its unequivocal support of rule-based commitments and standards. PBBM cannot conceivably have it both ways.
“Rebrand is not just about buzzing brand words”,Bernard Clive said. It’s a call to reexamine ou lives, our goals and dreams and building an authentic brand that impact lives.” The two unfinished agenda on his plate will test PBBM’s mettle.
The ICC is,once more, determined to find out the truth about the war-on-drug during the Duterte regime that victimized from 6,000 to 30,000 people, who were basically denied due process. The move has been delayed by the refusal of Philippine leaders, first by Duterte and then by PBBM with former President Gloria Arroyo and other top officials behind it – all maintaining that the ICC probe makes mockery of the country’s sovereignty.
Apparently, Duterte had anticipated the latest ICC decision rejecting the Philippine government’s third appeal to set aside the probe. He was seen in Hongkong with a former PBBM Cabinet member the day before the ICC ruling was made, and had a meeting with China’s President Xi Jing Ping on the day the ICC ruled anew. The ICC probe and China’s invalidated claim over portions of the West Philippine Sea could have been part of the two leaders’ conversation. Duterte may still have some unfinished business with the Chinese leader he is highly in awe of, or owes one , one way or another.
If PBBM insists on not cooperating with the ICC in its probe of Duterte and company, his goal to present a new brand for the Philippines may not work as expected. The international community will frown at a member state willfully disregarding international covenants when it’s not convenient. It is difficult to imagine foreign investors taking a risk in country with such a distinct emblem.
The nation waits on Monday for PBBM’s explanation on how he will deal with the twin issue of respecting international legal processes, on one hand, and disregarding them when he sees fit, on the other. All presidents are supposed to solve their nations problems, even ones that have conflicting solutions.
Let’s see if PBBM has solomonic wisdom to make the right one.
