What achievements do you think this reformist president will have achieved after his/her first year in office?

I think these two questions are worth pondering now since a number of aspirants claiming to be reformists are already setting their sights on the presidency and, considering the temper of the times, the possibility of one of them winning may not be that remote.

Like most everyone else I am hoping to see real change in the government. However, I doubt if having a reformist president is all that we need. Considering how weak our present system is in holding public officials accountable, I suspect the election of a reformist president won’t be enough to guarantee any meaningful change in the government. A lone reformist even if he/she is the president will most likely fail if everyone else around him/her will continue to espouse traditional politics. In such a scenario, the reformist president – especially one who is not politically adept — may just end up creating more problems for the country.

I think more than a reformist president what we need is a whole set of officials committed to pursuing a reformist agenda. Simply put, what this country needs is a reformist administration.

To all those reformist movements now sprouting all over the place, let this be a challenge to you. Line up a complete set of reformist candidates and possible appointees. Give the voting public a possible reformist administration that can carry out real change while actually running this country. Anything short of that may just prove risky even dangerous for this country in the long run.

It would be interesting to see a non-traditional candidate battle it out with the trapos (traditional politicians). But, while I can imagine him demolishing many of the possible candidates on the strength of image alone, I have some doubts if he can make it to Malacanang without crossing over to the dark side of old style traditional politics.

As a man of the cloth and a non-traditional politician, Panlilio already has the advantage of being perceived as being on the side of good. In fact, he got elected precisely because of that.

To his credit, the governor has succeeded in raising the provincial government’s collection from quarrying operations. However, beyond that, much of the publicity that has gone his way has been mostly negative such as the allegations of underperformance and the persistent efforts to have him recalled.

A friend of mine says it is best to examine not only the candidate’s vision but also his or her track record. In Panlilio’s case, I think he will have to come up with something really big to boost his own record as a public servant if he wants to be taken seriously as a presidential contender. Solving Pampanga’s jueteng problem may just do the trick. But, with just a little over a year before the elections, Panlilio may have to perform a miracle.

So what do you think? Does Panlilio have a fighting chance? The bigger question is: Does non-traditional politics have any chance at all under our present corrupt kumpadre system?