'Pamumunong bagani': A Filipino brand of leadership

Last of 2 parts

WITH the fast approaching 49th anniversary of the proclamation of martial law, discussion is again rife about the need for more strongman rule. And because of the coming elections, the stakes are high. People talk about what kind of leaders we should elect. In the previous first part of this column, I posited that to have an idea of a Filipino brand of leadership, we can go back to the leader of our ancestors - the datu. But didn't the autocrats already use this template to justify their one-man rule? This stems from the perception that the datu is an absolute ruler who also automatically passes his authority on to his kin.