(The following is a portion of a speech delivered by the author during a meeting of Management Association of the Philippines in Cebu last April 30).

WE have much to be thankful for, as Filipinos, but many of us have not opened our eyes to the many blessings we enjoy. Truth to tell, we also have many reasons for feeling that we suffer from the curse of being stuck with one of the slowest economic growth rates in our part of the world, and with one of the highest levels of corruption in the perception of both domestic and foreign observers.

Many of us, including our major candidates for the highest offices of the land, talk about good governance (GG). But have we taken the time to define what it demands, what it entails, and what we need to do to bring about the results GG should deliver?

Good governance entails that we unite ourselves and our efforts around values, rather than around persons.

If we want governance to move us forward, we should not just talk about it. We must work to make it perform and deliver results.

The first governance recommendation is for the next President to unite our people around common values that we all should hold dear. The focus should be on those ideals and principled convictions that we can agree to place at the very core of everything we do as a people, whether in government or outside of government. These core values should include the following: love of God; respect for the dignity of every Filipino; GG and responsible citizenship; commitment to a culture of excellence, discipline and integrity; responsible stewardship in the preservation and enrichment of our environment and culture.

Lest we forget, the next President should also constantly remind us of our mission as a people, which is nothing less than to ?promote the common good, conserve and develop our patrimony, and secure for ourselves and posterity the blessings of independence and democracy under the rule of law and a regime of truth, justice, love, equality and peace?.

The second governance recommendation is for the next President to put forward a clear set of strategic priorities that provide the unifying themes for all the plans and programs that eventually get to be proposed and pursued.

These priorities must strengthen the drivers of change in society and to keep government, in partnership with the private sector, lean, effective, and efficient.

The economic priorities are basic as well, and these are specified as ?growth in productivity? and ?growth in GDP per person?.

Finally, the average Filipino should never be forgotten. Getting them to ?enjoy the real benefits of development? and to ?be proud of the Philippines? are the priorities the next President should specify for their benefit and welfare.

The third governance recommendation is for the next President to take the lead in identifying the initiatives we should take, the measures of progress we should agree on, and the targets we as a nation should commit ourselves to achieving between 2010 and 2016.

The next President must challenge all of us to begin crafting and making commitments of what we must do, and of targets we must meet in advancing our community interests and our nation?s progress. From 2010 to 2016, each one of us should come down from the fence and enter into the arena where we personally are involved in the fight against the bulls of poverty, ignorance, lack of opportunity, discouragement and despair.

The fourth governance recommendation is for the President to empower, engage, involve, and hold responsible every segment and level of the government, business, and civil society in making a positive contribution to the targets in our governance scorecard.

For the government, with the Office of the President serving as the main coordinator, government agencies must be made to align their own governance scorecards with those for the nation as a whole.

Alignment means pushing together towards the same strategic priorities by tapping into the unique possibilities for making positive contributions from every level of government.

The same holds true for business. The next President should make the playing field of business fairer, more open, more competitive, and supported by enabling policies and more efficient infrastructure.

Civil society, too, needs to pull together, not only among its millions of components but also with the strategic priorities of the nation.

The final recommendation for the President is for him to view his task as the chief governance officer of our Republic, and this task carries with it the ultimate responsibility for unifying the nation and aligning the initiatives, plans and programs of every Filipino down to the last individual with the demands and targets of the national governance scorecard.

In weighing those recommendations, he should always bear in mind that he can never be equal to the task of the Presidency if he governs alone. Governance is about participation and the involvement of ordinary citizens. It is as much for the governed as for the governor, as much for the ordinary people as for public officials.

President Cory Aquino served us well by being our ?democracy President?. Ramos did a creditable stint by being our ?peace President?. Estrada and Arroyo in their time served a good purpose by reminding us of how badly we need a ?governance President?.

Thus, the next President should seek to become the ?governance President? that our country has been waiting for all these past 12 years. He steps into a vacuum of GG; and this he must seek to fill.

(The article reflects the personal opinion of the author and does not reflect the official stand of the Management Association of the Philippines. The author is ?MAP Management Man of the Year 2009? and Chair of the Institute of Corporate Directors and the Institute for Solidarity in Asia. Feedback at map@globelines.com.ph. For previous articles, please visit .)