What if you owned a company and you hired a General Manager, and the said person in the first four years somewhat showed to be trustworthy. He worked hard and initiated grand projects. From being #2 in the industry and one of the most respected brands, there was a promise you might be #1 in no time.
Then on the fifth year the General Manager's true colors started showing. Instead of upholding best corporate practices, he began some dire policy changes. In place of hiring the qualified mid-level managers, he began putting his inexperienced friends and relatives into key positions. Instead of getting from reputable suppliers, he gave sub-contracts to companies owned by his in-laws and cousins. There were arbitrary firings of long-time employees, and the company's books are seeing more red figures as the GM removed the standard checks and balances when it comes to the finances.
To make things worse, instead of focusing on selling the company's products to make the company profitable, the General Manager instead borrowed money from various banks using your company's assets as the collateral. In no time, the company was only operating from borrowed funds.
The year end reports were a farce, but the GM and his lackeys were initially deceiving you with false figures and their grand projects.
While the company was slowly being drained of its worth, the GM and his cronies were secretly enriching themselves. Mansions, luxury vehicles, private jets, and other corporations were built from the appropriated funds from your company.
Ironically, when it comes to settling payments with suppliers, the GM was quick to release the checks, but then the time then came after years of mismanagement that the company was not able to pay its dues to the banks, and so were one by one taking back the assets borrowed by the company.
When the house of cards started falling - you getting fed up, and the employees seeing that they are going to lose their security, the GM in haste left the country to avoid facing investigation and the courts, but already has built up an empire abroad securing him and his family for the rest of their life.
At the end of the day, you took back control of the company and had to clean up the mess left behind by the GM and his friends. You spoke with the bank, and asked for a reprieve, and you had to remove every single bit of bad policy and culture imprinted over the years of mismanagement.
Would you then consider that this GM is the BEST Chief Executive there is? If you answer
NO, then I ask you this question:
Why do people consider Ferdinand Marcos to be the best President we ever had? The very same practices that the GM in the parable did, were done by Marcos on a national scale, albeit the human rights violations and arbitrary killings. We say NO to the GM, yet it makes me wonder why some say
Marcos Pa Rin!? Sadly, I hear this even from Filipinos who are born after EDSA 1986. Is it because the people do not know our history and tend to repeat the same mistake, or that the Marcos propaganda machine is seemingly winning the battle of the minds of the young generation?
Ironically, we as a people know this saying
kung hindi ka tumingin sa iyong pinanggalingan, hindi ka makakarating sa iyong patutunguhan. Sana talaga, I wish we all learn from our country's history and not repeat the same mistakes committed by the older generation.
