26 February 2021 via Zoom

Ladies and gentlemen, magandang umaga po sa inyong lahat.

On behalf of the Department of Trade and Industry (DTI), we would like to welcome all participants to today’s Leadership Conclave. We also would like to thank the Career Executive Service Board (CESB) for inviting us to speak on what leadership entails in a time like the COVID-19 pandemic.

As we deal with the unforeseen health and economic crisis brought about by COVID-19, the Philippines needs to rely on its leaders more than ever in seeking solutions to manage and solve the many challenges that our country faces. Thus, we commend CESB’s continuous efforts to promote resilient leadership, especially during this time of the global pandemic.

Today’s leaders in office are faced with the delicate act of balancing health and economy, of keeping our people safe from COVID-19 while making sure they still have jobs and employment. But in anything that we do, we have to keep in mind that all our actions should be for the good of our people. And at the end of the day, leaders need to keep the good of the people as their true north to guide them.

This is important to consider, given that the concept of leadership has been changing and being redefined in a volatile, uncertain, complex, ambiguous, and digital world. Leaders need to leave their comfort zone, reinvent themselves, and quickly adapt and respond effectively. Otherwise, our people—whether as an organization or as a nation—will be doomed to obsolescence, unable to think and act quick enough to survive in the post-pandemic economy.

To this end, the Department of Trade and Industry (DTI) believes in having transformational leaders that aim to bring positive changes so as to create a culture of trust and innovation. These transformational leaders should communicate clarity of vision. They should also have a consistently caring conscience and a commitment to collaboration and checking.

Communicating clarity of vision means internalizing the “why,” possessing a clear end in mind, and ensuring that everyone is onboard by sharing a common understanding of the desired outcome. In DTI’s case, our “why” is “Trabaho, Negosyo, Konsyumer.”

• Makapagbigay ng TRABAHO mula sa mga investments industry development trade and exports;
• NEGOSYO upang maiangat ang kabuhayan ng mga maliliit nating kababayan na nagsisimula ng mga Negosyo;
• KONSYUMER protection upang ipagtanggol ang karapatan ng mga konsyumer laban sa mga mapanglinlang at manlolokong mga negosyante.

Suma total ay gusto ng DTI mabigyan ng mas masagana at maginhawang buhay ang bawat Filipino ayon sa pangarap ng ating Pangulo Rodrigo Roa Duterte. At lahat po ito ay inihahandog ng DTI, sa pamamagitan ng serbisyong higit pa sa inaasahan.

DTI also believes in a consistently caring conscience to constantly do what’s right in carrying out our duties. Lastly, we are committed to greater collaboration and fostering better partnerships to better equip and enable our people.

Kung maikwento ko nga lang po, dito po sa pandemic ngayon, ang DTI ay isa po sa mga ahensiya na nangunguna po na maisulong po ang dahan-dahan, safe at calibrated na easing of restrictions or pagluluwag. Ito po ay binabalanse po natin, kasama po ang mga health expert ng Department of Health (DOH). Sa kabilang dako, tinitingnan din ang mga possible impact sa health.

Isa rin mabigat na part of equation, which is hunger, malnutrition, nawalan ng trabaho, ang epekto po ng unemployment and poverty na nanatili po sa ating kapaligiran. Ang Pilipinas nga po ay very challenged ngayon because of the lockdowns and strict community quarantine.

That is the reason why if we were think what is good for the majority of the people, sinusulong po natin ‘yung dahan-dahan na pagluluwag at tayo po ay kaisa ng buong gobyerno sa pagbalanse po nitong health and economy.

DTI is working towards creating its own transformational leaders while participating in the Program to Institutionalize Meritocracy and Excellence in Human Resource Management (PRIME-HRM) of the Civil Service Commission (CSC). This program is a mechanism that empowers government agencies by developing their HRM competencies, systems, and practices toward excellence. On this journey, DTI has achieved a Bronze Award for achieving Maturity Level II CSC-accreditation across all four core HR Management Systems nationwide.

On a more personal note, a mantra I always live by is that leaders and workers or I would say any person, should have the three traits of ICE: Integrity, Competence, and Energy. You cannot lose any one trait if you want to be a true leader or even a true person. Having Competence and Energy or Hard Work but without Integrity is dangerous. Having Integrity and Energy but without Competence can make you a nice person but most likely ineffective. Having Competence and Integrity but without Energy and Hard Work can make one almost an ideal person and worker, but nothing can be achieved if the person is what we call, tamad.

For the participants, we hope that you take advantage of today’s events and other leadership programs so that you can become capable leaders of the country. But as you do so, remember to always keep the good of our people as your true north.

Maraming salamat po at mabuhay tayong lahat. ♦

Date of Release: 26 February 2021