Beware of impostors.

Under no reasonable order of society can it be philosophically and juridically asserted that the right to free speech and a free press is higher than the right of a person to his good name and his reputation.

Here are some gems of ideas from submissions by members of the RPG Study Group under Dr. Raul P. de Guzman who was asked by Fernando Poe Jr. to help him prepare his platform of government.

The Filipino action star was affectionately considered by his supporters to be the best president of the Republic of the Philippines, that Filipinos ever had.

My Platform of Governance: I am a Filipino. And I deeply care for every Filipino.

I am disturbed by the extent and prevalence of poverty in our country. More than 42 percent of our countrymen have been established to be living below the poverty line. The quality of their lives leaves much to be desired simply because employment and income opportunities are not available to them.

I am concerned that the security of our food supply is far from being assured. One key reason is that up to now, we have not been able to modernize our agriculture and to make our farmers competitive.

I am bothered by the persistence of acts of lawlessness that result in the feeling of insecurity by our countrymen and the external perception that our country is unsafe and that the political stability of our nation is threatened.

I am saddened by the palpable gradual erosion of the people’s faith in the ability of the government to address the social ills, the political turbulence, the economic woes, and the myriad of concerns that directly affect their welfare and well-being.

My Program of Governance will be anchored on six priority areas, namely: rapid economic recovery and national unity; agriculture, food security, and countryside development; peace and order; improved delivery of basic services; decentralized administration of development programs; and overseas Filipino workers.

If God wills that I win the Presidency, reviving the economy will be my top priority. Along this line, I will immediately wrestle with the priority concerns.

For Economic Recovery, there shall be a comprehensive review of all policies relevant to and affecting foreign investments. I will see to it that these policies are fair, equitable, and applied uniformly and with transparency.

Form a Finance Council to address the budget deficit and formulate strategies for mitigating the effects of huge debt payments.

Have all assets inventoried to bring down the operational costs or even eliminate non-performing assets through privatization.

Forge a consensus between labor groups and the employers federation towards attaining sustained peace and harmony in the labor front and creating employment opportunities.

Pursue an aggressive infrastructure development designed to address the requirements of the manufacturing sector and investors.

For Food Security and Countryside Development, I shall recognize that any nation’s development program should be anchored on an assured supply of basic food requirements. This is attained in a sustained way only if we modernize our agricultural systems if we make our farmers globally competitive, and if we make the countryside the launch pad for downstream economic development.

Towards these goals, I will pursue the full implementation of the mandates and goals of the Agriculture and Fisheries Modernization Plan the strategies of which are defined in the Agriculturang Makamasa initiated during the Estrada Administration.

We will accelerate the completion of ongoing irrigation construction projects. At the same time, I will enroll the participation of local government units in rehabilitating and maximizing the efficiency of existing waterways and communal irrigation canals.

I shall see to it that farmers groups and agrarian communities are given liberal access to credit. The provisions of the Agri-Agra Law will be implemented not in form but in its substantial spirit of creating a capital base that is available to agriculture.

(To be continued)