EVERY administration seems to have had its own 'branding,' and when it was publicly announced that President Ferdinand Marcos Jr. was adopting 'Bagong Pilipinas,' there was no shortage of critics and skeptics. In a sense, people have a right to be skeptical; after all it has happened so often that the achievements fell far short of the avowed vision. But that has not been true of all — and it certainly would be unfair to past administrations to claim that they failed to deliver on their promises. And perhaps, that is where 'Bagong Pilipinas' just might make a distinct contribution.

The novelty of Bagong Pilipinas consists in the fact that it does not announce some new discovery or proclaim a breakthrough doctrine. It offers a perspective, proposes a vantage point by no means new, but certainly an invitation to a 'renewed' vision. The Filipino is the Philippines' worst and harshest critic, and while, for some purposes, this can be helpful, abiding cynicism about the country and about its leadership cannot take us very far.