Leading with passion and compassion conveys a powerful message that can reach everyone. But the most important facet of that message comes from a sincere connection with the people.

Through this connection, a leader is able to learn about the needs of everyone. A compassionate leader is perceived to be stronger and more competent, capable of inspiring and influencing people positively. It’s about getting involved in the day-to-day life of the people and helping solve problems. A good leader recognizes their struggles, empathizes and is motivated to take action to address the hardships.

Greed has no place to prosper when a leader is not selfish. If a leader focuses on understanding the people, he or she will have a great impact in guiding them. People who know that their leader cares for them will naturally tend to get more involved in making a better country. A compassionate leader and dedicated citizens can move mountains.

As an athlete, I try to use my platform to inspire others, to have their own voice and to do what they think is best for our people. When I represent our country in competitions all over the world, I’m conscious of the fact that whatever I do, however I perform, reflects on our nation. I go out there to compete as a proud Filipino, opening the eyes of the world to the amazing features of our country, our wonderful people, our beautiful places. It’s an enormous responsibility and I never back off from doing my best to show how proud I am to be a Filipino.

Our next President might consider creating a Department of Sports to strengthen our sports program, to give sports the importance it deserves at the Cabinet level.

Right now, I am deep in training to qualify for my third Winter Olympics, an honor that I hope to bring not for myself but for our country. It’s been difficult to train in this pandemic but I want to share with everyone my mantra of never giving up. Whatever you are going through, whatever the challenges, you have to tell yourself that it’s temporary and you have to keep going and pushing yourself to realize your dreams. As a people, we have aspirations for our country, dreams for all of us to have a better life.

In the coming elections, I think we should vote for the candidates who will put an emphasis on creating more jobs, providing better health care, improving our standards of education and, of course, supporting our athletes because they sacrifice so much to give pride to our countrymen. We have a lot of outstanding athletes in the Philippines and I hope that they continue to be given the opportunity to excel, to be the best they can be. I think athletes should be supported 100 percent in their training, whether in the Philippines or abroad, to improve, to achieve and to become world-class.

Creating a Department of Sports would be a landmark step towards achieving our ultimate objective of unifying our people with honor and pride through a sports platform.

Our next President might consider creating a Department of Sports to strengthen our sports program, to give sports the importance it deserves at the Cabinet level. The Philippine Sports Commission and Games and Amusements Board are doing an excellent job in promoting and developing sports in coordination with the Philippine Olympic Committee and the private sector but a Department of Sports would be the main driving force to move sports forward.

There will be more support for athletes, a budget that will be appropriate to accomplish our goals in the Southeast Asian Games, Asian Games and the Olympics. It will give our athletes a bigger voice and a bigger chance to become world champions. Creating a Department of Sports would be a landmark step towards achieving our ultimate objective of unifying our people with honor and pride through a sports platform.

The message I wish to impart to the voters in the next elections is to listen to their heart. There are thousands of books about leadership, about how to be a good leader but unfortunately, all the knowledge in the world is not enough to make someone a good leader.

What makes the difference between a good leader and a poor leader is passion for work and compassion for the people. Let’s look for compassionate leaders who will give of themselves to our people, who will not allow personal interest to get in the way of improving our economy and who will do what is right for our country with God’s guidance.

Our time is now. Register today! Go to irehistro.comelec.gov.ph.