KIKO ON GUILIANI'S RP VISIT:
"His message underscores the urgent need to pursue a genuine alternative to politics as usual."

Following the visit of former New York mayor Rudy Guiliani in the country to conduct the talk "Leadership in Times of Crisis," Senate Majority Leader and Independent senator Kiko Pangilinan today stressed that, "While we are thankful to Mr. Guiliani for his insights, we are saddened that his presence and his message underscores the reality that there exists a vacuum of political leadership in the country today."

Guiliani's brand of leadership was made famous after the 9/11 terror attacks at the World Trade Center.

"I say this because simple leadership tenets that most of us know to be true and exist in any leadership manual had to be spelled out for us not by our very own but by a foreign political leader. Why? Because nearly all of the key players amongst the political elite, those who should be exercising leadership in the country, aren't doing so," Kiko added.

"In place of genuine leadership, we have incredulous political gimmicky. Instead of courage we have timidity. Instead of risk takers, we have those that play safe on every issue. It is failed political leadership that has brought us to where we are today, far, far behind in the ASEAN region and it is leadership with vision, with courage, relentlessness in its commitment to reforms that will lead us out of the mess we are in. Now more than ever, the search for genuine alternatives to trapo politics and 'politics as usual', genuine leadership that will inspire our people to purposeful action, must be pursued relentlessly no matter the costs. The price we and our children are to pay for our failure to do so is the slow and painful death of our nation. We cannot, and shall not, allow this to happen," Kiko ended.