The Campaign

At a time when the qualities of good leaders were being debated and contested on social media by Filipinos, Book of 40 found a standard that was based on Filipino culture and history. The “Pinuno” mural brings these standards to life beyond the confines of the book where only readers could encounter it. It was a reminder to people about what good Filipino leadership was like and to inspire them to choose and become leaders that exemplified these four qualities.

Creative Execution

A singular character was created to be the Pinuno (leader) embodying the four pre-colonial leaders. Every detail of this character was studied, inspired by historical research. The sword represented the mananandata (warrior), the ornaments the panday (blacksmith), the red color the datu (the “general manager”) and the mythical bird the babaylan (priestess). Even the floral background is inspired by history -- the floral borders of the Boxer Codex, a 600-year old manuscript of pre-colonial Filipinos. Painted in big bold letters are the words, “Sino ang may galing, sipag, tapang at puso? Siya ang dapat mamuno!” (Who has the skill, the ability to work hard, the courage, and the heart? He deserves to rule!) A busy intersection in Manila with maximum visibility was chosen for the mural. The “Pinuno” (leader) was a 60-foot reminder of what good leadership looked like, what good leadership Filipinos must aspire for.

Indication of how successful the outcome was in the market

According to Patricia May Jurilla, Professor at the University of the Philippines, “Considering the practices and trends in the Philippine book industry, I would suggest this bottomline for the local bestseller: a book that has sold out its entire print run within one year.” With this as benchmark, Book of 40 is poised to be a bestseller by Philippine standards, having sold more than half of its print run in 5 months, with more orders from the bookstores and other distribution channels coming in. Certeza & Sons has five other books in line to be published this year, with more authors pitching their work to be published by the company. While there is no way of measuring if the “Pinuno” mural did inspire better Filipino leadership, there is always the hope that it somehow stirred ancient knowledge and desire for leaders who were skilled, hard-working, brave and compassionate!

In a chapter from Book of 40, the leadership structure of ancient Philippine society was briefly explained: Every community was led by four people: The datu or general manager, the mananandata or warrior, the panday or blacksmith, and the babaylan who was healer, the priestess, teacher and the storyteller of the tribe. The mural captured the idea that the subconscious of the Filipino still remembers these leaders. And what Filipinos look for in present-day leaders are essentially the four qualities each of those pre-colonial leaders stood for: May sipag (hardworking) like the datu, may galing (skilled) like the panday, may tapang (brave) like the mananandata, may puso (compassionate) like the babaylan.