“A cuckoo coming out of the nest.” 

“Fear monger.” 

“Crazy.”

These are how detractors of presidential aspirant and environment activist Nicanor Jesus “Nicky” Perlas III call him.

But “change comes from people who are deviants, who people think are crazy,” said Dale Diaz in a Probe Profiles episode with the spotlight on Perlas. Diaz added that Perlas is the “crazy good” leader the Philippines needs in order to change the country’s corrupt government.

Diaz is Perlas’ colleague from a non-government organization People’s Assembly for Genuine Alternatives to Social Apathy (Pag-asa), a civil society group conducting trainings on moral change all over the country.

A reason for calling Perlas crazy is that “his ideas are 10 to 20 years ahead of his time,” said Perlas’s brother, lawyer Jose Perlas.

And these ideas that come from his high intellect is both the aspirant’s strength and weakness, said Diaz. “Hindi siya maabot ng tao (People could not understand him),” Diaz said.

When Perlas told close friends that he was going to run, they initially did not like the idea. “At first, I did not want him to run because he is so effective in the realm of culture where we were doing our work of trying to effect change,” said Panjee Tapales, Perlas’s colleague at Pag-asa.

Perlas said he is tired of the corruption he has witnessed in the recent years.

He hopes to change the corrupt system of government and achieve the 6 pillars of his platform: eradicate poverty and enhance quality of life for all, advance moral and effective governance, uphold the integrity of creation, build partnerships for social justice promote creative education and inner change and mainstream visionary Initiatives.

Qualified to run?

Perlas said that 2 of his friends from government told him that he is crazy to think that he would win. Although pessimistic about his chances of winning, they told him: “You are qualified.”

Perlas said he has offered 40 years of “quiet service” in helping civil society and shaping national policies.

Perlas wrote in a column published last June 29 that his skills are not limited to his expertise in agriculture and the environment.

Click on the following links to know how he contributed to:

• Anti-corruption and good governance
• Poverty reduction/eradication and job creation
• Renewable energy and environment
• National planning and implementation for integral sustainable development
• Shaping globalization

Strong environment and agriculture background

Perlas graduated with a degree in Agriculture (major in Agronomy and minor in Agricultural Economics) in Xavier University, Cagayan de Oro. He took this up then thinking that it would help reduce poverty in the country if the agriculture sector would not be neglected.

In a forum organized by the Foreign Correspondents Association of the Philippines , he said that agriculture modernization is an important aspect to alleviate poverty since 70% of the poor are from rural areas—60% of which are dependent on agriculture and fisheries.

He is an advocate of organic farming and has planted, with the Technical Assistance Center for the Development of Rural and Urban Poor back in 1993, 800 hectares of organic crops in Davao del Sur. He said that the land produces 6-8 tons of yield per hectare. This is twice the national yield average, he said.

Perlas is co-author of the Philippine Agenda 21 (PA 21) which provides inputs for policies from the local to the national level in order to attain sustainable development.

This was adopted on September 26, 1996, when then-President Fidel Ramos issued Memorandum Order No. 399. He was also co-chair of the Philippine Council for Sustainable Development during the Ramos administration.

Going way back, Perlas fought against the rehabilitation and re-commissioning of the Bataan Nuclear Power Plant (BNPP) during the Marcos dictatorship because “when [the plant] melts down, radiation will reach Metro Manila,” he said. The radiation will cause deaths of millions, he said.

Perlas said that working in the background would give him an edge over other candidates. “I understand how the system (government) works, But I am not from the inside.”

Zero rating

One of Perlas’ greatest hurdles is that people do not know him.

In the July 28-August 10, 2009 Pulse Asia Survey, Perlas was included among the list of presidential preferences but garnered a 0% poll rating.

In the series of Social Weather Stations surveys wherein respondents were asked to name their preferred president to succeed President Arroyo in 2010, his name did not appear—even after his declaration to run last July 17, 2009.

Perlas said he does not believe in surveys. “Surveys for me, are not about substance. The discourse is about name recall, gimmicks and advertising,” he said. He added that the Filipinos are so consumed with the “winnability virus,” that they would not vote for the truly deserving candidates. He said that the Filipinos only vote for those with good chances of winning. (Read his column: Noynoy: Enabler or Suppressor of New Politics?)

“So with new politics, I hope that the Filipinos will look at the candidate’s background, not only rely on name recall,” he said.

When asked by Probe Profiles host Cheche Lazaro on his chances of winning, Perlas quickly replied: “I think it is strong.”

Cyberspace campaign

With limited funds, Perlas is trying to tap Filipino Internet users for the next elections.

He said that in a study he read, 24-30 million are logged online. However, this would not immediately translate to voters. But, “the 14-15 year olds could influence their parents,” he said.

His political party PANGMASA (Partido ng Marangal na Sambayanan) is quietly working with national and regional leaders of large networks and organizations, he said.