How the developed world approaches these problems and what lessons might transfer
In the early months of his presidency, Ferdinand Marcos Jr. received two figures whose life's work concerns the health and architecture of nations — Tony Blair, who now counsels governments on how to build institutions that endure, and WHO chief Tedros Adhanom Ghebreyesus, who shepherded the world through a pandemic. The meetings, held at Malacañang, were formal in protocol but substantive in intent: a new leader reaching toward frameworks, lessons, and partnerships that might help him govern a complex country through complex times. It is an old human pattern — the newly entrusted seeking wisdom from those who have carried similar burdens.
- A first-year president, still shaping his administration, is actively seeking outside counsel on governance, peace, and institutional design — signaling both ambition and awareness of the gaps ahead.
- The Blair conversation moved across urgent terrain: bureaucratic reform, the fragile but hopeful peace process in Bangsamoro, food security, and climate — none of them small problems, all of them interconnected.
- Marcos and Blair had already met at the UN General Assembly last month, meaning this Malacañang session was not an introduction but a continuation — a relationship being deliberately cultivated.
- The meeting with Tedros carried a different weight: an acknowledgment that the Philippines, like much of the Global South, leaned heavily on WHO during the pandemic's darkest stretch — and a signal that health cooperation will remain central to Marcos foreign policy.
- Taken together, the two encounters sketch a president orienting himself outward — toward expertise, alliances, and the international architecture that shapes what any single nation can do alone.
President Marcos spent a Tuesday at Malacañang receiving two visitors whose work goes to the heart of how nations function — Tony Blair, former British prime minister and now head of the Tony Blair Institute for Global Change, and Dr. Tedros Adhanom Ghebreyesus, the freshly reelected director general of the World Health Organization.
The Blair meeting was the more wide-ranging of the two. The two men discussed governance and bureaucratic reform, drawing on models from the developed world, and talked through the peace process in the Bangsamoro Autonomous Region — which Marcos described in optimistic terms. Food security, climate action, and trade cooperation also came up. It was not small talk. The conversation reflected a president in his first year trying to understand how to build institutional capacity and manage challenges that do not resolve quickly. The two had already met on the sidelines of the UN General Assembly in New York the previous month; this session appeared to be deepening what that earlier encounter had begun.
The meeting with Tedros took a quieter, more reflective tone. Marcos congratulated him on his reelection and expressed gratitude for the WHO's support of developing nations during the pandemic — an acknowledgment of how much countries like the Philippines had depended on that guidance when the crisis was at its worst. In offering that thanks, Marcos was also signaling forward: that health cooperation would remain a priority in how his administration engages the world.
What the two meetings together suggest is a president reaching outward — toward expertise, toward international frameworks, toward the counsel of those who have governed or helped others govern. The courtesy calls were formal in structure, but the substance beneath them was real.
President Ferdinand Marcos Jr. spent Tuesday at Malacañang receiving two separate visitors whose work touches on the machinery of nations—how they run, how they heal, how they change. The first was Tony Blair, who led Britain for a decade and now chairs the Tony Blair Institute for Global Change, an organization devoted to helping political leaders construct governments that are open, inclusive, and capable of functioning in an interconnected world. The second was Dr. Tedros Adhanom Ghebreyesus, the director general of the World Health Organization, freshly reelected to his post.
The meetings were courtesy calls, the kind of diplomatic ritual that often masks substantive work. But the topics Marcos and Blair covered suggest something more deliberate. They talked about bureaucracy and governance—specifically, how the developed world approaches these problems and what lessons might transfer. They discussed the peace process unfolding in the Bangsamoro Autonomous Region in Muslim Mindanao, which Marcos characterized as moving in an optimistic direction. Food security, climate action, and trade arrangements also came up. These are not the conversations of leaders making small talk. They are the conversations of someone trying to understand how to build institutional capacity and manage complex, long-term challenges.
Marcos and Blair had already met once before, on the margins of the United Nations General Assembly in New York last month. That earlier encounter had planted seeds; this one appeared to be tending them. The institute Blair now leads works across continents, advising governments on structural reform and policy architecture. For a president in his first year, still assembling his administration and setting its direction, such counsel carries weight.
The meeting with Tedros took a different tone. Marcos offered congratulations on the WHO chief's reelection and expressed gratitude—deep gratitude, the statement said—for the organization's work in developing nations during the pandemic's worst phases. This was acknowledgment of a debt, but also a signal. The Philippines, like many countries in the Global South, had depended on WHO guidance and support when the virus was spreading fastest and resources were scarcest. Marcos was marking that dependency, and in doing so, signaling that health cooperation would remain a priority in his administration's foreign policy.
What emerges from these two encounters is a portrait of a new president reaching outward—to expertise in governance and institutional design, to international health architecture, to the networks and frameworks that connect nations. The courtesy calls were formal, but the substance was real. Marcos was not simply receiving dignitaries. He was gathering counsel on how to govern, how to manage peace, how to secure his people's welfare in a world where those challenges cross borders.
Notable Quotes
Marcos expressed deep gratitude for WHO's assistance to developing nations during the pandemic's most difficult phases— President Ferdinand Marcos Jr.
The Hearth Conversation Another angle on the story
Why did Marcos need to meet with Blair specifically? There are governance experts everywhere.
Blair isn't just an expert—he's a former head of state who now runs an institute dedicated to helping other leaders build better governments. For a new president, that's a particular kind of credibility. He's done the job Marcos is doing now.
And they'd already met at the UN. So this was a follow-up?
Yes. The first meeting planted the conversation. This one deepened it. They moved from introductions to actual discussion of governance models, the peace process in Mindanao, food security. These are Marcos's immediate problems.
What about the WHO meeting? That seems separate.
It is, but it's also about the same thing—building relationships with institutions that matter. Tedros had just been reelected. Marcos congratulated him and acknowledged what WHO did for the Philippines during the pandemic.
So Marcos is positioning himself as someone who values institutional cooperation?
Exactly. He's signaling that he sees governance, health, and international partnership as interconnected. Not separate silos.
Is this unusual for a Philippine president?
Not entirely, but the deliberateness is notable. Marcos is being very intentional about which advisors and institutions he's aligning with early in his term.