MANILA, Philippines—President Benigno Aquino III thanked God that the Philippines was spared from the devastation caused by the tsunami spurred by the strong earthquake in northern Japan.
It could have been his calvary. As if fasting and abstinence were not enough, President Benigno Aquino III also climbed the equivalent of a 24-story building on Ash Wednesday.
MANILA, Philippines—Singapore will name an orchid breed after President Benigno Aquino III when he travels to the city state on a state visit next week, Foreign Secretary Albert Del Rosario told reporters in Malacañang Friday afternoon.
Manila - In Philippine President Benigno Aquino III's defence, there are these:
One, he didn't steal the money he used to buy his new car (a second-hand Porsche). Neither did he use government money to do it, which is saying the same thing. That's what government spokesperson Edwin Lacierda and other Palace officials have pointed out. That's what senate presidenr Juan Ponce Enrile and other P-Noy (Aquino's nickname) allies in Congress have pointed out. They have a point.
That's so especially in light of criticisms that P-Noy flouted his own memo ordering all agencies to desist from buying luxury vehicles and "to be more prudent in spending government funds, especially in the acquisition of motor vehicles to maximize the utilization of scarce government resources." That is an order for the Department of Social Welfare and Development, the Department of Education, the Department of Health, and various other government offices not to buy SUVs in order to deliver social, educational and health services to the poor. Which would be an exercise in irony. That is not an order for government officials to give up their family SUVs or not buy them at all. What they do outside of government, short of indulging in unlawful or licentious behavior, is their business. There is such a thing as a private life. Even for movie stars, even for public officials.
Two, it is not a brand-new car, it is a used one. It may be a Porsche, but it is a second-hand Porsche. P-Noy bought it with money he got from selling his old car, and he bought his old car with money he got from his income, paying for it in installment for several years. I don't know how much more he added to buy his new car, but he's gone about it the way most middle-class people do, by scrimping and saving. He's certainly not gone about it the way corrupt officials do, which is by suddenly finding themselves in the possession of means to procure brand-new cars, or far more luxurious items. Corrupt officials will find owning a second-hand anything, including a Porsche, beneath their dignity, or reputation as big-time crooks.
Three, P-Noy despite being half a century in this world is a bachelor, with all the associations that status brings. Not the least of them having no family to support, having no kids to send to school or household to maintain, having an income he can keep to himself. He is entitled to a few liberties, or luxuries. You want the same thing, remain single too, whether you're man or woman. We have our own special amenities, though I grant a Porsche strains the limits of the word. Some like fine wine to go with their opera records (yes, records as in vinyl), some like to own all sorts of audio equipment. I know people who own the latter far in excess of 4 million pesos (US$89,867). They are rich but not fabulously so. Those at least who are passionate about these things are not going to agree that these are not vital to their sojourn on earth.
Four, P-Noy could easily have accepted the gift of a Porsche from friends or allies, not least of them Enrile himself who ought to have one or two in his garage or his fortress in Cagayan. He did not. He bought it with his own money, and he bought a second-hand one at that.
But there's a consideration that makes all this pale in comparison.
That is that P-Noy is the President. Or more specifically since no one would have bothered if it had been (former president) Gloria Arroyo or her husband who got a brand-new Porsche, or even a fleet of them, he is the President his compatriots look up to.
Had he been an ordinary citizen, or remained a senator, people would have wondered only why, since he is not exactly impoverished, he made do with a second-hand car, whatever its brand. But he is now President Noy. His actions, for good or bad, have a tremendous impact on the national consciousness. He sets an example for others to follow. That entails restraint, that entails prudence, that entails sacrifice. Who says the presidency is not a cruel job? Arroyo might never have found it so, but then she was never a president.
Certainly P-Noy's position requires sensitivity to the public mood. Those who say that his acquisition of a Porsche, however second-hand, is ill-timed have a point. At the very time when MRT and other public transport fares are going up, it doesn't particularly do for someone the public identifies with to remind them some are luckier than others. P-Noy's example of living simply, almost austerely, making do without wang-wang (blasting sirens), having meals with one or two dishes, eating hotdog in New York instead of repairing to Le Cirque, having a Christmas party in Malaca?ang consisting of pan de sal (poor man's bread) and queso de bola (special holiday cheese), being accessible to the masa (masses), biking around his official residence, has had a powerful effect on the people, shaming as it does the rich and their opulence. This Porsche, whatever its condition and whatever the circumstances of its acquisition, could do the opposite, shaming as it does the poor and their destitution.
While at this, P-Noy might also want to be more circumspect about being seen with guns or talking about them. The image will always be far more powerful than the context.
Example is the most powerful thing there is. As every parent knows, who has seen that what she does and not what she says is what her kid will do. And as P-Noy knows, though he remains single, who has seen that what he does and not what he says is what his compatriots will do. His example has so far been laudable. Heaven forbid it is tarnished, or weighed down, by things like this. To whom much is given, much is taken. To whom much is reposed, much will be exposed. If this incident has anything to say to him, it is simply that a bicycle will take him farther and swifter down the road, the road he has taken, the road not taken, than, well:
Cebuano friends of President Benigno Aquino III made a wish for him as he came here for his first official participation as the head of state in the Sinulog Festival: find a Cebuana girlfriend.
This was revealed by the President himself in the middle of his short speech at the Cebu City Sports Center’s grandstand, where the culminating performances were staged by the festival’s dancing contingents.
The audience clapped and cheered when the President said in Cebuano that his Cebuano friends wished him to find a girlfriend at the Queen City of the South.
“Before coming here, my Cebuano friends told me, ‘Hinaut unta makakita ka og hinigugma diha sa Sugbo (We hope you will find a girlfriend in Cebu),” he quoted his friends.
But the bachelor President was quick to say that he has become in love with the charm of the city and hospitable nature of the Cebuanos.
He went on to praise the Cebuanos for staging “one of the best festival organizers in the country.”
“This event (Sinulog) is a joy to celebrate” he told an audience of some 13,000 people.
He described the Sinulog festival as a celebration of the Cebuanos and the Filipinos’ dreams and values.
The Cebuanos, he said, has preserved a valuable part of the Filipino tradition and made us remember our past in order to enrich our future.
“We look back as one and as one we also dream. As we build our dream, we realize our aspirations… (The Sinulog)is a way of strengthening our optimism as we face challenges. It is important to note (that the Sinulog) brings to core our inherent strength as a people,” he said.
Mr. Aquino in his speech also used the occasion to ask the Cebuanos to extend prayers and help for the flood victims in the country.
The President arrived in the grandstand at 10:15 a.m. and immediately delivered his speech after he was introduced by Cebu City Mayor Michael Rama.
He only stayed for more than an hour to witness the performances of the Cebu City Government contingent and the Bonga Festival of Sibonga town, Cebu province, which featured Governor Gwendolyn Garcia as the festival queen.
An amused Aquino clapped and smiled throughout the performance of the lady governor. Mr. Aquino was seated beside Cebu City south district Representative Tomas Osmeña, the former mayor of the city.
He left the grandstand at 11:26 a.m. He did not grant any media interview.
But while President Aquino could be a friendly president, the strict security imposed by his security details surprised some reporters who covered the Sinulog grand parade.
Before the President arrived, the staff of the Philippine Information Office in Central Visayas (PIA 7) told reporters that the President might hold a press briefing at the media lounge at the ground floor of the grandstand and advised them to be there before the President’s entry.
However, members of the Presidential Security Group (PSG) rudely stopped reporters from getting into the lounge. The press conference was called off without explanation.
Aquino stayed at the VIP area at the grandstand after his speech and briefly met and talked with some local officials including Mayor Rama, Representative Osmeña and newly installed Cebu Archbishop Jose Palma.
Hilario Davide III, the Liberal Party’s Cebu provincial chairman and defeated gubernatorial candidate, said the President, who witnessed the Sinulog Festival for the first time, was impressed with the performances of the contingents.
Rama said he was proud the President still found time to witness the event, even if it resulted to strict security measures at the sports center.
MANILA, Philippines—A son of former President Joseph Estrada said he is giving President Benigno Aquino III one year to show he could effectively rule the country.
“I always give a one year honeymoon period to adjust. After one year, if nothing happens, then that’s the time we decide,” said San Juan Rep. JV Ejercito, whose father was the strongest rival of Aquino in the last election.
“One year is enough honeymoon period. Buti nga siya one year. Si Presidente Erap wala pang 30 days inupakan na eh (He’s lucky to be given one year. President Estrada was attacked after only 30 days in office),” he said in a recent interview.
Ejercito said he did not believe Mr. Aquino was not fit for the job.
People should understand that Mr. Aquino joined the presidential election last year because of the people’s clamor to take to task former President Gloria Macapagal-Arroyo and her cohorts for alleged corruption, Ejercito said.
“In fairness to President Aquino, I don’t think he was not really prepared. Mabilis lang talaga mga pangyayari (things just happened so fast),” he said referring to the death of former President Corazon Aquino which drew strong support for her son.
“I think one of the reasons President Aquino was elected was because of his slogan ‘Walang Corrupt’ and apart from that, people are expecting him to be able to handle the case of GMA… although as of now nothing is happening,” he said.
He blamed the President’s inability to go after Arroyo and her former officials to the temporary setback of the Aquino administration due to the Supreme Court’s decision nullifying the creation of the Truth Commission that was put up to investigate corruption in the previous regime.
