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Friday, March 29, 2024

Mixed, unfinished legacy of PNoy

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In my last two columns, I wrote about the legacies of Ninoy and Cory Aquino. There is no doubt in my mind that both deserve to be honored as national heroes. The contributions of this couple to nation building is beyond reproach. There are of course Aquino haters, blinded by their loyalty to Ferdinand Marcos. There are also those who are looking for perfection in our politicians and find that the Aquino couple had faults and therefore feet of clay. If I adhered to such standard, I would not find anyone in our history to extol—not Rizal, nor Bonifacio, Mabini, Luna, Del Pilar, etc. If perfection is our standard, let’s just abolish National Heroes’ Day and go to work this coming Monday.

The legacy of Noynoy Aquino, the son of Ninoy and Cory and the predecessor of President Rodrigo Duterte, is another matter. For now, and as long as he is alive and well, his legacy is unfinished. For sure, from today’s standpoint (it could change in the future as distance gives fresh perspectives), it is a mixed legacy.

A scion of a family of prominent politicians, Benigno “Noynoy” Aquino never really had much choice but to follow in the footsteps of his parents. He had the misfortune of growing up as an adult during the Marcos years where his father, Senator Ninoy, was in the thick of the fight against his erstwhile nemesis, President Marcos. But it was also his fortune—or is it?—to be the political beneficiary of his parents’ political legacy. Had her mother, beloved by the masses for her sacrifices to the country, not died when she did, Noynoy could have remained in the Senate and ended his political career in the political shadows. Following the death and funeral of President Cory, many people began clamoring for Noynoy to run for presidency. Senator Mar Roxas, then the Liberal Party standard bearer in the presidential elections, heeded the public clamor to give in to Noynoy. And the rest is history.

Noynoy belong to a family who has seen many struggles. Imagine going into self-exile with his mother and siblings, going through the agony of seeing his father being persecuted, seeing his father emaciated after a hunger strike as a gesture of protest, and seeing him assassinated. Even when his mother was president of the Philippines, he had to risk his life when he was shot by mutinous military trying to storm Malacañang. He was shot five times but survived. To this day a bullet is lodged in his neck.

His presidency was also tumultuous. Eight months into office, the Manila hostage crisis erupted. Eight Hong Kong hostages died. The political backlash was compounded when he was seen smiling on national television hours after the hostage crisis. His apparent insensitivity would dog him for the rest of his term.

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But for all his faults and shortcomings, PNoy was never blinded by the glitter of corruption. Just like his mother, Cory, no one could honestly accuse him of using power to aggrandize himself. He presided over a burgeoning economy, which posted record growth rates during his term. He introduced the K-12 program which despite kinks, ushered the Philippine educational system to follow international standards. He presided over a successful peace process with the MILF, derailed however by Mamasapano, although his administration did not make progress in the peace talks with the communists. The expansion of the Conditional Cash Transfer (its beginning in the GMA administration must be recognized), the institutionalization of a universal health care program, and the passage of the reproductive health and sin tax laws are also notable achievements. However, in spite the economic gains of his administration, enabled by excellent stewardship by Aquino’s world-class economic managers, some would belittle them as the poor did not benefit from the economic gains.

Despite also progress in the gains in economic front, crises and scandals hounded PNoy’s administration, the most serious being the destruction wrought by Typhoon Yolanda of Leyte and nearby provinces and the Mamasapano incident with the massacre of 44 Special Action Force policemen. Even as the nation was mourning for the death of the SAF 44, to the chagrin of many, he chose to attend the opening of a new automotive factory.

The most serious failure of the Aquino administration was its failure to institute political reforms. I would have thought that its budgetary innovations and its commitment to social accountability would have enabled radical change in our politics. But it did not. Instead, traditional politics became even more entrenched by the end of PNoy’s term, including using impeachment improperly for political reasons. The same characters that went after Corona are now also doing the same thing but this time the targets are perceived enemies of President Duterte.

Worse, the Aquino presidency consolidated power in the presidency and in imperial Manila, setting the country up for the strongman president that we now have. Finally, the disgraceful way the Liberal Party tried to secure victory in the 2016 elections, by viciously and immorally attacking the stronger opponents (VP Jojo Binay and Senator Grace Poe) of its weak candidate, directly led to the election of Duterte. As a Liberal friend of mine once told me, that strategy which included a soft gloves treatment with Duterte on the belief that his strength in Mindanao would weaken the LP candidate’s opponents, backfired and resulted in where we are now. To my friend, those responsible for that strategy have blood in their hands.

All of these shortcomings are of course water under the bridge. The good things the PNoy administration has done will hopefully last; the bad things can still be corrected.

I am happy for example with the latest developments in the Liberal Party. With VP Leni Robredo and Senator Francis Pangilinan now undisputedly at the head of the party as Chair and President respectively, and with the recent appointments of Ifugao Rep. Teodoro “Teddy” Baguilat and former Quezon City 4th District Rep. Lorenzo “Erin” Tañada were as Vice Presidents of the Party, the LP is now in very good hands. I know these politicians very well (Pangilinan was my student in UP Law and all four are colleagues in the Kaya Natin Movement for Good Governance). I have great trust in them, that they have learned the lessons from the 2016 electoral debacle among others. I believe that they will be able to rebuild the Liberal Party which, with good strategy, will benefit immensely from the mass defections of traditional politicians who have moved to the ruling party. This defection is the best thing that has happened to the party so it can undergo an authentic purification process.

As for PNoy, he will hopefully have many years ahead of him. I hope he will rise to the stature of his mother and former President Fidel V. Ramos. We need statesmen in this country, those who will rise above the politics of both trivial issues and hate, speak truth to power constructively, and unite us. PNoy as president divided the country by his style of governance and obsession with Gloria Macapagal Arroyo; hopefully, PNoy as retired president will have seen the light that divisive politics has terrible consequences. If PNoy learns to do this, become a statesman, we will have a grateful nation and he will occupy and join the same place of honor that are now permanently occupied by his parents.

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