AS OF the time of this writing, news went all over that former President Benigno “PNoy” Aquino III has died at the age of 61. His death came close to the 2022 elections just as Cory died closer to the 2010 elections. This must be plain coincidence but nonetheless symbolic.
I must confess that I was not a fan of PNoy throughout his term. I thought of him as not fit for the office and as someone who was a political beneficiary of his mother’s death. Similarly, I would tell my students before, Cory was a beneficiary of Ninoy’s death. I would remember the late Senator Joker Arroyo who made a remark that PNoy ran the government like a High School student government. I was in agreement with this, especially in his first few years. The hostage-taking in Makati in August 2010 that ended up in the death of tourists from Hong Kong was among the initial blows against his administration. Yolanda came in 2013 and was again a black eye on his presidency.
The most serious blow against him was in 2015 when 44 members of the PNP-SAF were killed in what is now known as the Mamasapano Clash. The lack of coordination between the government and the MILF was admitted by Aquino himself. The incident which happened practically a year before the 2016 elections was perhaps a major factor in the withdrawal of people’s admiration of his administration.
Despite the above, his administration also had its strengths. His was a time of transparency in the government. He spoke of Matuwid na Daan as his motto – a battle cry he emphatically declared at the start of his term as a way to contrast his government from that of Gloria Macapagal Arroyo. Investor confidence was high because of trust in the government. And we need not say the litany of those government officials who were made accountable for their transgressions against the Philippines.
I must laud the president for one more thing: the Reproductive Health (RH) Law. After years of battling with various social forces that were against RH and its antecedent Bills in Congress, PNoy bravely signed the RH Bill. His act caused more disgust than surprise on the part of some bishops who expected the son of the saintly Cory Aquino to be more favorable to the Catholic Church. But his gesture was a sign of bravery that he should be more faithful to his duty as a civil leader and as a head of a State that operates under a secular Constitution. He was unwavering in his belief that unless he would sign the RH Bill perhaps no other president in the future would.
Now that he is dead, people would only recall and remember what he has done to and for the country. Like any president, he was not perfect. Like any president, he was not liked by everyone. Like any president he was not over and above the circumstances of his country; he merely played and governed in response to the challenges of his time. But looking at the whole balance sheet we can say that PNoy did what was needed by that time. Against the backdrop of Gloria Arroyo’s presidency whose legitimacy was put into question not just once but twice, PNoy first and foremost restored our trust – that his government was a product of free and fair elections.
It has been the argument of many that the Aquinos have benefited so much from this country and that the “Yellow Age” should be overcome. I am not a yellowtard and as I said at the onset, I was not a fan of PNoy. But perhaps we have accused the Aquinos too much. True that we cannot let the Aquinos own this country, but neither should we say that we must let the Dutertes or any other political clan do so. No political family or dynasty should own this country. Despite my dislike for PNoy, I would say that he was most admirable when he was silent in his days after his presidency. Indeed, he was an example of decent governance. RIP Noynoy Aquino!