ON A BRIGHT MORNING IN JUNE 1992, right after Fidel Ramos was sworn in as President at the Quirino Grandstand in Rizal Park, erstwhile First Son Benigno “Noynoy” Aquino III was grinning from ear to ear as he walked away from the crowd.

He could now breathe easy, he would tell us after the inaugural rites, because he didn’t have to be as fearful for the safety of his mother, he could lead an ordinary life, say goodbye to Malacañang, and perhaps have a normal love life at last, away from the prying media.

He could not have known then that 18 years later he would be preparing for his own swearing-in, and a potentially controversial one at that.

Noynoy’s likely ascendancy to the presidency, in what is shaping up to be an overwhelming mandate from the people, comes as a total surprise not just to the holders of power in this country, but even more so to himself.

“But I can’t wear my torn T-shirt there, or my threadbare pants … I really need only two rooms,” Noynoy was telling friends over dinner last Saturday, the eve of the election, on why he wanted to continue to live in his family’s Times Street residence, and not in Malacañang, if he should win.

A close friend then suggested, not entirely kidding: “So how about if we do an exact copy of your bedroom, so you’ll feel at home?”

Embracing destiny

“Hay, normalcy …,” Aquino muttered under his breath. He obviously didn’t care to pursue the topic, knowing that he was in for more ribbing.

The senator seemed at peace with himself that night, less than 48 hours before the polling was to open. He was calm, not seeming to be afraid or worried.

“A man who has totally embraced his destiny, not just his parents’ legacy,” is how one volunteer, who was with the campaign since it started, puts it.

“I believe I’ve done everything I can,” he said, gulping down his nth soft drink of the day.

“Now, leave some to God. I think it was Cardinal Sin who said that once,” he said.

He had just finished a motorcade and rally in Tarlac’s second district and Tarlac City. By now, an eight-hour motorcade no longer left him tired or fatigued.

And now, with the campaign at an end, he just wanted to have a good Chinese dinner with his staff, a few volunteers and friends. He was looking forward to a dish of sweet-sour pork.

A bonus from God

Although no one at the table said it, everyone knew how special this moment was. Aquino was at a crossroads. He had just ended a grueling campaign. The last of the presidential candidates to get started on his campaign, he worked at least three provinces a day, losing perhaps 15 pounds in the process, and with hands bruised from pressing the flesh.

(Amid the misgivings of his security people who were apprehensive of the dark, Aquino broke away from the motorcade in Tarlac City at 7 p.m. and went onstage to address the huge crowd that had been waiting for him for hours.)

And now he stands at the threshold of being proclaimed the 15th President of the Philippines.

For now, however, he’d rather joke and banter, recalling the miracle that was his campaign.

Does he think he’ll win, we asked. “It’s done,” he said.

“That’s not to sound mayabang (smug) … what I mean is, if our purpose was to bring our people together to express the need for change, we’ve done it. If I win the presidency, that’s just a bonus from God, that I’m given the chance to still do more, to deliver on a promise,” he said.

Not about himself

He wasn’t just trying to be philosophical or spiritual, he was just being his true self, a guy who’s not preoccupied with himself at all.

The guy who didn’t fanatically seek power for himself will be the President of the Philippines any day now. Don’t you see the irony of your life? we pressed on. We felt we had to ask him because not only have we known him for 26 years—“since 1984, to be exact,” Noynoy calculated—we’ve also tracked that life during those decades.

He merely looked at us, half-shrugged and proceeded to talk about other things. Obviously, to him, even his date with destiny was still not about himself.

No wonder he seemed calm. He wasn’t thinking of himself, not even about what could be his last weekend as a private person, no matter that the muckraking campaign didn’t spare anything of his person, certainly not his always shiny pate.

On that Saturday in Tarlac, the last day of the campaign, children could be seen racing alongside the motorcade as it negotiated the narrow road in Victoria. People young and old, men and women, half-run on both sides of the truck that he was riding as it inched along. They were crying out his name: “Noynoy! Noynoy!”

Eye contact with crowd

Amazingly, Noynoy exchanged banter with the crowd as his motorcade moved, from his perch on the truck about 2 feet from the ground. From time to time, he would shout at the children, warning them to stay away from the moving truck lest they hurt themselves. Or he would tell more aggressive ones to stop snatching the baller IDs from the elderly who were not fast enough at catching the wristbands being thrown at the crowds. He actually kept eye contact with the people even as his truck was in motion.

At one point, he pointed at a frisky hardheaded boy tailing the motorcade, singled him out, and shouted: “Hindi tayo naglalaro! … H’wag … baka masaktan ka!” (This is not a game. Don’t, you might hurt yourself!)

The boy froze on his tracks, his jaw dropped, and he stared at Aquino. He obviously couldn’t believe that, Aquino, the object of the crowd’s frenzy, had spotted him.

Amused by the sight of the stunned boy, senatorial candidate Dr. Martin Bautista said to the senator: “I think that boy will grow up a good boy, because he has just been admonished by the President (to-be) of the Philippines. He’ll always remember this day.”

Indeed, on this last day of the campaign, the crowd was no longer shouting “Cory!” or “Kris!”—the two authentic celebrities in the family who are believed to be propelling his campaign. They were now shouting, “Noynoy!” or “Noy!”

No faking it

His candidacy was triggered by the people’s clamor following the death of his mother, the icon of democracy and revered former President Corazon Aquino. Yet city slickers have hardly caught a glimpse of how this “people power” candidate is truly at home with the people, and they with him. He doesn’t have to fake it.

From where we stood behind him on the truck, we could look down at the faces of the people, a moving mosaic of raw emotion, their eyes misting up with hope. For it was hope that we saw, not the cheering or adulation, but hope that their lives would somehow be better.

“This raw emotion is far better than what numbers could show,” said Chris Tio, a volunteer who left his family and thriving retail business in Cebu to join the campaign, referring to candidate preference surveys, as he looked at the crowd backdropped by ramshackle homes. (When Aquino first ran for a House seat in the 1990s, he visited every one of these houses.)

Believe in people power

Whenever he talked about the campaign at the end of what seemed an endless day, Aquino was always at a loss for words trying to describe the response that he got from the crowds.

He recalled how at the start of the campaign, he found himself wondering what he would do for funds or resources.

“But when I went to Masbate and saw the people who stayed with us throughout, then I began to believe,” he said.

“They said people power is long gone, but what I had seen was actually people power every day, wherever I went … it was dark, the streets were not lit. But people beamed their flashlights at the motorcade so they could see us. Or they’d stay for hours under the pouring rain.”

Nor did he always have the show biz celebrities with him on these sorties. According to one volunteer, he realized who the crowds were really coming to see when, in Cagayan, they swarmed and banged on the car that Aquino was riding, shouting: “Pakita niyo si Noynoy!” (Show us Noynoy.) Aquino and his companions had to roll down the tinted windows.

After such days, Noynoy always says that it is the people who keeps him going. “Now you know how exhilarating [it can be], the people recharge you,” he said.

“It’s like a runner’s high … the adrenalin … then you stop, you feel it. When I ran for the Senate, when the campaign ended, I felt the sudden dip in adrenalin and mood. I was watching a comedy yet found myself sad, even crying,” he said.

(Curiously, in that Tarlac motorcade, the chain-smoking candidate perhaps smoked less than six sticks the whole day, at least until after dinner.)

People campaign

While he didn’t plan it, Aquino was on his way to becoming a People’s President. Volunteerism and donations made up his people campaign. (The array of merchandise—T-shirts, baller IDs, caps—that came from every kind of donor was bewildering. And because all of it was volunteered, there was no uniform design, except that they all stuck to the yellow color theme.)

“This wasn’t man alone … everything, the confluence of events, we couldn’t have done it alone. Diyos yon (It was God),” he would say over and over.

Indeed, on his path to the presidency, people everywhere came to define Noynoy as the People’s President. It was a campaign that drew mobs, with or without the presence of show biz celebs, unlike those of his opponents.

“At the start of the campaign, people were really looking for Kris. But midway into the campaign, people were already clamoring for Noynoy and would stand there, listening to him speak,” said another volunteer.

It was at this point that he decided to take charge of his campaign, deciding which sorties to make and issues to tackle.

“He has come into his own. The people, the crowds meeting us everywhere have buoyed his confidence so much,” said one volunteer.

He also plunged into a diligent study of the issues and the demands of governance. Right after announcing his candidacy, Aquino set out to study the budget deficit and other pressing problems.

Speed reading

Not many know that Aquino can speed-read. He was on the plane when the Supreme Court handed down the decision that the incumbent President has the power to appoint the next Chief Justice, and he knew the media would be asking for his comment as soon as the plane landed.

According to an aide, he had the Supreme Court decision downloaded and proceeded to read the entire manuscript, go over it with his lawyers and mentally mark the salient points.

“It was then we realized how he could speed-read and that he has a photographic memory,” the aide said.

His is a People’s Presidency in an era where the masses of Filipinos have been used by demagogues as props in a circus or as a sucker-of-an audience to a game show.

Transform, not just reform

His governance will have to transform, not just reform.

Will Aquino be able to lead a new generation of leaders that will finally deliver the country from the morass of corruption and decay that has condemned it to also-ran status in a region of ascendant powers?

This he must do with enemy fire, even friendly fire, directed at him in the days and years to come.

“If he stems corruption and brings back a sense of decency in government, that is good enough,” said a matron who voted for Aquino.

(To be concluded)

Every president since 1935 has taken an oath to “do justice to every man and consecrate myself to the service of the Nation.” We are now called upon to select who will next take that oath—and who might, in an emergency, be required to succeed to the same office as vice president.

Together, Benigno Aquino III as president and Manuel Roxas II as vice president, have the necessary personal characteristics of leadership and managerial ability to provide an administration characterized by self-control: one that can bring our country back from the brink of executive self-aggrandizement, legislative cynicism and reckless legal experimentation and institutional subversion that has been the path of choice of the present dispensation.

Theirs is a political partnership forged from the deep frustrations we have all felt: whether exasperation with petty scheming of the present gang, or alarm and outrage over the relentless empire-building of its principals and associates. They are at the head of a deeply Centrist coalition that represents the centrist values the majority holds; and because of this, offer the best prospects of healing and stability. Continue reading

A Craving for Nicotine

BACACAY, Albay—Aside from their sudden and phenomenal rise in popularity, United States President Barack Obama and Liberal Party standard bearer Senator Benigno “Noynoy” Aquino III also have another thing in common: They were both slammed for their smoking habit.

During the campaign en route to the presidency, Obama was frequently seen chewing Nicorette gums, which help minimize cravings for nicotine. He also admitted to smoking up to 5-6 cigarettes per day.

In one interview, Obama said he has been trying to quit since at least 2006, when Michelle Obama made it clear she would not support her husband’s presidential run unless he stopped smoking.

He said he had kicked the habit, but “there are times where I have fallen off the wagon.”

And, just like Obama, Aquino is still struggling with his smoking habit.

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Almost 80 percent of the Precinct Count Optical Scan (PCOS) machines tested in at least four towns in Batangas counted LP votes for the NP, Aquino-Roxas Bantay Balota municipal coordinator Noel Ascano told GMANews.TV in a phone interview.

“Meron kaming minutes ng PCOS testing na approved ng Board of Election Inspectors (BEI) na ganun (We have minutes of the PCOS testing approved by the BEI saying just that), almost 80 percent,” he said.

Aquino-Roxas Bantay Balota is a group of volunteers dedicated to the candidacy of LP bets, especially its standard-bearer Senator Benigno “Noynoy” Aquino III and running mate Senator Manuel Roxas II.

Testing and sealing of the PCOS machines are scheduled to be conducted three to seven days before election day, ensuring that the equipment is in good working order. The discrepancies observed on the first day of testing now creates a dilemma for Comelec, which must convince voters that the erring machines can still be trusted to count their votes properly on May 10.

The BEIs — composed mostly of teachers — are expected to test 10 pre-shaded ballots and see whether the PCOS unit will be able to read the votes.

Kristine Balmes, another Aquino-Roxas Bantay Balota provincial coordinator, said votes cast for their local bets in Sto. Tomas, Taysan, and Tanauan were all counted for their opponents from the NP.

“Yung lumalabas na results, sa kabila pa napupunta yung boto (The results show that the votes were being counted in favor of the other camp),” she told GMANews.TV.

She even said that there was an instance when all the 10 votes cast for LP Batangas gubernatorial bet Vilma Santos-Recto were not counted in her favor.

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He similarly brushed aside claims by Cunanan, including one where he supposedly tried to intervene in a congressional investigation of the Subic-Clark-Tarlac Expressway (SCTEX).

Aquino noted Cunanan never named the lawmaker he supposedly approached, rendering her claim as innuendos.

“Mrs. Cunanan’s husband is with government, appointed by President Arroyo to one of the government-owned and controlled corporations. And sayang (it’s a shame), she was one of those I really respected during Martial Law years. But I think I can easily give you 20 articles she wrote in a very negative vein against my mother especially after she (Mrs. Aquino) called on Mrs. Arroyo to resign, and me afterward,” he said.

Before Thursday’s press conferences, he said former National Power Corp. head Guido Delgado and his wife Joy were involved in spreading emails about purported documents about his supposed psychiatric tests.

He said that since both spouses made similar innuendos, there is an indication of malice and they are open to legal action, although he said he is not personally prioritizing it.

Noynoy Aquino will win this election. The reason is that the Filipino people is tired and wary about having another possible corrupt President. In their opinion it is Noynoy Aquino who has the least tendency to be corrupt and there has been no charges of corruption against Noynoy Aquino while he was a Congressman and Senator, and the fact that his parents were national heroes. In short, he cannot escape his manifest genetic destiny.

On the other hand, although the incumbent President Gloria Macapagal Arroyo cannot anymore run for reelection, she is preparing for her future since she can be prosecuted criminally after her term expires. So she is running for Congresswoman in her congressional district in Pampanga. There are fears of a failure in election where the military might take over, or Gloria Macapagal Arroyo might insist on extending her term in office.

The second contender is “Money” Villar. He is spending billions of pesos of his own money. The more he spends the more the Filipino people got scared that if elected as President, “Money Villar” will become more richer.

Do not waste your VOTE for those who have no chance of winning. The choice is between Noynoy Aquinoand Money Villar. Who do you think has the least probability of committing corruption and enriching himself in office?

Remember you are deciding the future of this country. Would you like this country to continue its corruption in government or would you want a government that will send past and present corrupt officials to jail? That is your choice.

Full article

Si Noynoy kasi.

Matitiis ko ba namang hindi gawin ang mga maliliit na bagay na ito para sa kanya? Kung hindi si Noy, sino? Meron ba sa mga ibang kandidato ang makakapagbigay ng ganito kasidhing kagustuhan para sa pagbabago? Sa totoo lang?

Si Noynoy. . .

Isinilang, nagkamalay at pinanday na ang bukod tanging kagustuhan at pinaniniwalaan ay ang ang kapakanan at kabutihan ng bayan. Ilan sa mga kandidato ngayon ang makapagsasabi ng ganito?

Si Noynoy . . .

Hindi perpektong tao. Pero ang pagsuporta ko kay Noy ay hindi lang suporta sa kanya bilang tao kung hindi pagsuporta sa lahat ng bagay na ipinaglalaban at pinaninindigan nya… pagbabago, good governance at muling pagbangon ng Pilipinas na masyado nang inabuso at pinahirapan ng kung sino-sinong dayuhan at mga pinunong banyaga ang puso sa damdaming Pilipino. Ang pagsuporta ko kay Noy ay pagsuporta sa Pilipinas!

Si Noynoy. . .

Dugo at pusong bayani.

Bukas ay muli na naman akong mag-iikot, mangangampanya para sa kanya suot-suot ang dilaw kong damit sa gitna ng sikat ng araw. Buong puso at pagmamalaki ko itong gagawin. Bakit?

Kasi, si Noynoy!

Source ( then scroll down please, thanks)

• In the middle of this current crisis, the economy needs new impetus. We will immediately introduce an emergency programme of investment in infrastructure, in public works and in social housing and other social services in order to get companies and people back to work, thus reducing unemployment over the next two years.

• The control of inflation and the institutionalization of a stable climate for industry to plan and prosper in order to lead to long-term prosperity is a major objective. To accomplish this, we shall ensure that the Banko Sentral ng Pillipinas (BSP) remain steadfast and independent with regards its primary responsibility of maintaining a stable policy consistent with the requirements for price stability.

• Environmental priorities will be built into all economic decision-making, ensuring that economic success goes hand in hand with environmental responsibility. We will introduce new environmental incentives.

• The Philippines’ political institutions need major reforms; stable and representative government, further decentralization of power to local governments, and greater respect for the Bill of Rights. As an essential measure to secure and entrench lasting reform we will introduce fair voting by proportional representation for all elective offices and fully implement the modernization of our elections.

• The skills and capabilities of the Filipino people must be adequate to meet challenges of the new century. We will increase investment in education and work training. The main objective will be to provide our citizens with dignified employment.

• The poor and disadvantaged deserve greater security in these difficult times. We will introduce welfare programs to compliment and protect private pension, provide comprehensive health care to the needy and introduce self-help programs for the most needy.

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A friend asked me some weeks ago, “What exactly does bipolar mean?”

I said as far as I knew it was the clinical term for manic-depressive, a disorder characterized by violent mood swings, literally from one pole to the other. I said it often involved loss of identity or confusion about it. But with medication, bipolar people could live fully functional lives. I said I knew all this because I knew people who were.

And then I asked why he asked. Because, he answered, I heard that the Villar camp is threatening to produce documents that show Noynoy Aquino to be bipolar.

I laughed out loud. Jesus, I said, those guys must be getting desperate. Noynoy, bipolar? Maybe he suffers from ADHD (attention deficit hyperactivity disorder), I joked, but not bipolar syndrome. But then, I went on, this country is full of people with ADHD.

As far as I know, I said, Noynoy doesn’t seem to be confused about his identity. Unlike other people who do not know whether they are rich or poor, who do not know whether they are opposition or administration, who do not know whether they are buying pizza or buying votes.

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One month to go before Election Day and volunteers are still winning the war against money and traditional politics. The latest surveys by the most reputable pollsters all point to two trends – Noynoy holding firm and slowly improving to 37-40% and Villar steadily weakening from 35% to 25%. There are still four weeks but trends do not develop or break quickly.

The reason why corruption remains the core issue of the Noynoy camp is because corruption is what aggravates them the most. That is why 37-40% of Filipino voters have stayed firm with Noynoy from September of last year. Those who spontaneously went for Noynoy but wanted to see or hear more than integrity and honest governance have shifted elsewhere. Many are expected to return as reality sets in stronger towards election day.

Most of the volunteers are for Noynoy, plain and simple. There are others for the different candidates, of course, but insignificant compared to what Noynoy has. The Yellow forces are what carry the campaign, not the Liberal Party. In fact, despite a great expansion based on the popularity of Noynoy, there remain huge chunks of the country without either Liberal Party presence or influence.

To those who are part of the volunteer force of Noynoy, the possibility of cheating is beyond discussion and already an assumption. As in the contest between the passion of conviction versus the power of money and authority twenty-five years ago, volunteers for Noynoy are preparing themselves for massive and vulgar cheating – and to react collectively and immediately against it.

Whatever happens, the near future promises to be another historical highlight. Many trials will define this campaign and election. The most unpopular and unwanted president in history, accused of grand election theft with her Hello Garci controversy, the greatest

spending businessman, former Speaker, former Senate President and still a serving senator, a come-backing convicted and pardoned deposed president, and the son of the most beloved president in Philippine history all take to a common arena like gladiators of old.

But the real battle is between the spirit that drive volunteers versus the power of money and position. This campaign and election will redefine Philippine politics if the former triumphs, or drag it down notches lower should the latter win. Whichever way, however, Philippine history will have found another drama, another special moment which even the younger generations will remember.

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