MANILA, Philippines - President-elect Benigno “Noynoy” Aquino III disclosed the other night he receives around 240 text messages every day, “150 in the morning and 90 in the evening,” and appreciates most of them because he feels they connect him to the people.
“Just bear with me if I am not able to answer all of you right away,” he said.
Aquino said he will try to remain accessible to the people in order to reassure them that they are not alone in solving their problems. In the past, the people’s battle cry to show their solidarity with the Aquinos – from slain senator Ninoy Aquino, former President Corazon Aquino and Noynoy himself – was “Hindi ka nag-iisa (You are not alone).”
Today, Aquino says he wants to assure the people, “Hindi kayo nag-iisa (You, too, are not alone).”
He said he has confidence in the future because of the overwhelming support of the people and he felt that the time for “Bahala na” (Come what may) was over.
“Today, we can all say, ‘Bahala na tayo’ (The ball is in our hands. Let us take charge.),” said Aquino, who was elected by over 42 percent of voters in the May 10 polls, at a dinner held in his honor by the so-called “Cory Veterans” or “Corvets,” an informal group of men and women who once worked with the late President Aquino from 1986 to 1992.
Headed by former Natural Resources secretary Fulgencio Factoran Jr., one of the biggest contributors to Aquino’s campaign, the group includes Foreign Affairs Secretary Alberto Romulo, former Supreme Court Justice Adolfo Azcuna, former Agrarian Reform secretary Philip Juico, former Budget secretary Guillermo Carague, former Local Govenments secretary Cesar Sarino, among others.
The dinner was also organized by the Yellow Ribbon Movement headed by former Aquino appointments secretary Margie Penson-Juico.
The Rockwell tent was festooned with yellow and white banners and yellow ribbon lanterns and a band played “Tie a Yellow Ribbon” as the president-elect greeted the guests. Yellow flowers on yellow tablecloths contributed to the sea of yellow. A three-tiered banana walnut cake with edible yellow Noynoy ballers was a special gift to the president-elect, who shared it with his guests and the Carmelite sisters.