100 days of P-Noy

Old faces were there, among them “Caster” the food taster of Corazon Aquino when she was president, a chemist from military intelligence.

Like the mother, the only son arrived on time, for a meeting with STAR editors Wednesday afternoon at Malacañang’s Premier Guesthouse.

But Benigno Aquino III is of another generation, accepting text messages throughout the day, ready to face critics on social media, and far more relaxed with the press than his late mother during her presidency. We went way beyond our allotted hour-long interview schedule and yet he was is no rush to leave, spending a few minutes more to pose with us for photos.

Some people close to P-Noy (or thought they were) have been overheard complaining lately that he is a changed man. But they probably belong to (or are allied with) the ranks of the “dis-appointed.”

STAR editors went to Malacañang shortly after the President marked his first 100 days in office, partly to see how much has changed since candidate Noynoy became P-Noy. The President was as open with his ideas on governance, as ready to chat about light topics such as his eating habits, and as guarded with his love life as he was when he was a candidate. He still habitually clutches his stomach, even when shaking hands – a gesture, according to our office’s resident introvert, that indicates a desire to keep people at arm’s length even when he’s being friendly.

Power, thrust upon P-Noy by providence, does not seem to be a heavy burden. He told us that people have asked him why, despite all the problems besetting the nation, he looked “buoyant” and did not seem stressed out.   

This he attributes to increasing good news on various fronts including economic matters. Taking a cue from his dad, the late Senator Ninoy, P-Noy said, “The first freedom is freedom from hunger.” He hopes to report positive developments in education, public health, employment, investment, and public safety by his second State of the Nation Address next year.

Asked to assess his first 100 days, he replied, “There are no severe disappointments. There are irritants.”

Among the irritants he cited are “unnecessary critics” and “purists” in political discourse who “do not know how to compromise.”

He is particularly miffed by criticism that “Abad, Inc.” is running his show. Budget Secretary Butch Abad and daughter Julia, who heads the Presidential Management Staff, were separately recruited into his team, the President said, and “they did not force themselves upon me.”

P-Noy has been criticized for his administration’s failure to hit the ground running. He says this is partly because he has done certain things that have never been undertaken in the past, which have not been well received by “those whose rice bowls are being threatened… they try to nitpick.”

Among these are officials who are insisting that they enjoy tenure and are resisting their replacement as midnight appointees.

In that controversy, P-Noy said, “We stand on solid ground and we believe we have the mandate of the people.”

Competence, he insisted, is his top criteria in recruitment. Not old school ties, not personality: “It’s not based on, I don’t like your face.”

Yesterday he lambasted the Supreme Court, which has ordered the temporary reinstatement of one of the midnight appointees he has fired through Executive Order No. 2. P-Noy fears a single case could open the floodgates to similar petitions and SC orders, derailing his reforms.

The President told us he considered problems in the judiciary his biggest challenge. We asked if he thought the SC has been one of the hindrances to his reform agenda. After thinking aloud if he wanted to pick a fight again with the tribunal, he said the high court seemed to be “turning back the clock” on his reforms.

“There are certain (SC) decisions that have been made that I am uncomfortable with,” he said.

Are factions in his administration mere perceptions, or are they real and holding back his agenda? P-Noy did not deny the existence of factions; he said the issue is “really being played up.”

His only requirement of his officials, regardless of their faction, he said, is a clear commitment to “transformational change.”

“Pag hindi ako happy sa kahit anong faction, then bye-bye kayo,” he said, adding that anyone who wanted out of government is free to go; the exit isn’t locked. “Hindi naman namin inila-lock ang pintuan dito.”

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Looking back on his first 100 days, the President said the best part has been “empowering government.”

Traveling across the United States recently, he was impressed by the “land of abundance… the best portion is that we are moving toward that direction.”

The worst part? The loss of privacy. P-Noy admits that it can be lonely at the top.

His day starts with breakfast of half a sandwich. Lunch is usually a whole sandwich and soup. Evening is his “detoxing moment,” when he prefers to give the Malacañang cooks a rest from fixing his meals.

When our talk started straying into his food and workload (three piles, littered with his comments on Post-Its after he has gone through the documents), he asked us, “Can I go back to the lonely part?”

He recalled his mother telling her children when she became president, “O, bumalik na kayo sa buhay n’yo, bahala na ako rito (go back to your lives, I’ll handle this).”

President Cory in fact had her eldest daughter Ma. Elena “Ballsy” Cruz working at the Palace as her personal assistant. P-Noy said their mother also urged them to spare her from unsolicited advice, “but that was my mom.”

P-Noy insists that his sisters (called “witches” by their father, Senator Ninoy), are staying out of governance, giving him advice only when asked. Youngest sister Kris gives him advice on “her areas of expertise,” notably grooming.

P-Noy de-stresses by watching DVD (three weeks ago, “The American President”) and engaging in his favorite pastime, target shooting.

From 18 guns during the campaign, P-Noy now owns 26. If his life depended on it, which one would he grab? A Glock 22, he answered quickly. It’s the handgun used by US law enforcement.

It would be interesting to see if Interior Undersecretary Rico Puno, himself a gun aficionado, would pick the Glock 22, whose local dealer is not his buddy, when the Philippine National Police procures additional firearms.

Even in detox moments, matters of state intrude into a President’s life. It’s a tradeoff that does not seem to weigh on P-Noy’s shoulders.

So far, he told us, there have been “more pluses” in his first 100 days.