Noynoy Aquino has lied. At the wake of his mother, when the Marcoses paid a visit to pay their respects, he was asked for a reaction. He answered that he was not brought up by his parents to be rude, hence he received them civilly.
But last Monday, at the first National Criminal Justice Summit, Aquino publicly lambasted not just the Supreme Court, its co-equal branch of government, but also Chief Justice Renato Corona who was present. That was not only rude, it was everything unpresidential.
Aquino, however, can be forgiven. He may be president but there is nothing presidential about him. He knows nothing about the presidency. Before his mother died, no Filipino, not even Noynoy himself, ever gave him a thought, not even as a joke, of being fit to be president.
Only because Filipino politicians are such great manipulators and opportunists that when Cory died and they saw the millions in mourning that the thought struck home: Convert the yellow fever into votes and they can have a man in Malacañang they can manipulate and take advantage of.
Even those who profess a willingness to die for Noynoy now will have to admit that before Cory died, Noynoy never appeared even as a blimp on the presidential horizon across all parties. Even in his own Liberal Party, there was only the sad dreamer Mar Roxas to consider.
Not only was it a big mistake to thrust a totally unprepared person to the seat of the highest power, it was also the worst choice among unprepared persons to make. Noynoy is a spoiled brat (rich only boy fawned upon by doting mother and four sisters) long used to getting his way.
Aside from being a spoiled brat, Noynoy grew up in a spoiled political environment where everything that cannot be taken by hook can be taken by crook. His mother snatched power from Marcos and almost had the same power snatched from her by mutinous soldiers.
Another snatching happened as he watched in the sidelines, when Arroyo took over from Joseph Estrada. And while no snatching succeeded against Gloria, Noynoy was witness to a snatching that struck very close to home.
His family snatched huge tracts of land from farmers when it defied an agreement that would have the land turned over to its tillers after 10 years. Suddenly, only very recently that huge tract of land was snatched away from his family by way of a court decision.
All these snatchings in the life of a person used to having his way can only have a definitive impact on his character and personality. It can make him lose respect for due process and the law.
The tendency is to lean over toward mob rule, where you snatch what you can and try not to have anything snatched from you. To these people, the law is just an ineffective piece of paper that is no match to a big stick and a loud voice.
So, when Aquino lambasted the Supreme Court and Chief Justice Corona in public and to his face, he was just being himself — not the president he never was or will ever be, but the spoiled brat used to having his way regardless of what the law, protocol, or decency says.
I can only have fear for this country because at the rate Noynoy is thumbing his nose at the law, dismantling institutions, and casting aside time-honored traditions — in effect playing with fire — it will not be long before he eventually burns himself.
And that is not what we need at this time. The economy is moribund, poverty is on the rise, the country is divided, crime is widespread, and the leader we have does not know how to lead. If he must be a leader, he must be a builder not a destroyer.