On PNoy’s 63rd birthday

President Benigno “Noynoy” Aquino III was born on Feb. 8, 1960. He served as president of the Philippines from 2010 to 2016. In six short years, he was able to transform the country from the sick man of Asia to one of the economic rising tigers of the world. It cannot be disputed that one of his greatest achievements was his fight against corruption, which gained international recognition. The World Bank said that PNoy’s government could serve as a global model for the struggle against corruption among developing countries. The Wall Street Journal wrote: “Still the Philippines’ continuing fight against corruption points to the gains that other emerging economies might achieve if they tackle their own problems.” When he was campaigning for president, PNoy laid out his economic game plan, which later became his administration’s Philippine Development Plan.

One of its main features was the identification of four major bottlenecks that have historically been the obstacles to Philippine economic prosperity. One of the four was the systemic corruption in all branches of government. At the start of PNoy’s government in 2010, the World Bank estimated that the cost of corruption was as high as 40 percent of the government’s annual budget. There was significant progress acknowledged even by the international community.

In the 2013-2014 Global Competitiveness Report, the Philippines dramatically improved from 85th place in 2010 when PNoy took over to 59 out of 148 countries in just three years. More significantly, for the first time, corruption was no longer the major concern affecting the country’s competitiveness. In an HSBC Corporation Report during PNoy’s term, it said that if the government and succeeding administrations would build on the progress under PNoy and remain focused on economic growth and improving the living standards of the population, the Philippines could become among the world’s top 50 economies in 2050. During PNoy’s term, the Philippines was already considered as the largest economy among ASEAN countries.

Much of PNoy’s charm came from his image as the Everyman President, a regular guy not that interested in foreign travel. At that time, journalist Marites Danguilan Vitug said that she was surprised to discover that PNoy hadn’t even been to Europe. He was happiest being in the Philippines.

In an interview in the December 2010 issue of YES! Magazine, PNoy said, “Parang, if you take me out of the Philippines, I am like a fish out of water. Iba talaga pag nasa Pilipinas (It’s really different here in the Philippines).”

According to Teddyboy Locsin, the former speechwriter of Cory Aquino, a bishop said of Noynoy, the candidate: “I don’t care what his qualifications for president are. I just know he will never hurt his mother’s memory.” Locsin also said that with Noynoy, the nation had gotten back Ninoy and Cory for he is “clean and strong like Cory, strong and singleminded like Ninoy.”

Michael Charleston Chua, a native of Tarlac and a history professor, remembers how approachable Noynoy was.  When Michael, then a student, was doing his thesis on the elections, he ventured into the Batasang Pambansa to interview the congressman. He remembers interviewing the congressman in the Batasan in 2004. He says that Noynoy was warm and accommodating and articulate during the interview; he was also simple and humble.

Maria Vargas Montelibano, an Aquino relative, describes Noynoy as Cory and Ninoy incarnate. He thinks like Cory, she says, “but the Ninoy DNA is so strong that I am moved to tears when he acts or sounds like him.” Maria has a very interesting story that manifests PNoy’s determination to free himself from the temptations of corruption.

She recalls that a month before elections, when the survey results were very encouraging, he asked Maria what might still negate the trend. After she answered that only an act of God would, he instructed his sisters to stop accepting contributions from donors. PNoy felt that there was enough to sustain a respectable election day operation and that the donors’ money could be put to better use. Besides, he added, those Johnny-come-lately donors would only give because they could smell victory.

PNoy believed that the transformation of our society was possible. One of his constant messages was his determination to recommit to the rule of law. But he knew it would not be an easy task. In one of his SONAs, he said, “The road ahead is long and we never said it would be easy or we could tread this path without challenges. But I do not doubt any capacity to overcome any obstacle. We did not achieve our current success by chance. Let us not allow this transformation to be temporary; let us seize this opportunity to make the change permanent.”

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