Remembering PNoy

June 24 was the third death anniversary of former president Noynoy Aquino, popularly known as PNoy. I remember his presidency with nostalgia because he brought our nation to close to the level of being a tiger economy.

His mother, Corazon Aquino, was the leader of the fight for a return to democracy. Her first year as president saw the Philippines coming from a nearly bankrupt state to an eight percent GDP growth. Unfortunately, a series of coup attempts turned the promise of rapid economic growth to a state of much slower economic growth.

Under the presidencies of Estrada and Macapagal-Arroyo, the Philippines began to slide back again to being the sick man of Asia. One of the principal complaints of investors was the lack of good governance due to widespread government corruption at the highest levels.

However, PNoy’s Daang Matuwid program signaled a new beginning which quickly gained international recognition. At that time, the Wall Street Journal said, “Still the Philippines’ continuing fight against corruption points to the gains that other emerging economies might achieve if they tackle their own problems.”

At the start of the PNoy Aquino government in 2010, the World Bank estimated that the cost of corruption was as high as 40 percent of the government’s annual budget. At that time, I thought that the estimate might be a little too high. However, after listening to the Napoles whistle-blowers, perhaps 40 percent might be too low. Some of the whistle-blowers said that only 20 percent of the pork barrel funds went to actual projects. The rest were distributed to the implementing agencies, the lawmakers and their chiefs of staff.

PNoy’s campaign against corruption focused on cleansing the executive agencies like the Department of Public Works and Highways, the Bureau of Internal Revenue and the Bureau of Customs. His anti-corruption drive also included senators in the legislative branch.

During PNoy’s presidency, there were many signs that the country was seeing a brighter future, especially for the next generation. The 2013-2014 Global Competitiveness Report of the World Economic Forum shows that the Philippines had dramatically improved from 85th place when PNoy took over to 59th out of 148 countries, in just three years.

More significantly, corruption was no longer the top concern affecting the country’s competitiveness.

If the government and succeeding administrations built on the progress under PNoy and remained focused on economic growth and improving the living standards of the population, an HSBC report which included the Philippines as one of the top 50 economies by the year 2050, could still come true. In that same report, HSBC forecasted that the Philippines would be the 16th largest economy in the world and the largest economy among ASEAN countries.

Unfortunately, this vision has more or less disappeared after PNoy’s presidency. PNoy was not only known for his moral leadership but also had the image as the Everyman President, just a “normal regular guy.” In his younger years before he became president, he was not even interested in foreign travel, resulting in the lapse of his passport from non-use.

Noynoy’s simplicity is remarkable because even as senator, he never courted special treatment.

However, despite the continuing negative attacks and the burden of enduring several natural disasters, President Noynoy in his first three and a half years as president, earned high trust ratings from the Filipino people. After many years of despair, the PNoy presidency gave the Filipino people renewed hope for their future.

At the beginning of his term in 2010, his message was clear: to transform Philippine society and introduce morality to public service. His two major weapons were to institutionalize the rule of law and to set an example of personal integrity.

This model of personal behavior would extend to his family, especially his sisters and their families. He remained true to his promise. For many years, the realization of a government that would actually fight graft and corruption and where corrupt judges and politicians, tax evaders and money launderers would actually be prosecuted and punished was just wishful thinking for Filipinos.

During PNoy’s term, after he filed graft and plunder cases against powerful politicians like Enrile, Estrada and Revilla, there was a real sense of hope that this quest for a just society was actually taking place and may even be realized in our lifetime.

However, there were many politicians and media personalities who had different agendas.

One distinct quality of PNoy was his philosophy about running a government. In one interview I had with him, he said: “One of the greatest qualities of single-term leaders is the ability to decide on the factors of the problem rather than on what is popular. That frees you from making a popular decision which might have a negative effect prolonging the already negative effects of the situation you are trying to resolve… At the end of the day, can we really say that we put in an honest day’s work, that we did everything we could at this point in time?... There is always the tendency to choose between what is popular and what is right. Sometimes, you really have to make an unpopular decision. But if you know what’s right, then you have to be able to stand by it and be able to convince others that this is the right path.”

PNoy issued a challenge to the Filipino people to make the changes that he began during his term and make them permanent. Each one of us must answer this call in transforming Philippine society.