Hail to the chief: President Benigno Aquino III

MANILA, Philippines - It was a love fest – the new leader and his people, a president who literally came into office on the shoulders of the people.

He said he did not want pomp and pageantry, the finery and trappings of a regal occasion. He wanted to celebrate with his people, and his inauguration was thus a mix of tradition and celebration, protocol and partying.

There were ternos and t-shirts, barongs and blue jeans. There were political and business bigwigs, and a generous dose of showbiz glitter that had elicited screams and a mad scramble for photos.

And there was yellow, yellow everywhere – indeed the new color of courage, the new color of patriotism, the new color of hope.

The President said in his inaugural address – delivered mostly in Filipino – that he could not have imagined that he would be standing before the people taking his oath as their new leader. Indeed, just a year ago nobody even entertained a thought of Benigno Aquino III as president. But that, as many have noted, is destiny, beyond human planning or intervention.

June 30, 2010 was indeed a most special day, literally a new dawn, a smooth transition of power that the country had not known for over a decade, a unique moment of history that one man shared with his people.

 The country was reborn, people standing shoulder to shoulder, ready now for the task ahead – rebuilding the country, together.