 Rodrigo Roa Duterte ( President)

Rodrigo Duterte, also called Digong, (born March 28, 1945, Maasin, Philippines),
Filipino politician who was elected president of the Philippines in 2016.

Early Life And Mayor Of Davao City

Duterte’s father served as governor of the province of Davao, and his mother
was a community activist who had a prominent role in the “people power”
movement that deposed the authoritarian president Ferdinand Marcos and
restored democratic rule to the Philippines. Duterte earned a political
science degree (1968) from Lyceum of the Philippines University
in Manila and a law degree (1972) from San Beda College. In 1977 he joined
the Davao City prosecutor’s office, where he remained until he was appointed
(1986) vice mayor of that city. Duterte was elected mayor in 1988, and
he was reelected to that post twice over the subsequent decade. Because of
term-limit restrictions, he was barred from seeking reelection in 1998, but he
successfully ran for a seat representing Davao in the Philippines House of
Representatives. Upon the completion of that term in 2001, he returned to
Davao City and was once more elected mayor. Because the term-limit
restriction again came into force in 2010, he was elected vice mayor, and his
daughter Sara served as mayor. In 2013 Duterte returned to the mayor’s
office, this time with his son Paolo (“Pulong”) serving as vice mayor. During
his more than two decades as mayor of Davao City, the controversial
politician transformed the city from a haven of lawlessness into one of the
safest areas in Southeast Asia. Duterte’s harsh crime-fighting tactics earned
him the nicknames “the Punisher” and “Duterte Harry” (in reference to the film
character Dirty Harry, the ruthlessly effective police inspector portrayed by
actor Clint Eastwood), but critics such as Amnesty International and Human
Rights Watch claimed that Duterte was responsible for more than 1,000
extrajudicial killings.

1. Why Duterte is a great leader ?

However, certain aspects of his leadership style have been doing more
harm than good, particularly in government operations and the growth of
local [Link]. Duterte is known for his strongman approach and
making outrageous remarks in his rambling, often profanity-laden
speeches. A study released last June by London-based economic research
firm Capital Economics noted that Mr. Duterte’s “erratic and crass”
behavior was raising concern among some investors.“The President plays
a critical role in establishing the ‘rules of the game,’ which affects the way
the private sector conducts its business. Clear policies and regulations
allow the private sector to better plan and execute its investments,” DMCI
Holdings, Inc. chairman and president Isidro A. Consunji said in an e-mail
interview.“With less ambiguity and uncertainty, we can deploy our
resources more efficiently, and help respond to changing social needs
more effectively.”Aboitiz Equity Ventures, Inc. (AEV) President and Chief
Executive Officer Erramon I. Aboitiz emphasized the President’s hand in
steering the country toward the right direction, noting that his policies will
help the private sector determine investment opportunities that will further
push economic [Link]. Aboitiz cited the President’s “Build, Build, Build”
(BBB)program, which gave companies like AEV a chance to collaborate
with the government to improve the country’s infrastructure.“Where there’s
better infrastructure, the economy can grow, movement is easier,
commerce can be a little bit more seamless, etc., which by itself is already
a big benefit for business. But more than that, it becomes now investment
opportunities for the private sector,” Mr. Aboitiz told BusinessWorld in a
Dec. 21 [Link] take advantage of the government’s infrastructure
program, AEV created a new unit — Aboitiz InfraCapital, Inc. to focus on
what it sees as the conglomerate’s fifth core business.“We have foreseen
that infrastructure is something that the government will be focusing on
moving forward… so this is why we’ve set up Aboitiz InfraCapital to be able
to focus in these areas and support the nation building program of
President Duterte,” Mr. Aboitiz saidAboitiz InfraCapital received original
proponent status (OPS) for the operation, maintenance and expansion of
the New Bohol (Panglao) International [Link] is also part of the
 consortium seeking to rehabilitate theNinoyAquino International Airport
(NAIA), together with AC Infrastructure Holdings Corp.; Alliance Global
Group, Inc.; Asia’s Emerging Dragon Corp.; Filinvest Development Corp.;
JG Summit Holdings, Inc. and Metro Pacific Investments Corp.

PERCEPTION OF DOING BUSINESS

For Employers Confederation of the Philippines (ECoP) acting president
Sergio R. Ortiz-Luis, Jr., Mr. Duterte has so far done well on important
economic measures.“Where it counts, I think the President is doing well. GDP
(gross domestic product) is a good measure, increase in foreign direct
investments and in spite of the fact that there’s a lot of criticism about our
foreign relations with other countries, but we’re doing better than before,” Mr.
Ortiz-Luis said in a phone [Link] Philippines remains a growth leader
in the Asia-Pacific region, despite economic expansion slowing to 6.3% in the
first nine months of 2018, missing the government’s target of 6.5-6.9% last
year. Accelerating inflation was blamed for the slower growth as higher prices
served to discourage household spending, a key factor in driving GDP
[Link] then, a study by S&P Global Ratings expects the local economy
to pick up to 6.4% this year from its 6.2% forecast for 2018 due to election
spending and strong domestic demandMeanwhile, FDI net inflows stood at
$8.038 billion during the first nine months of 2018, 24.2% higher than the
$6.472 billion in net inflows posted in the same period a year ago. This was
seen as an indicator that foreign investors remained upbeat on the
Philippines’ growth, despite criticism against the President’s war on drugs and
the toll from extrajudicial [Link] from the positive measures of growth
during Mr. Duterte’s midterm, Mr. Ortiz-Luis said the President could have
done better in appointing more competent people into his
Cabinet.“Unfortunately we also see that the universe of selection is very
limited…. People in the military, people he knew in school,
so medyo limited ‘yun (that’s quite limited). I have nothing against him, but the
people from the military don’t really have the experience, and that can also be
hazardous to the economy,” the business leader [Link]. Duterte has
appointed several military men to
2. How is his/her political belief in Philippine politics ?

Duterte is a strongman conservative.

A strongman conservative eader is one who runs an authoritarian government,

exercising all, or nearly all, powers that democracies would have usually splintered in
favor of three branches of government: the executive, Congress, whose members are
elected, and the courts.

An authoritarian government, in brief, is the exact opposite of democracy, a system

where government power is decentralized. Another word for authoritarianism is one-
man rule, where political power is concentrated in the hands of one man.

Under an authoritarian government, the leader becomes “judge, jury and executioner”
rolled into one, recalling the days of the king.

The system itself may provide for a “democracy,” or the trappings of one, but “in name
only.” The system may provide for an elected Congress and an “independent judiciary,”
but which, in reality, are simply rubber-stamps of the president alone - stamping the
executive’s programs with their own “seals of validity.”

Strongman leadership in the Philippines has its roots in 1972, when Ferdinand Marcos
declared martial law that year, ruling by decree behind a vast military, not civilian,
support, that saw the diminution of individual freedoms. In short, martial law suggested
“rule of force,” because elections had been abolished - along with dissent.

The Philippines has a rich democratic tradition that has, in general, worked, beginning in
1946, the year the Philippines received its independence from the US. In ’72, Marcos
changed all that, establishing himself as the country’s sole leader, with power to decide,
in truth, who lived or died in society.

Duterte’s presidency is linked to this. Duterte has what judges would call “precedents” -
or old historical guides to follow.
Gloria Macapagal Arroyo

The Presidency of Gloria Macapagal Arroyo, also known as the Arroyo

Administration, spanned two terms from 20 January 2001 to 30 June 2010. She
served the remainder of her predecessor Joseph Estrada's term after he was
dispossed, and she was elected to a full second term in 2004 which ended pursuant to
the provisions of the 1987 Constitution.

Gloria Macapagal Arroyo was born in 1947 in San Juan Manila.  She spent her primary and
secondary education at the Assumption Convent graduating as high school valedictorian.
From 1964 to 1966 she consistently occupied a spot on the Dean’s list at Georgetown
University where she took up AB Economics and continued to pursue the same course at
Assumption College, graduating as Magna Cum Laude in 1968. She then took up her MA in
Economics at the Ateneo de Manila University in 1978 and her Ph.D in Economics at UP
School of Economics in 1985.

Senator Macapagal Arroyo began her professional career as an assistant professor at Ateneo
de Manila University from 1977 to 1987 and professor at UP School of Economics in those
same years. She chaired the Economic Department of Assumption College from 1984 to
1987 before assuming the post of Assistant Secretary of the Department of Trade and
Industry from 1989-1992.

Macapagal Arroyo was elected Senator in 1992 and was re-elected in 1995. Together with
other Senators, Senator Macapagal Arroyo was instrumental in the passage of the following
bills into laws; loans for women and micro-enterprises; the Bank Entry Liberalization Law;
the Thrift Bank Act; the Anti-Sexual Harassment Law; the Crop Insurance Law; and the
Magna Carta for Scientists, Engineers, Researchers and Science and Technology Personnel
in government.

On May 11, 1998, Gloria Macapagal-Arroyo ran for the position of the Vice President and
she won overwhelmingly over the other vice presidential candidates, then appointed as
secretary of Social Welfare and Department. She was sworn in as President of the Republic
in January 2001 as a result of the EDSA II Revolution which was triggered by the
impeachment trial of President Joseph Estrada. Arroyo was then elected to a full six-year
presidential term in 2004. 

Arroyo was reelected to Congress in May 2016, resumed her political career and  she was
elected speaker of the House of Representatives in 2018.

[Link] is his/her political belief linked to the Philippine politics.

Arroyo's ascent to the Philippine presidency in 2001 is mired in controversy as much as
the ouster of her predecessor with which it is intertwined. On January 20, 2001, after
days of political turmoil and popular revolt, the Supreme Court declared the presidency
vacant. The military and the national police had earlier withdrawn their support for
Estrada. At noon, Arroyo was sworn in as President of the Philippines by Chief
Justice Hilario Davide, Jr.[4] Coincidentally, Arroyo assumed office the same day as US
President George W. Bush.

While the local media and its proponents hailed EDSA II as another peaceful "People
Power," international views expressed through foreign media described it as a
"conspiracy" to oust Estrada and install Arroyo as president. The New York
Times reported that Southeast Asia-based political economist William Overholt called it
"either... mob rule or mob rule as a cover for a well- planned coup." [6] The International
Herald Tribune reports that the "opportunist coalition of church, business elite and left...
orchestrated the 'People Power II movement."[7] On Arroyo's proclamation as President,
Former Singaporean Prime Minister Lee Kuan Yew opined that there is "an assumption
of power here which isn't in the constitution
Weeks later, Estrada filed a lawsuit challenging the legal basis of the Arroyo presidency
and insisting he remained the lawful president, though adding he would not try to
reclaim his post.[9] The Supreme Court issued its decision on March 2, 2001, asserting
that Estrada had resigned the presidency and relinquished his post. The court
unanimously voted to dismiss Estrada's petition, reaffirming the legitimacy of Arroyo's
presidency.
On May 1, 2001, a week after Estrada was arrested on charges of plunder, an
estimated 3,000,000[10] protesters sympathetic to Estrada degenerated into violence and
attempted to storm the presidential palace to force Arroyo from office.[11] Four people
died, including two policemen, and more than 100 were wounded in clashes between
security forces and rioters.[11][12] After being dispersed the crowd had looted stores and
burned cars.[11] Arroyo declared a 'state of rebellion' in Manila and ordered the arrests of
opposition leaders who led the uprising and conspired to topple the government. [11] The
state of rebellion was lifted one week later, with Arroyo declaring "the disorder has
subsided".
Support for the opposition and Estrada subsequently dwindled after the victory of
administration allied candidates in the midterm elections that was held later that month.
Arroyo outlined her vision for the country as "building a strong republic" throughout her
tenure. Her agenda consists of building up a strong bureaucracy, lowering crime rates,
increasing tax collection, improving economic growth, and intensifying counter-terrorism
efforts.
2001 midterm elections

The 2001 legislative elections and local elections were held in the Philippines on May
14, 2001 - four months after Arroyo took office. Independent senatorial candidate Noli
de Castro, a former television anchor of TV Patrol of ABS-CBN was announced as the
top notcher. This is the first synchronized national and local elections held after the
ouster of Former President Joseph Estrada in January due to a military-backed civilian
uprising (popularly known as EDSA II). On February 20, 2007, the Supreme Court of the
Philippines ruled that Former Senator Gregorio Honasan lost in the 2001 Philippine
elections and lost to Sen. Ralph Recto but declared constitutional the special election
for the remaining three-year term of Teofisto Guingona.
Oakwood mutiny
The Oakwood mutiny occurred in the Philippines on July 27, 2003. A group of 321
armed soldiers who called themselves "Bagong Katipuneros" [13] led by Army Capt.
Gerardo Gambala and Lt. Antonio Trillanes IV of the Philippine Navy took over the
Oakwood Premier Ayala Center (now Ascott Makati) serviced apartment tower in Makati
City to show the Filipino people the alleged corruption of the Gloria Macapagal-Arroyo
administration. They also stated that they saw signs suggesting that the President was
going to declare martial law.
2004 presidential election
Although the Philippine Constitution bars a president from reelection, it allows for the
election of a person who has succeeded as president and has served for not more than
four years.[14] In December 2002, Arroyo made the surprise announcement that she
would not seek a new term in the 2004 Philippine general election.[15] Ten months later,
however, she reversed her position and declared her intention to seek a direct mandate
from the people, saying "there is a higher cause to change society... in a way that
nourishes our future".
Arroyo faced a tough election campaign in early 2004 against Estrada friend and
popular actor Fernando Poe, Jr., senator and former police general Panfilo Lacson,
former senator Raul Roco, and Christian evangelist Eddie Villanueva. Her campaign
platform centered on a shift to a parliamentary and federal form of government, job
creation, universal health insurance, anti-illegal drugs, and anti-terrorism.
Arroyo lagged behind Poe in the polls prior to the campaign season, but her popularity
steadily climbed to surpass Poe's. As predicted by pre-election surveys and exit polls,
she won the election by a margin of over a million votes against her closest rival,
Fernando Poe, Jr.
Benigno Simeon Aquino iii

Benigno Simeon Cojuangco Aquino III is a Filipino politician who served as the 15th
President of the Philippines from 2010 until 2016. Aquino is a fourth-generation
politician and the chairman of the Liberal Party from 2010 to

He was the son of Corazon Aquino, who served as president of the Philippines (1986–
92), and political leader Benigno Simeon Aquino, Jr.—themselves the children of
politically connected families. The elder Benigno, an opposition figure to
Pres. Ferdinand Marcos who was imprisoned when the younger Benigno was a child,
was released and allowed to go to the United States in 1980. The following year the
younger Benigno, after graduating from Ateneo de Manila University with a bachelor’s
degree in economics, followed his family to Boston. His father returned to the
Philippines in 1983 intending to challenge Marcos for the presidency but was
assassinated immediately on arrival. The family nevertheless returned to the country
soon afterward, and there the young Aquino worked for companies including Philippine
Business for Social Progress and Nike Philippines.
He became vice president of his family’s Best Security Agency Corporation in 1986, the
same year that his mother was named president of the Philippines after her opposition
party successfully charged incumbent President Marcos with voting fraud. Aquino left
the company in 1993 to work for another family-owned business, a sugar refinery.
Finally, in 1998, he made the move to politics as a member of the Liberal Party, serving
the constitutional maximum of three consecutive terms as a representative of the 2nd
district of Tarlac province. During this time he also served as deputy speaker of the
Representatives (2004–06), but he resigned from the post in advance of joining other
Liberal Party leaders in making a call for the resignation of Pres. Gloria Macapagal
Arroyo (2001–10), who was accused of corrupt dealings including the rigging of the
2004 presidential election. From 2006 Aquino served as vice-chairman of the Liberal
Party, and in 2007, at the end of his final term in the House of Representatives, he
made a successful bid for a Senate seat.

[Link] is this individual a great leader ?

Under a climate of long-standing political cynicism, fueled by a perennial sense of social

injustice and endemic corruption, elected leaders inevitably face an uphill battle for the
hearts and minds of the people.

In developing countries where the majority of the population has yet to benefit from the
fruits of economic globalization and reap the rewards of new engines of endogenous
growth, one can hardly blame people for holding little respect for elected officials —
repeatedly falling into cycles of high (unrealistic) expectations followed by massive
dissatisfaction.

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From Mexico City to Mumbai and Manila, gestures of good will by elected officials can easily
be interpreted as an exercise of deception and old-school shenanigans, reforms could be
seen as basically the status quo couched in new garment, and displays of humility and
contemplative decision-making could be perceived as indecision and cowardice. In short, it
is extremely difficult to please the greater public, especially ones the euphoria of elections
— and all the accompanying advertisement, colorful events, and fairy tale sloganeering —
is over.

Engaging the greater public and sustaining wide-reaching political mandate is even more
difficult, when you speak of countries with first-past-the-post electoral systems, whereby
anyone with slightly higher votes than other candidates could end up as the president -
nevermind he/she only garnered 30% of the votes, and is never given the second chance to
reach out to the electorate in a prospective run-off round. Naturally, in such cases you tend
to get “minority presidents”, who have limited mandate and struggle to rise above factional
politics.

And yet, the Philippine President Benigno “PNoy” Aquino has managed to sustain approval
ratings as high as 70 percent, way into the third year of his tenure. By any measure, this is
an astonishing record for any democratically-elected leader, especially one in a developing
country still reeling from massive poverty, inequality and unemployment. Add to this a
noisy and discordant media, where entertainment is held way above information and
lambasting elected officials and blaming them for everything is a standard operating
procedure.

Not to mention, even though the Philippines is hardly among top world economies, and
while it is still bereft of a modern military-industrial complex to boast, Aquino has
managed to even rank among the world’s most influential leaders in the 2013 Time 100.

So what explains his massive political capital and global popularity? Are there lessons for
other leaders across the world?

The Mystique of Political Charisma

Joseph Nye, the brains behind the highly popular doctrine of “Soft Power” and the author of
The Powers to Lead (2008), has defined charisma as “the special power of a person to
inspire fascination and loyalty.”

And as Nye aptly points out, charismatic leadership is more apparent “when [people] feel a
strong need for change, often in the context of a personal, organizational or social crisis.”
No wonder, he tells how fundamentally a popular leader mirrors something bigger, a
zeitgeist, a larger public mood, which reflects, “Even more about ourselves, the mood of the
country, and the types of change we desire.”

Benigno Aquino is in many ways the Philippines’ ‘accidental president’. After all, he is said
to have not only shunned running for the Philippine Senate in the past, preferring to stay as
the district representative of his idyllic hometown in Tarlac and taking care of the extended
Aquino clan so dear to him, but also hardly harbored any concrete ambitions for the top
political office in the country. Despite being a smart and well-educated individual, with
good training in economics and banking, he was neither known to be a stellar legislator,
nor featuring among the high profile, ambitious, and flamboyant legislators, who fixed their
gaze on the top prize.

His decision to climb the ranks of Philippine political pyramid was largely due to the
persistent (and ultimately successful) persuasion efforts of family members and siblings,
who believed in his leadership qualities and ability to contribute to the nation’s betterment.
In this sense, Benigno Aquino III had a unique conception of political ambition as a
moralistic fulfillment of a larger obligation to the collective. After all, he always lived in the
shadows of his parents, who are deeply revered for their personal integrity and
contributions to Philippine democratization.

“His father was the Philippines’ most famous political martyr, his mother its most beloved
President,” wrote Time‘s Howard Choa-Eoan on Aquino’s stellar pedigree, and how this
ultimately sealed his destiny as the next Philippine president. “[He] inherited that legacy
and, boosted by national mourning at the death of Corazon Aquino in August 2009, won the
presidency in 2010.”

Grasping the significance of the moment, PNoy sought to carve out his own place in history
by translating widespread public sympathy into a formidable campaign to rid the country
of its recent troubles: a decade of massive corruption, economic imbalances, and political
instability under the Gloria Macapagal-Arroyo administration (2001-2010).

Lucky enough, his ‘good governance’ (Daan Na Matuwid) initiative not only struck a chord
among the electorate, but also eventually came to impress global investors and leaders,
who credited Aquino’s much-awaited crackdown on corruption and abuse of public office.
And this proved to be not only a precursor for an unprecedented period of political stability
and economic growth in the country, but also a cornerstone of Aquino’s charisma anchored
by an untarnished image of personal integrity and sincere leadership.

Riding Manifold Challenges

What’s fascinating with Aquino’s popularity, not exactly his policies, is his ability to
maintain public support despite repeated crises questioning his leadership.

Beginning with the botched rescue efforts at a hostage crisis involving a dozen Hong Kong
nationals, to China’s repeated encroachment into Philippine-claimed features in the South
China Sea, to a shooting incident involving a Taiwanese fishermen in the disputed maritime
waters that sparked unprecedented levels of bilateral Philippine-Taiwan tensions, to
reports consistently mentioning the Philippines’ failure at providing inclusive and
sustainable growth, and ultimately recent revelations suggesting massive corruption
implicating dozens of legislators and government officials, Aquino has still managed to stay
above the fray and enjoy public prestige.
He has astutely shifted blame to other parties, skillfully portrayed his administration as
sincere and committed to reform, and doubled down on his tough stance against China to
ramp up his nationalist credentials.

To demonstrate Aquino’s popularity on a global scale, Time magazine has for instance
portrayed Aquino as the “the face of the regional confrontation with Beijing over its claim
to virtually all of the South China Sea” and praised his “brave stance” on this issue.
Meanwhile, the giant credit rating agency Moody’s, which is currently reviewing the
Philippines candidacy for an investment-grade status, has praised Aquino for placing “the
economy on the right course via infrastructure development, with a focus on upgrading
transport links; an anticorruption push; a drive to halt tax avoidance; and improved
government coffers,” while emphasizing how the Philippines’ continued success as a new
brightspot in Asia “will depend on who takes the reins when Aquino steps down in 2016.”
In short, Aquino is seen as the pivot of the country’s economic and political comeback.

Recently, when a number of rebels, belonging to the Moro National Liberation Front
(MNLF), decided to launch a coordinated attack and lay siege on Zamboanga city in early-
September in order to protest their exclusion from ongoing peace talks in Mindanao,
Aquino still managed to ensure massive public support and avoid criticisms over his
approach to the peace process, which has excessively focused on one group only, the
MNLF’s breakaway group, the Moro Islamic Liberation Front (MILF).

Although known for his soft demeanor, Aquino, few days into the Zamboanga siege, flew to
the crisis-ridden city and went as far as warning the rebels to lay down their arms or face
the full force of the state: “There’s a thin line that can’t be crossed, putting civilians’ lives at
risk... When that line is crossed, I will be forced to not only show, but use the full force of
the state.” By displaying iron determination to quash the rebellion, Aquino was able to, at
least in the meantime, repel criticisms over his administration’s inability to foresee and
forestall such crisis.

Overall, what is increasingly clear is that Aquino’s popularity has much to do with the
combination of his unassailable pedigree and a serendipitous confluence of favorable
factors, ranging from economic revival to political stability and a broader zeitgeist, which
favors (reluctant but seemingly) effective and humble leaders such as PNoy. The key to his
success, so far, is his ability to hold back, to contemplate, to demure, and to humbly change
course when necessary — avoiding hubristic tendencies that have afflicted other popular
leaders

[Link] is his/her political belief linked to the Philippine politics?

Benigno Simeon ‘Noynoy’ Aquino III has become the third member of his immediate family
to be thrust into the vortex of what a sociologist calls periodic episodes of “romanticism" in
Philippine politics and history. But the real burden of the senator and now presidential
aspirant is not just proving his sincerity and integrity. He also has to declare what he stands
for, and on his own merits and in his words, convince a public awash in goodwill for the
Aquinos that he is a worthy son to his parents, and a worthy candidate to the highest post
in the country. And then after he has accomplished that, Aquino will have to sustain the
interest of a public that is notorious for being fickle-minded and having a short memory.
It’s a formidable task for someone who political strategist and Aquino family friend Reli
German says has been seen by most people as “a political lightweight, (with) his
transformation not yet sufficiently remarkable." But since Noynoy Aquino has heeded the
public clamor for him to run for president, observers like sociologist Randy David say the
surprise 2010 presidential candidate now needs to ask himself, “Am I the one? If I take on
that mandate, what will I do? What do I stand for?" "He’s been a politician for more than a
decade, unlike his mom who had hardly any preparations," says David, with a hint of
impatience.“ He is almost 50 years old, he has been in that realm vicariously, he should
have certain ideas. Tell us what these are." According to David, “the spontaneity, the
idealism, the romanticism in politics, the romanticism of hope" is the power that seems to
be firing up the Noynoy Aquino for president movement. “It’s a very powerful movement
that is responsible for all sudden historical surges," he says, but the downside is “it also
does not have very long shelf life." DAVID POINTS out that Aquino must now sustain this
“romanticism" in the next nine months to go before election day, unlike his mother,
Corazon ‘Cory’ Aquino, who had to do that only for just over three months in late 1985,
when then President Ferdinand Marcos called for snap presidential elections and
scheduled the balloting in early February 1986. “What has he got going?" asks David. “The
only point is the memory of his father, and the recent memory and legacy of his mother but
whether that would be enough energy
“The crowds that attended Cory’s burial provided some exciting intimations of a movement-
propelled magic that was so evident in 1986, beginning with the snap elections, culminating in
the EDSA days in February, and then making another appearance in 2001,"says David. But he
also warns that most people who have been caught up in the “romanticism of hope…tend to
minimize the importance of organizing, real organizing on the ground." That danger is especially
present for a candidate who German himself says “just came out of nowhere, riding on the
funeral hearse of his mom, with the honor guards." German recalls that Aquino literally did that
in 1983, riding on the flatbed truck carrying the hearse of his father Benigno ‘Ninoy’ Aquino Jr.
to the cemetery. According to German, the paradox is that the memory of Ninoy and Cory makes
Noynoy both strong and weak. “Ninoy was a tough act to follow, not anyone could measure up,"
he says. “Ninoy was a truly seasoned politician, very charismatic, far better-looking." But then
there was Cory, a housewife who became president despite a nearly absolute lack of direct
political experience, a weakness that also somehow leveled off people’s expectations of what she
can deliver as president. German says that although the public does not know much about
Noynoy Aquino beyond his famous family,“12 years as a legislator means he is no political
novice, and this may raise people’s expectations of him." FOR SURE, says German, Noynoy
Aquino “has brought excitement" and fired up what many, until last week, had thought would be
just a ho-hum political exercise next May. This excitement, German says, derives from a story
almost gothic, truly Catholic. As it is, some political analysts have already likened Aquino’s run
for the highest office of the land as a redux of his mother’s epic bid to topple a [Link]
have stretched the analogy further and say that May 2010 would be a déjà vu of sorts of the Cory
vs Marcos, good versus evil, equation 23 years ago. In 1986, a woman and mother was thrust as
the champion of good, and a man, the sitting president, of evil. This time, Noynoy Aquino, a
man and son of Cory, is hailed as the champion of good, and a woman, the sitting president, of
evil. And yet the political situation then and now bear similar and dissimilar elements. For one,
the May 2010 elections may not turn into a one-on-one slugfest between a candidate from the
administration and another from the opposition. Manuel Villar, who is not quite administration
but not quite opposition, seems hell-bent on running, too, given his significant headstart in public
opinion polls. For another, the sitting president, Gloria Macapagal Arroyo, is not likely to be a
candidate. She seems resigned to say goodbye to Malacanang and just pick her surrogate to run
for president under the administration slate. In 1986, Marcos sparked rage from a long-
suppressed people because he was perceived to be responsible for the death of Cory’s husband
Ninoy. This time, no one has been murdered, even as the public outcry against the perceived
misgovernance of the Arroyo administration seems to grow stronger by the day. There is danger
to couching Noynoy Aquino’s presidential bid in moralistic language, observes David. In 1986,
he says, the contest was between “an incumbent discredited dictator and the heroic widow of a
slain martyr." But “today," says David, “Mrs. Arroyo is incumbent, but she is not running for
reelection, she could have a surrogate but whoever is going to be anointed would do well to
avoid as being projected as the anointed as people say that would be a kiss of death." David says
that while Noynoy Aquino seems to be gearing up for an “unorthodox unconventional
campaign," this is no reason not to do so methodically. The sociologist believes that for Aquino
to carry himself through a long campaign and into Malacanang, he “has to come out and
articulate very strong positions." That is the only thing to do, not something impossible but it is
something apparently being minimized by his handlers, people who egged him into running," he
says. In David’s book, Aquino is even “more articulate than Mar Roxas, magaling sumagot
(replies well), may (has) natural articulateness. He can communicate, there is nothing contrived
about him, except when you force him to read from a prepared speech." “I do not discount
possibility," says David, “ (that) he may come to his own and be able to pursue the legacy of his
parents for his own." - Philippine Center for Investigative Journalism