简体中文
It’s been six years of “long days and long nights,” but President Aquino isn’t thinking of taking it easy just yet. “I’ll be working till the last hour of my presidency,” the President told The STAR in a recent interview at Malacañang. “I have to lead by example, and we have six years to do everything we can do. My term ends June 30, noon. We have to be able to face the mirror each day and say, ‘We did the maximum’.”
He describes the final leg of his journey as President as “normal.” His daily morning routine has not changed. “I look at the papers, I read The STAR – part of it – the Nation page, World page, to get a sense of what’s been happening. Then that normally generates text messages to and from,” he said. Though there is no letup in the tasks he still wants to accomplish, he is also careful not to intrude into the prerogatives of his successor, the tough-talking outgoing Davao City Mayor Rodrigo Duterte.
“Ayokong pangunahan yung susunod sa akin lalo na kung hindi namin matatapos ang proseso. Baka naman pwedeng ibigay sa kanya na kung may issue o problema ay ma-solve niya sa paraang palagay niyang tama.” (If there’s an issue or problem, I think it’s better to give him the leeway to solve it in his own manner). The President, who is moving back to the family home on Times Street in Quezon City, is grateful that his “bosses” are giving him a warm sendoff. He has always referred to the people as his “bosses,” believing his mandate is to be of service to them. “Sometimes when I’m in the mall, when I eat out, there will always be somebody who will approach me and say thank you for the six years, thank you for the sacrifices, thank you for what you have done.” Though criticisms, curve balls and monkey wrenches are thrown his way as well, he remains grateful for the opportunity to have served his “bosses.”
“It all goes back to the people. If I had no confidence that the people were behind me, I probably wouldn’t have had the courage to undertake the things we were triumphant in. If every time I made a decision I had to second guess whether the people trusted me, I probably wouldn’t have had the courage to make that decision. There are detractors. But look at the last survey I was involved in, I have more support now than when I ran. You would expect somebody on their way out to have a deduction in their ratings.”
A Pulse Asia survey in April this year showed the President with 52 percent trust rating, higher than any other elected national official. Aquino expressed hopes that the next six years would build on the gains of his administration, which saw unprecedented continued economic growth. “All of us in the government, those who have helped us, can all look back and say there’s really such an abundance of achievements in so many different fronts. What if this is reversed? What if there’s nothing to be proud of after six years? I think all of us will all be depressed. There’s so much that has been done. I’m sure all of us have exceeded in the performance in terms of expectations. There’s a sense of accomplishment. There’s of course the hope that you really worked hard for it – and hopefully it continues and proceeds to the next higher level,” he added.
The Philippine economy grew by nearly seven percent in the first quarter this year, making it the fastest growing among 11 Asian countries during the period. Finance Secretary Cesar Purisima attributed the growth to the governance standard set by the outgoing President. During Aquino’s six years in office, the economy grew by an average of 6.2 percent, reportedly the fastest since 1978. “I know how my role started,” then senator Benigno Aquino III told me on the eve of the May 2010 elections that saw his yellow juggernaut vanquish all opposition at the polls. “But what is the extent of God’s mission for me? I don’t think anybody can foretell that. Even at this point I am really content that we have gotten to the stage where people, from being apathetic, are now the prime movers of democracy.”
His tune has not changed since then, when he said the fight against corruption was his priority. Foreign investors have attributed this stand against corruption for the increased confidence in doing business in the Philippines. On the eve of Aquino’s inauguration on June 30, 2010, his cousin Maria Montelibano, head of his campaign communications team said, “Noynoy is claiming his destiny tomorrow.” Until noon of June 30 this year, the President seems bent on still shaping it.
(THE PHILIPPINE STAR)
