MALAYA OPINION: CAN NOYNOY DO IT?
MANILA, NOVEMBER 12, 2010 (MALAYA) by Nestor Mata ('President Aquino, now well on the way to his fifth month in office, still has to show leadership abilities.')
THE STUNNING revelation about President Noynoy Aquino's "…uncertain leadership abilities" was first made not only by the Pacific Strategies & Assessments (PSC) but also by media pundits, political observers and scientists in academe long before his inauguration last June 30.
They all prognosticated that then president-apparent Sen. Benigno S. Aquino III would find it difficult to fulfill, once he is in office, his campaign promises of sweeping reforms in government, and putting an end to official corruption and alleviating poverty.
And, true enough, the PSC report, quoted in this column the other day, said that "approximately 100 days into office, it appears the bubble of high expectations around Noynoy is beginning to burst," just like what happened to Barack Obama after three months in the Oval Office of the White House.
In its May 17 report, the US-based risk consultancy firm said that "corruption and powerful political interests were likely to weigh down his capability to implement reforms in the government."
"Politically," PSC went on, "there is simply no basis for celebration or indication that the 2010 election will produce the shifts in governance that the country requires.
"Without question, Noynoy will face the realities of Philippine power interests and indestructible corruption that will limit his abilities to implement change."
The PSC, of course, was referring to Aquino's vaunted campaign mantra of 'Kung walang corrupt, walang mahirap' (If there's no corruption, there will be no poverty), the slogan that perhaps catapulted him to the presidency.
Indeed, now almost five months in Malacañang, he has not taken any step to curb corruption and end poverty, contrary to what his tendentious mouthpieces have been saying since Day One.
Just like his mother Cory in her time as an accidental president, Noynoy is bound to fail, too. Like her, other presidents have not been successful in addressing corruption.
"No Philippine president," as the PSC recalled, "has succeeded at making any serious inroads into the culture of corruption, and most justifiably doubt Noynoy is cut from a different cloth."
Not only this. According to the Berlin-based Transparency International in its 2010 Corruption Perception Index, a yearly global corruption survey, the Philippines ranked 134th out of 178 countries, making it the most corrupt nation in Southeast Asia, lagging behind Malaysia, Thailand, Indonesia and Vietnam.
How can Noynoy Aquino, who's a scion of the Aquino-Cojuangco political dynasty, along with other traditional politicos and political butterflies, turn his back against the very system that entrenched him in power!
So, Mr. President, be honest with us Filipinos--- your "bosses," if you truly meant it --- and, at least, for once, say: "Yes, I can do it!"
***
THOUGHT OF THE DAY…"Nothing can stop the man with the right mental attitude… nothing on earth can help a man with the wrong mental attitude!" --- Thomas Jefferson
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Chief News Editor: Sol Jose Vanzi
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