MANILA STANDARD: MISSING THE POINT
MANILA, JANUARY 16, 2011 (MANILA STANDARD) Benigno Aquino III is not just any man; he is the President of the Republic of the Philippines. As the country's Chief Executive, he not only has the mandate to uphold the Constitution; he is supposed to be the embodiment of everything it stands for.
When the 1987 Constitution—crafted and ratified during the term of President Corazon Aquino–enjoined public officials "to lead modest lives" because "public office is a public trust," it did not do so out of sheer whim. Integral to the provision was the acknowledgment that public officers and employees, without exception and especially the President, should at all times lead by example.
Mr. Aquino, aboard his P4.5-million Porsche and burning the fast lane with nary a care in the world, quite paints a different picture. At best it reinforces the image of a carefree, happy-go-lucky bachelor who is yet to realize the awesome demands of the presidency. At worst, it vividly represents the estrangement between the country's social elite and its masses, seemingly mocking the latter with what it does not and cannot have, trivializing its poverty next to an ostentatious display of wealth.
Worse is that Mr. Aquino, defensive as he has been during interviews, misses the point. It is not so much that the vehicle was bought second- or third-hand using personal funds; it is whether it should have been bought at all when everyone else had been complaining about the increase in fuel prices, the LRT and MRT fare hikes, and the rising cost of commodities. It is not so much that he needs it to de-stress and relax; it is whether he still needs more time for recreation having convened but a few Cabinet meetings in his first six months in office. It is about whether he has the ascendancy to lead the battle against climate change while having a monster of a gas guzzler in his garage.
The issue is about, as the Administrative Code writes, "thoughtless extravagance in expenses for pleasure or display during a period of acute public want or emergency."
The self-acclaimed hero of yet another People Power that was supposedly the 2010 elections should not forget why he was elected President in the first place—to continue with the "legacy" of his mother Corazon who lived simply despite her affluent roots.
A President in a Porsche does not give due respect to that legacy.
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Chief News Editor: Sol Jose Vanzi
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