Philippine President Benigno Simeon “BS” Aquino is not only good
at making people angry; he is also good at making people laugh. In fact,
he doesn’t seem to mind being the butt of his own jokes. In a forum
held recently at Hope Christian High School in Manila, he warned his
captive audience – impressionable students — against voting for a
successor who doesn’t have substance.
Over-promising keeps the smile on his face.
Most
people would agree that the President was talking about himself when he
referred to “ampaw” candidates, or as he described “people who look and
sound good when they deliver speeches, but have no substance.” For
those who don’t know, Ampaw “is a Filipino bread that is not filling or
satisfying.”
Reading about BS Aquino’s advice on what to look for in the next
Philippine President is like reading something out of a joke book. He
truly is not aware of his own incompetence and has totally forgotten the
campaign promises he made but never delivered. Instead of eradicating
corruption, he encouraged it. Instead of prioritising the Freedom of
Information bill, he said it wasn’t a priority. He obviously
over-promised and under-delivered. Here are some excerpts of his advice:
“Syempre, number one, you have to–well, not in the precise order, ano–pero ‘yung competence has to be demonstrated. ‘Yun bang, alam niyo ba kung ano ‘yung ampaw na pagkain? ‘Yung pagkain ha, hindi ‘yung kulay pulang envelope. So, ‘di ba, ‘yung ampaw malasa pero sa loob hangin. Baka, ‘di ba, ‘yung… Paano ko ba ide-describe na hindi nakakainsulto?”
“Pag napapakinggan mo…May punto ba ‘yung sinasabi niya? Mukha bang totoo ‘yung lumalabas sa kanyang bibig or maganda lang pakinggan? ‘Pag ‘yung nanood ka ng talumpati nito o ng isang kampanya niya, meron ba siyang pinag-usapan na may saysay, o sumayaw na lang, o kumanta na lang, or ‘di ba nagpa-cute na lang? ‘Yung sa sinasabi ba niya at saka mga nagawa na niya tugma?
A 2010 meme used by Hong Kong protestors to denounce PNoy’s response to the hostage massacre in Manila.
There
was never an occasion when BS Aquino talked with substance in the first
place. He is not even easy on the eyes and doesn’t sound good when he
delivers his speeches. When he appears in front of the camera, he has
this permanent smirk on his face as if mocking or insulting his
subjects. On one occasion, his facial expression actually made Hong
Kong Chinese residents angry after they saw him smiling during his press
conference in the aftermath of the Mendoza hostage crises in 2010. They
even gave him a nickname “smiling dog”. Apart from that, he uses a lot
of lame metaphors to explain himself, which indicates his lack of
breeding. He is living proof to the saying “money cannot buy good
taste”.
There were even times when the President was interrupted by fits of
uncontrollable smoker’s coughing in the middle of his speeches, which
was quite annoying for his audience, indeed.
Even when he was still campaigning, all BS Aquino was ever good at
was badmouthing his perceived political enemies. His speeches were
mostly littered with the previous administration’s “faults”.
Unfortunately, he has carried on the tactic of blaming other people even
for his own shortfalls to deflect from his own until today and quite
possibly will continue to do so until his last days in office.
The current President must be delusional if he thinks that he is a
hard act to follow. Sadly, his staunch supporters who treat him like
some kind of god are partly to blame for his arrogance. In the past,
rabid Aquino supporters quite often pat him on the back even when he
does an awful job. This has not helped him stay grounded in reality.
Unfortunately for BS Aquino, his slow response to the devastation in
central Philippines particularly in Tacloban brought about by Typhoon
Yolanda will be his real legacy. The government’s lack of genuine
concern and respect for the victims was quite evident in the first few
days and months after the tragedy. It is still evident now with reports
that a lot of the donated goods had to be thrown out because they were
left rotting in the Department of Social Welfare warehouse instead of
being distributed to the victims.
A lot of people will not forget how BS Aquino dismissed a
businessman’s grievance after his store was looted and ransacked. He
also walked out of a press conference after addressing the businessman
with an insulting remark that was totally un-statesmanlike: “But you are still alive, right?”
Likewise, In an interview with CNN’s Christiane Amanpour just a few
days after the typhoon, the President was more concerned about looking
good by downplaying the number of deaths and saying stuff that would
make it appear like his government is in total control of the situation
even when it was not. The policeman who gave an estimate of 10,000 dead
was also reportedly sacked obviously because he highlighted the
unpreparedness of the government before the typhoon arrived.
Another
disturbing incident followed when Department of Interior and Local
Government (DILG) Secretary Mar Roxas berated Tacloban mayor Alfred
Romualdez at a meeting during the height of the crises. Roxas reminded
Romualdez that help from the national government had to be formalized
with an ordinance because “You are a Romualdez and the President is an Aquino.” A rationalization that will only make sense to people obsessed with partisanship even in times of crisis.
Those two incidents should remind the voters of the fact that it
seems like BS Aquino and his allies in the Liberal Party are just after
their own vested interests. Meaning, it was really hypocritical of BS
Aquino to warn the students at the forum about candidates who are only
after their own interests rather than the people’s interests, when he
himself doesn’t know his own priorities.
With less than two years to go before he steps down from office, BS
Aquino is trying to play catch-up now by mobilizing the completion of
infrastructure projects like roads and highways in Luzon. Too bad it
will not make a dent on people’s perception when they look at the
results of the job of his administration overall. Clearly Filipinos from
other regions will feel left out once again since only Luzon is reaping
the benefits from the current government. Currently, some parts of
Mindanao are still suffering from a debilitating power crisis with
reports saying that Mindanao residents will continue to experience
scheduled power interruptions until 2015.
Speaking of the energy crisis, an Aquino ally could not help but
speak out against the President for his arrogance in solving the crisis.
Reports
quoted Senator Sergio Osmeña III as saying BS Aquino continues to be
“hardheaded” and an “awful manager”. He said this about the President
for “his refusal to fire Energy Jericho Petilla despite various problems
in the power sector”:
Osmeña added that Petilla is clearly focused on politics and not on solving the country’s energy woes.
“I’ve been observing him. I don’t like what I see, not because he’s not intelligent, but his mind is elsewhere,” the senator said.
Osmeña, who chairs the Commission on Appointments (CA) energy panel, likewise said he has been deferring hearings on Petilla’s confirmation because he does not want to embarrass the Cabinet official with “difficult questions.”
While Osmena should be lauded for the audacity to say that BS Aquino
is “hardheaded” and an “awful manager”, he should be shamed for not
having the balls to “embarrass” Petilla by asking him “difficult
questions”. Osmena also contradicted himself when he said BS Aquino is
an “honest man” and “a good man” for sticking with the people he
appointed. How can BS Aquino be honest and good for wasting people’s
time and money by hiring someone incompetent to solve the energy crisis
in the country? It just doesn’t make any sense. Perhaps Osmena is just
looking after saving his own skin as well. Or perhaps he is just being
ampaw just like the President.
Well, it looks like President BS Aquino is reluctant to endorse Mar
Roxas as the Liberal Party Presidential candidate for 2016. Probably
because he knows Roxas is going to lose. One thing is for sure though,
the President’s mode is now shifting to campaign mode. The Filipino
people can say goodbye to the hope of achieving real reform under BS
Aquino government. The least they can do is to follow BS Aquino’s advice
not to vote for an ampaw again. After all, who would want another six-years with a mediocre commander-in-chief just like him?
No comments:
Post a Comment