Remembering PNoy on his 5th death anniversary:
‘When a leader refuses to steal, the nation prospers’
President Benigno Simeon Aquino III, who chose to be called “PNoy” by the Filipino people when he was elected president in 2010, died five years ago tomorrow at the age of 61 from “renal failure.”
He passed away quietly. In sickness and in health, and even in his final days, he didn’t want to create a fuss.
History, indeed, is the ultimate storyteller, judge, and jury of our deeds.
Today, many are striking their keyboards in appreciation of a man who did not dip his hands into the public coffers during his presidency—especially when viewed against the vivid backdrop of the recently exposed systematic looting of government funds by public officials and private individuals working in concert.
As his finance secretary Cesar Purisima, a multi-awarded finance minister recalls, PNoy, son of democracy icons Ninoy and Cory Aquino, “showed that good governance is good economics. That when a leader refuses to steal, the nation prospers. That trust, once earned, compounds just like interest.”
“I had a front-row seat to what disciplined, honest governance can truly achieve. And what I am proudest of is this: we didn’t just grow the economy, we recorded the highest average GDP growth rate of any administration in the 40 years before and since. But more importantly, we used that growth for the Filipino people.”
“Under President Noynoy Aquino, the Philippines earned investment grade status from all three major credit rating agencies for the first time ever backed by 25 credit rating upgrade actions. That wasn’t just a financial milestone. It was the world’s verdict on the integrity of his leadership and agenda,” says Purisima, who received seven consecutive awards from various international publications like Euromoney, as PNoy’s finance secretary.
“But the number that matters most to me isn’t a credit rating,” Purisima points out. “It’s the millions of families who gained access to universal healthcare for the first time. It’s the children kept in school through 4Ps. It’s the classrooms built, the roads laid, the futures made possible by an education and infrastructure budget that finally reflected our ambitions as a nation. It’s the millions who enjoyed the benefit of lower interest rate and improved purchasing power. And it’s the millions of Filipinos who, by the end of PNoy’s term, finally believed that a better Philippines in their own lifetime was possible.”
Purisima points out that when PNoy, who ran under the slogan “Kung walang corrupt, walang mahirap (“There will be no poor if there are no corrupt”) took office in 2010, the Philippines was still called the “Sick Man of Asia.”
“When he left, we were the ‘Bright Spot of Asia.’ That transformation was not accidental; it was the dividend of integrity,” he adds.
According to Bloomberg, the Aquino III years saw a growth “spurt” in the economy not seen since the ‘70s. The economy grew by 6.2 percent annually, the fastest-sustained pace since the ‘70s.
“PNoy didn’t just leave behind a stronger balance sheet,” Purisima concludes. “He left behind a stronger belief, that the Filipino deserves better, and that better is possible.”
Personally, Purisima, PNoy’s one and only finance chief, says he misses his friend “deeply.”
“That belief, that better is possible, is the greatest legacy he leaves behind.”
‘Pure’
“PNoy’s love for the country was pure. Walang hiningi, walang kapalit (nothing asked for in return, nothing in exchange), until he passed away. And I know that history will look on him in a kinder light. And I think it’s already starting,” Sen. Paolo Benigno “Bam” Aquino said of his late first cousin in an interview last year.
Looking back at my notes, I asked President Aquino on June 29, 2016 one full day before he bowed out of office, where he was going to ride after he handed over the torch to President Rodrigo Duterte before noon of June 30, he said, “the same Toyota Land Cruiser I’ve been using all these years.”
Isn’t it the government’s, I asked, thinking of the day his mother the late former President Cory Aquino, rode a family-owned white Toyota Crown, giving up her official Mercedes-Benz, on June 30, 1992 at the Quirino Grandstand?
“But the Toyota I am using is not the government’s,” he pointed out. “It is leased, but the lease is not paid for by the government.”
Noticing my raised eyebrow, he added, “From the moment I became president, my personal comfort was the least of my priorities.”
Thus, there weren’t many trappings of power that he was going to miss when he became a private citizen. He never used a “wang-wang,” so he wouldn’t miss it. He wouldn’t have missed travelling abroad on government expense because he didn’t particularly like traveling and only did so when necessary.
What he would miss, he said that day, “is being in a position to be able to effect change in the lives of others.”
PNoy couldn’t forget how his mother Cory was radiant at the Quirino Grandstand after she passed over the baton of the presidency to her anointed, Fidel V. Ramos.
“I can’t forget the smile on my mother’s face,” the proud son recalled.
On his part, he was happy that a week before he bowed out of office, without fanfare, he decided to try out Texas Roadhouse, a restaurant in the Bonifacio Global City. As he was making his way to the door after his meal, one table burst into applause, followed by another table, then another, till the whole restaurant was cheering him on.
He appreciated that. I hope he took that happy memory with him to his resting place.
