Liberal Party’s Noynoy Aquino Proclaimed as the Philippines’ 15th President

On June 8, Benigno Simeon Aquino III was proclaimed the winner of the May 10 presidential elections and as the Philippines’ 15th President.  “Noynoy”, as he is fondly called, was the presidential bet of the Liberal Party of the Philippines (LP), one of CALD’s founding member parties.

Inspired by this LP victory, as well as by the successes of liberal parties in other parts of the world, CALD, with the support of the Friedrich Naumann Foundation for Liberty, is organizing a conference in Manila from June 27 to  July 1 with the theme “Asian Liberal Parties in Power: Getting There, Remaining There.” This event will be held in conjunction with the Philippine Presidential Inauguration on June 30.  Mr. Aquino previously served as CALD Secretary General in 1999, and graced a number of CALD events in the past, the most recent of which were the CALD General Assembly  and CALD’s briefing with Thailand’s Prime Minister Abhisit Vejjaviva, both held in Manila last year.

Mr. Aquino’s journey to the presidency can be traced as far back as August 21, 1983, when  his father, then LP Senator Benigno  “Ninoy” Aquino Jr., was shot dead in the tarmac of Manila International Airport as he returned from the US to continue his fight against the Marcos dictatorship.  This triggered sporadic mass protests, which culminated three years after in what is now known worldwide as “People Power Revolution”.  The popular revolt catapulted Corazon “Cory” Aquino, widow of the slained senator, as President.

Cory Aquino’s presidency, while destabilized by a number of coup attempts, was able to restore democratic institutions and processes which Filipinos still enjoy and value to this day.  It is for this reason that she remained to be popular even after her term, as evidenced by the massive outpouring of support following her death due to cancer last August 2009.

Her demise inspired a popular clamor for Noynoy Aquino to seek the presidency.  While a politician himself, having been a three-term congressman and an incumbent senator, the younger Aquino did not harbor any presidential ambitions prior to his mother’s death.  Like his mother, however, Mr. Aquino willingly responded to the call of his countrymen longing for change.

Since he vowed to seek the highest office in the land,  the level of popular support for Mr. Aquino’s candidacy had been fairly consistent, and this showed in the huge number of people who trooped to all his campaign sorties. CALD Secretary General Dr. Neric Acosta, who had been with him all throughout the campaign, said it best:  “Campaign 2010 was, for those of us who were in the thick of the process, alternately exhausting and awe-inspiring. Yet while invariably grueling, there was, for the most part, a long-running thread of exhilaration in what was a clear zeitgeist of a people seeking a fresh, hopeful start. Today the country stands on the threshold of a new day, highlighting much of what elections and democracy signify: the tasks of restoring, renewing, reforming.”

Without a doubt, accomplishing these tasks would not be easy, especially given the damage done by the outgoing administration, which has wrecked havoc to government institutions and the Filipino psyche for the past nine years.  The President-elect, however, seems unfazed.   He said, “As President, we will be in a position to effect the necessary changes.  With the backing of the people, I don’t think anything is impossible.”

For Noynoy Aquino, therefore, the journey has not ended, it has just begun.