MANILA – The only son of the late global democracy icon president Corazon Aquino on Wednesday announced his plan to join the May 2010 presidential race with a vow that, if elected, he would exercise firm political will and determination to tackle the country’s pressing problems, especially unabated graft and corruption in government.
In baring his political plans, Senator Benigno “Noynoy†Aquino 3rd also put an end to a somewhat suspenseful wait among his supporters and the ordinary Filipinos on whether or not he would throw his hat into the 2010 presidential derby.
Speaking before members of the Liberal Party (LP) mostly in the Filipino language, which was carried live on radio and TV, Noynoy announced he was running for president to continue the advocacies pursued by his parents, former president Aquino and opposition senator Benigno Aquino Jr. who was assassinated upon his arrival from the US at the then Manila International Airport on August 21, 1983.
He wore black pants and black T-shirt on which was pinned a yellow ribbon that has become the symbol in the nation’s fight against a seemingly well-entrenched dictatorship led by his parents.
If elected, Noynoy vowed to pursue the fight launched by his parents for the welfare and interests of the 90 million Filipinos, many of whom live in abject poverty especially in the countryside.
Among others, he said he would pursue with greater determination the full recovery of the alleged unexplained wealth amassed by the late strongman Ferdinand Marcos, his family and their cronies worth at least $10 billion.
Noynoy also vowed to put an end to another major scandal, the printing and distribution of substandard and error-filled books and other educational materials costing millions of pesos which, he said, have contributed to the alarmingly low quality of the country’s education system.
“We will continue the fight. I will be there to serve the people,†he emphasized amid chants of “Noynoy, Noynoy†from Liberal Party officials and members who came from Luzon, the Visayas and Mindanao.
Later, in a press conference, Noynoy confirmed he asked Senator Mar Roxas, the Liberal Party president, to be his running mate in next year’s elections.
He praised Roxas for making the ultimate sacrifice by giving up his own presidential ambition by giving way to his candidacy.
Last week, Roxas, who was widely believed to become his party’s standard bearer, made a dramatic announcement by endorsing Noynoy who, he pointed out, would unify the conntry and the people as they tackle the problems arising from the deepening global economic slowdown.
With the Roxas announcement, Noynoy said he would undergo a religious retreat inside the convent of the Catholic Carmelite nuns in Zamboanga City in Mindanao to discern whether he would accept the challenge and run for president.
Noynoy accepted the challenge before an overflow crowd inside the “Kalayaan (Freedom) Hall†of the historic Club Filipino in suburban San Juan City, Metro Manila where his mother also took her oath as president following the ouster of the Marcos dictatorship in 1986.
His announcement also became even more significant coming as it did on the 40th day of national mourning for his mother, more popularly known as “Cory†or “Tita (Auntie) Cory,†who succumbed to colon cancer after a year-long battle on August 1.
To show their support for their only brother, the four Aquino daughters and their husbands – Ballsy, Pinky, Viel and Kris – were on hand at the Club Filipino.
Also present was Noynoy’s girlfried, Shalani Salvador, a councilor in suburban Valenzuela City, Metro Manila.
In his speech, Noynoy said a big factor in his decision to join the race was the massive outpouring of love from millions of ordinary Filipinos during the wake and the burial on August 5 of Tita Cory.
Another major factor, he said, was the innumerable occasions after Tita Cory’s burial in which he was asked by concerned sectors, especially the ordinary Filipinos, who asked him whether he was willing to pursue the advocacies initiated by his parents, such as strengthening the country’s democratic structure and reducing corruption.
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