Philippine President Benigno Simeon “BS” Aquino probably thinks that being the so-called “leader” of 100 million Filipinos comes with a license to seemingly act like a douche-bag. Ever since he was thrust into the highest office in the land, he has been making a lot of inappropriate statements and he does it quite often during the most inappropriate of occasions.
Who can forget the time when he tried to humiliate former Supreme Court Chief Justice Renato Corona in his speech during the National Criminal Justice summit held at the Manila hotel back in 2011? Both BS Aquino and Corona were special guests in that event but the former thought it was the right time to attack the latter. Corona’s stoicism throughout his ordeal saw him gain hundreds of supporters as a result. Meanwhile, BS Aquino’s bullying tactics caused uproar among decent Filipinos who thought the President’s actions were unbecoming of a head of state.
Recently, BS Aquino’s bullying tactic was on display yet again. Without directly referring to his usual punching bag, former President Gloria Macapagal Arroyo (GMA), in a speech in front of Filipino community in New Zealand, BS Aquino made fun of her use of a wheelchair due to her illness. As if the non-bailable charges that continue to keep GMA under arrest weren’t enough to satisfy him, BS Aquino could not help but take another jibe at his predecessor:
“Yung mga kababayan raw ho nating corrupt sa Pilipinas, kagagara ng kotse, kamamahal, katutulin. Pero pagka ginustong tumakas, ang ginagamit wheelchair.”
Obvioulsy, no one can to put a lid on the President’s witless mouth; not his family and not even his close friends. It’s either they are totally helpless in telling BS Aquino that he goes too far in his tirades against GMA or they are probably encouraging him to keep on doing what he does best: act like he is the King of the Philippines.
You can expect someone without any foresight like BS Aquino to act without thinking of the consequences of his actions. Unfortunately for him, more and more Filipinos are beginning to realize what an arrogant and insensitive person he is. His staff is left scrounging for words to defend him each time he offends the public with his statements. Being one of the President’s spin masters is not the most ideal job indeed. BS Aquino doesn’t seem to care that they suffer most of the brunt of public outrage when their boss commits gaffes. The best thing the President’s spokesperson could say as defense is to encourage the public not take him seriously, which is what Deputy Spokesperson Abigail Valte said about his joke. She just came across as dumb.
Without fail, BS Aquino would talk about how corrupt the past administration was every chance he gets without realizing that power can corrupt just about anyone, even himself. Corruption comes in many forms not just stealing public funds. His alleged strong-arming of some members of the other branches of government to get what he wants is a form of corruption too and so is the allegations that those who are close to BS Aquino always get away with their alleged crimes.
It is becoming apparent that BS Aquino is not confident about convicting GMA of the charges against her, which is why he feels compelled to give another round of media blitz vilifying her just to rile up the public again. It could have something to do with the fact that the plunder and graft cases against GMAfor the alleged misuse of some P530 million in Overseas Workers Welfare Administration (OWWA) Medicare funds have been dismissed recently for lack of merit. Yes, BS Aquino’s “solid” case is starting to crumble right before his eyes and he is starting to lose face because of this. Disappointment has been said to trigger mental breakdown in individuals. Those who have a history of depression can be more susceptible to this kind of episode.
Speaking of mental illness, BS Aquino has given an ominous warning to the party responsible for releasing his “fake” psychiatric test. He said that it’s not his priority at the moment but they could be liable for releasing it to the public. Whether the psychiatric test is fake or genuine, who in their right mind would want to be a leader of this country in the first place? What the Philippines has is not a real democracy to begin with. As the BBC articlereported, “Philippine politics is dominated by certain families. And evidently, even if one of them is very publicly deposed, they’re not out of power for very long.”
Part of the problem is that Filipinos need a lot of money to campaign for votes – and wealth is concentrated among certain families.Manny Villar is one of the few senators who’s not from a well-known name – in fact he says was born in a squatter camp and once sold shrimps in a market.But by the time he ran for political office, he’d already made his millions in business – and he says that private money is essential to any election campaign.Yet even he believes money isn’t as good as family connections – the reason he gives for his failed presidential bid in 2010.“You can go far, but I don’t think you can be president without being from one of those families,” he says.
Like what I have been saying all along, BS Aquino is part of the problem because he is from the landed oligarchy. The people cannot expect him to understand what the poor people go through. He tries his best to appear like he is a regular guy but he is one of those he describes in his joke. He cannot deny the fact that he is also fond of fancy and expensive cars.
It’s about time the public realizes that they need to stop voting for people like BS Aquino because they tend to look out for their own family’s interests instead of the public’s interest.
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