BENIGNO S. Aquino III, who was fondly called Noynoy by almost everyone, had been known to be a good son to his illustrious parents. But the late President had also proven that he was his own man in the six years he carried the crushing burden of office as President. All this, while striving always to stick to a principled life.
Cynics might disagree. After all, bashers have desperately tried to belittle his political acumen, describing him as “Abnoy” or abnormal, even if he had won by a landslide in almost all of his political campaigns, including the presidency, and made remarkable achievements during his six years at the helm of a government anchored on a fragile democracy.
The put-down was hardly surprising, since his mother, the late President Corazon Cojuangco Aquino, was tagged as a “mere housewife,” but she finally united the fragmented political opposition, setting off a series of events culminating in the “people power” revolution that ousted the late strongman Ferdinand Marcos and brought her to Malacañang in 1986.
The Aquinos were favorite targets of political bashers, given their huge influence spanning many decades.
In 1983 political tragedy struck the family when their patriarch, opposition leader Sen. Benigno Aquino Jr., was gunned down on his return from a three-year US exile. It fell to Noynoy, as the only son and namesake, to keep his mother close company in the six years she subsequently became President, fighting off coup attempts while overseeing a democratic and economic restoration.
Like his late mother, Noynoy had valued political decency by showing no interest in continuing political power after the end of his presidency.
His former senior military aide, retired Army Gen. Jose Caparas Jr., lamented that his bashers didn’t know—or simply refuse to acknowledge—Noynoy’s principled stance in life.
“He was so down to earth,” noted Caparas, who had known the Aquinos since 1990 when he was designated tank commander in Malacañang of the Presidential Security Group amid continued coup threats.
Caparas said he was not particularly close to Noynoy; that was, until he was tapped to be his close chief-in security when the family was looking for someone they can trust as he campaigned for the presidency in 2010.
Noynoy, Caparas recalled, was always unpredictable in his activities, and was fond of meeting ordinary people outside of his official itinerary during his provincial visits. His former boss would then immediately raise with his Cabinet the issues he had picked up in these encounters with the common folk.
Caparas also noted how seriously Noynoy walked the talk in sticking to his inauguration vow of “no wang-wang,” and respect for law. He would always advise his official convoy to respect traffic regulations to show the people that they were one with them. He would not hesitate to fire anyone even if he was close to him if he felt the latter had abused his authority.
Even after his presidency, Noynoy was particular with his political image.
Caparas noted how they were asked to help review the “Mamasapano incident” where the former president was repeatedly dragged into, until they finally concluded that there was really no evidence or any transcript of any remarks he made to directly involve him in the foiled operation that was intended to capture or kill a wanted Malaysian terrorist and bomb-maker along with high-ranking insurgents.
Jojo Binay
They may have had political differences in the second half of the Aquino presidency, but former Vice President Jejomar “Jojo” Binay said he had always maintained his respect for the late President.
He said they didn’t actually have a falling out, but perhaps were never politically aligned since Noynoy had a “different set of friends in government.”
“But this is what I can always say about him, “malinis siyang tao. Galit talaga sa [he was clean; he really hated] graft and corruption,” he said.
According to Binay, he became close to Noynoy after being tapped as one of the human-rights lawyers assisting Cory Aquino in the anti-dictatorship campaign before the Edsa revolution.
At first, he thought that Noynoy was just a “happy-go-lucky guy.”
“Pa-easy-easy lang siya,” he added, but soon noticed that Noynoy, despite his upbringing, maintained a simple lifestyle.
He would even sleep on the floor during their out-of-town trips when Mrs. Aquino was campaigning for the presidency, Binay recalled. He noticed that Noynoy kept on reading a lot of books, instead of resting after a tiring day.
Until now, Binay said there is hardly any news of Noynoy being linked to corruption. The current political dispensation, he stressed, simply had no case against him. “Talagang malinis siya [He was really clean],” he said.
Obsessing with budget
Former Agriculture Secretary Proceso Alcala said that was also his impression of Noynoy since the day he first met him as a “seatmate” in the House of Representatives during his first term in 2004. Noynoy was completing his third and last term before running for the Senate.
As a political novice, Alcala was impressed with how Noynoy showed his fondness for details by scrutinizing the national government’s budget. He was very particular with how funds were intended to be used, that he never missed any hearing of any budget looking at each agency’s proposed budget.
“Noong naging President lalo pang humigpit [When he became President he became even more strict],” remarked Alcala, confiding how Aquino had always been concerned about ensuring consistency in his administration’s anti-corruption performance.
Alcala recalled that how, at the first Cabinet meeting that Noynoy convened after winning the 2010 elections, he immediately declared that, having been entrusted by the people with the highest office, he wouldn’t want to give them any reason to say the government’s funds were misused.
He quoted him as saying, “Ayokong may makakapagsalita sa akin na pinabayaan kong asikasuhin ang pera ng bayan [I don’t want anyone to say of me that I neglected looking after taxpayers’ money].”
After leaving Malacañang, it was also Noynoy’s decision to shy away from politics to give a chance to the new administration.
In the time when supporters of President Duterte were bashing the Aquino administration, Noynoy cautioned his former officials against being entangled in any word war with the current dispensation.
“Let us give them a chance to do something good for the people,” he reportedly told them. “Huwag na nating pag-usapan muna ang pulitika. Pabayaan muna natin sila [Let’s not talk about politics yet; let’s let them do their job],” he told them.
He did not, however, stop reviewing his administration’s performance to the point that he would personally call his officials when they were linked to any graft case.
Alcala recalled Noynoy calling him to a meeting one night, when he saw that he was in the news. The former Department of Agriculture chief had to explain to him in detail how the funds were used until the former President was satisfied that there was no irregularity in the process, knowing how the DA’s budget was increased during their term to help support the farmers and fisherfolk.
But Noynoy suddenly changed his political stance after the opposition’s defeat in the 2019 mid-term elections.
It was then that Alcala heard Noynoy say, “Sana naman maliwanagan na ang isipin ng mamamayan [I hope our people will now be enlightened].”
The former President was reacting then to the current administration’s handling of the 2016 ruling by the Permanent Court of Arbitration that favored the Philippines over China’s claims in the West Philippine Sea.
Over a week ago, Alcala said that he received a call from his former boss, asking him to find a “quiet place near the beach” where he can rest after his kidney transplant.
“He really didn’t want to talk about his illness before,” Alcala said, although they already noticed that the former President’s health was faltering during the Christmas season. Soon he would undergo regular dialysis for his kidney ailment. During his 61st birthday on February 8, he just opted to meet a small group of friends at a firing range to join him for lunch.
Another former Cabinet secretary, ex-Public Works chief Rogelio Singson, also spoke of Aquino’s planned kidney transplant. When they last spoke, Aquino told him he was being prepped for angioplasty, then subsequently a kidney transplant, Singson told CNN Philippines.
Alas, his body gave out before the lifelines came. He had gone with the same quiet way he liked to work best, as his sisters described it.
As his close friends said, he had truly preferred a simple life after having served his people well.
Images courtesy of AP/Rolex dela Pena, Nonoy Lacza and Jay Morales/Malacaang Photo Bureau
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