The Aquino Mystique, and Mistake

The Aquinos, the late and martyred Senator, Benigno, and his wife, the late and venerated ex president, Corazon, both hold a special place in the hearts of Filipinos, and rightfully so. Ninoy, literally, and in many other ways, gave his life for his country. Cory courageously led and waged the war that finally toppled the dictator Ferdinand Marcos, and, in those few heady days in February 1986, liberated a nation from the shackles of a 21 year regime that was characterized by greed, graft and the gory torture of many of our people. Flowers bloomed. Smiles flashed. Tears of joy flowed. Spirits soared.

As she assumed office on February 25, 1986, everyone wanted her to succeed. Her ascendance to the presidency ushered in the highest expectations and dreams of the Filipino people. We were oh so full of hope. At last we could look forward to a true democracy. At last thievery in government would be a thing of the past. Honesty would now be the defining trait of our government and other institutions. We and could now harness the amazing intelligence, talent and industry for which our countrymen are renowned for. A new tomorrow is coming, we thought and we said then. Progress and prosperity, we thought, would be just around the corner.

What happened? Why are we now back in the same rut? Graft and corruption is as rampant, and probably worse, than it ever was. Faith in government is seemingly only for the naïve. Murder and mayhem as tools to achieve political advantage have reached new and shocking brazeness.

I believe President Aquino made a very serious mistake and one that I consider to be the seminal error of her leadership. Here she was carrying a very potent mandate to
reshape our country and our culture. The sword of war that she wielded with courage and effectiveness was still in her hands. There were monsters to slay. There was a gargantuan, patronage based bureaucracy to expurgate. Why did she not use her mandate to drastically change the malignant, malevolent and destructive trajectory that the Marcoses and their minions set our country to?

Cory Aquino, in those months immediately following the People Power EDSA revolution, had both the political and moral capital to effect many changes. She could have ruled by decree and because of her own personal integrity and almost saintly sense of honesty, I am quite certain she could have carried it off. The Filipino people would have supported her in such efforts. They knew she was not a thief. That she was not a power hungry megalomaniac out for glory. In fact as she herself described it she was “a mere housewife”. I wish she would have been at least figuratively true to her role by “cleaning house”. And if she really felt that she could not fashion and carry out a grand vision for our country she ought to have assumed the ceremonial role of chief-of-state and handed the running of the government to technocrats and leaders of known integrity, honesty and vision. (Someone like Jovito Salonga and others come to mind). There was massive infrastructure building that had to be attended to. We needed roads. We needed electric power. We needed drainage systems. We needed sanitation improvements. We needed mass transit investments. We needed a system of commerce where true entrepreneurial aspirations could be pursued and realized ( and here again the need for a graft free system of government regulations were essential).

Instead, what did she do? No decisive action. No grand vision. What she did was to “restore” the empty shells of “democracy”. And the most hollow and useless of these shells was the Congress. Restoring our Congress cannot and should not be construed as a “restoration” of democracy. In truth and in reality we never had a true and functioning democracy. What I believe we had was a well oiled oligarchy that kept control of government, commerce and wealth in the hands of a few families, interest groups and enriched politicians who found myriad and creative ways to siphon off public funds into their fat, private pockets. And the area of government where the power of the oligarchy most exerted itself was in Congress. They passed the laws, exerted the influence and machinated bureaus and departments of government, the police and even the military to benefit their oligarch clients. The latter then saw to that the politicians are well financed to ensure continued electoral victories. No, we had no democracy. Marcos only formalized this fact by becoming the “super oligarch” in 1972. And take a look at Congress now, does this not remind one of the same quagmire we had in the ‘60’s and ‘70’s?

I recently had an email exchange with a friend of mine who wondered if what we needed was a “purging” revolution much like they had in Vietnam where the communists who took over engaged in a massive “re-education” program that instilled a sense of national pride and discipline among the South Vietnamese and move the country towards where it is now. I told him that perhaps so, but, I said, we had a much better situation than the Vietnamese. We had an opportunity to purge and cleanse our country without the bloodshed and mayhem visited upon our people. We had a successful, peaceful revolution in 1986. However, what we did was hand over the reigns of the country back to the very same oligarchs who dominated our world before Marcos. One notable difference is that these oligarchs are now more numerous and virulent and they have a blueprint for ultimate and massive success: the 21 year rule of Ferdinand and Imelda Marcos.

Like most Filipinos, I love Ninoy and Cory Aquino. And the mystique with which they are honored and adored is well placed. Yet, I believe, our continued suffering is the result of a mistaken set of priorities embarked upon in 1986.