There has been much media coverage of the second State of the Nation Address (SONA) of President Benigno Aquino of the Philippines. Some might say too much, but I won't: a SONA is a newsworthy event, and many of us would be the worse off without such coverage.
For instance, with such coverage, we can see how long the speech is, that there is really no realistic hope of summarizing it in reasonable time. One needs to spend an entire day, and considering that the speech was not precisely titillating, that would be a day badly spent.
But let me just contribute my two-cents' worth on this news event. Nobody can fail to observe that every word that comes out of Noynoy's mouth is a bad word about his predecessor as President. But I wager that most of his hearers do not sufficiently apprehend how much this distinguishes him from President Arroyo. Having been abused and oppressed by political leaders for most of the last century, Filipinos no longer hope that a new President can bring about change, and cynically maintain that this President is the same as the last one, and the one before that. The sentiment is understandable, but it is also wrong.
For Noynoy Aquino is not the same as Gloria Macapagal Arroyo, and Gloria Macapagal Arroyo is not the same as Joseph Estrada, and Joseph Estrada is not the same as Fidel Ramos, who was probably almost the same as Cory Aquino, but who was most certainly not the same as Ferdinand Marcos. Each of these presidents brought a different style to his or her administration, with the possible exception of Ramos. These styles distinguished each presidency, a truth that continues into the second Aquino Administration.
Since it is only one year into office, people say it is too early to tell, but I hazard a crystal ball. Whereas Mrs. Arroyo used fiscal discipline and acute political acumen to achieve economic growth, Aquino relies on personal reputation to generate a welcome environment for private investment. Through a long and windy address, that is a theme that comes up again and again: I am a better person than my predecessor, and I run a cleaner operation, and for that, people here and abroad will trust the country with their investments.
It is a thought-provoking gamble, and I bet Noynoy was not the one who thought of it first. No thought to markets, tax policies and spending programs can outweigh the personal preferences and personal character of the man at the top in the policies of this government. To a large extent, that is true of every Administration, but this one is unique in making it so personal -- you cannot trust other presidents the same way as you can trust me, and that is enough. Trust me, your invetment will be in good hands. Trust me, schoolchildren will be better educated because the education budget will actually be spent in educating them, not lining the pockets of bureaucrats and elected officials. Trust me, agricultural output will rise because I will make sure that irrigation will be improved. Trust me, highways and ports and airports will be built, warships will be ordered and delivered, because I am an honest man who will work to make sure that the budgets will be spent the way they should be. Trust me, government will work better because I will make sure the procurement process is cleaned up and there will be no corruption. Trust me.
Will that be enough to lift the country out of poverty? To many people, a relentless focus on material wealth defeats the purpose of wealth generation, which is supposed to engender happiness in individuals. It is crass and narrow-minded. And it is not beyond the deductive capacities of the man on the street to realize that the son of a hero and of a democracy icon will not care to be judged in terms of wealth generation, but in terms of his place in history, of how far that place is from that of his father and mother.
Which is probably why the second Aquino Administration will be dangerous for the Philippine economy. There is now a justified feeling that the substance of economic questions take second place to the affirmation of the President's personal character. For how can Noynoy aspire to the greatness of his parents, when, confronted with a question of economic benefit versus personal satisfaction, he will always choose economic benefit? Will his parents' legacy be served by that choice?
It will not, and the fact that Filipinos' interests might -- just might -- be, constitutes the resounding rebuke to Noynoy's adherence to the "straight and righteous path". Trust him, but can you trust his sense of history?
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