MANILA, Philippines ? Malacańang is sensing political ?gimmickry? in Sen. Benigno ?Noynoy? Aquino III?s so-called spiritual retreat before he decides on whether to run for president next year.
Gary Olivar, deputy presidential spokesperson, Thursday said the senator should ?not just ride on sentimental support? in heeding the supposed clamor for him to seek the highest office in the land.
?We respect whatever gimmickry, whatever ways on how he can arrive at a decision,? Anthony Golez, another spokesperson, said in a media briefing.
Golez was commenting on impressions that Aquino might only be playing hard-to-get before eventually announcing his presidential bid in the May elections.
Sen. Mar Roxas, expected by many as the Liberal Party?s presidential bet, stepped aside on Tuesday after Aquino told him that he, too, wanted to run for president.
With his place as the Liberal Party?s standard-bearer all but secured, Aquino turned anticlimactic and said he would go through a period of ?discernment? before taking the challenge.
He said his decision to run?a foregone conclusion, according to party stalwarts?would not be made public until after the commemoration of the 40th day since the Aug. 1 death of his cancer-stricken mother, former President Corazon Aquino.
Asked if the senator?s retreat was part of a political strategy, Golez said: ?That is correct.?
?If that is part of his spiritual strategy, then I can call it a strategy,? he said. ?Our leaders will always have forward planning and they think 10 steps ahead of us. It?s how they plan.?
Golez said the public should ?respect? Aquino?s decision to delay the announcement of his political plans in the 2010 elections.
?If that?s his character, if that?s the way he is, we have to respect that also,? he said.
But Golez said that Aquino, like any other candidates, should be careful with people prodding them to run only to ?take advantage? of them.
Where does the clamor come?
He expressed doubt on whether there was indeed a ?clamor? for the senator to run. ?(Does this come from) people who dine with them every day? Those who are always with them wherever they go?? he asked in Filipino.
The idea of Aquino running for president was floated at the height of the public outpouring of sympathy over the death of his mother, an icon of democracy in Asia.
Aquino flew Thursday to Davao City to confer with his mother?s political allies and later in the afternoon proceeded to Zamboanga City en route to a Carmelite convent for his weekend retreat.
The senator met with Davao Mayor Rodrigo Duterte and businessman Jesus Ayala, who he said encouraged him to go on with the fight.
?I told him that I am in the process of making my decision and that I will duly inform him whatever decision I will take,? Aquino said in a press conference at Ayala?s residence.
Concerned about sisters
Aquino said that whatever his decision would be, it would take into consideration his sisters? feelings and concerns. ?I am actually divided and my siblings are divided,? he said.
He said he never thought about running for the highest office in the land but that there were many supporters urging him to do so.
In his meetings with Roxas, Aquino said he repeatedly told him that the ?torch has been passed? from his father, the slain opposition leader Benigno S. Aquino Jr., then to his mother and then to him.
Aquino said he told Roxas that ?there is a way to pass the torch to someone who is prepared.?
But Roxas only said that this seemed farfetched, adding that ?this can be channeled or utilized to advance the cause to make it happen rather than delay.?
?My interest cannot outweigh the greater good,? Aquino quoted Roxas as saying.
In Zamboanga City Thursday afternoon, Aquino told reporters that he will meet with Sister Agnes Guillen to seek her advice and perspective in resolving political and personal problems.
?She is a family friend and like a mother,? he said. ?We value her wisdom.?
Asking God for light
?It is good that Noynoy goes on retreat before he decides whether to run or not,? said Jaro Archbishop Angel Lagdameo, president of the Catholic Bishops? Conference of the Philippines.
?He is asking God for light. I will pray for him. Noynoy is not pushing himself too soon. He wants to weigh the pros and cons,? he told the Church-run Radio Veritas Thursday.
?It was heroic for Mar to sacrifice his ambition for the sake of the country. It is a statesmanly act. I join the people in saluting him. Mar is making a generous self-sacrifice. Both Noynoy and Mar are admirable in this regard,? Lagdameo said.
In a separate interview over Radio Veritas, Marbel Bishop Dinualdo Gutierrez urged other presidential aspirants to follow Roxas? example so that the opposition would have a common candidate.
Gutierrez said he believed that the country needed a moral leader and said he personally knew that Senator Aquino was not a corrupt public official.
?From what I personally know, his family is honest and I think the children were brought up in honesty that?s why I have not heard any issue of corruption against Noynoy. Maybe that would be a very good (way) to combat corruption because the leader is not corrupt,? he said.
Moral leader needed
?On what others say that he lacked skills and management, that is not the problem. You get all the best minds that you have. What we need is a moral leader, not an expert of economics,? Gutierrez said.
Pampanga Archbishop Paciano Aniceto, however, said he preferred that Aquino continued his term as senator.
?Noynoy is good but he lacks the maturity, characteristics and charisma of his parents. He is not yet ripe for the highest position in the land,? he said. With reports from Dona Z. Pazzibugan and Michael Lim Ubac and Julie Alipala and Dennis Jay Santos, Inquirer Mindanao
