MANILA, Philippines—President Benigno Aquino III Sunday intensified his campaign against Ombudsman Merceditas Gutierrez, dismissing as “paranoid” those people, apparently referring to former President Gloria Macapagal-Arroyo and her allies, who claim that his administration was going after them.
The President took his “war” against Gutierrez to the University of the Philippines (UP), traditionally the seat of student activism, but found himself the target of a few graduates who tried to disrupt his speech on the campus in Diliman, Quezon City.
Gutierrez has been impeached and is now awaiting trial in the Senate on charges like betrayal of public trust for not filing cases against officials linked to corruption during the Arroyo administration.
Two weeks ago, Mr. Aquino said in another university in Manila that he was “at war” with Gutierrez, prompting her supporters to say that his administration was going after her and allies of Arroyo, now a Pampanga representative.
Arroyo herself said the administration was not fair to her, while her son, Ang Galing Pinoy party-list Rep. Juan Miguel “Mikey” Arroyo, who was recently charged with tax evasion, said that Malacañang was harassing him.
Speaking at the 100th UP general commencement exercise, Mr. Aquino acknowledged the difficulty of instituting reforms in the government.
He said this was because the old system remained deeply embedded even “deeper than the roots of trees at the Sunken Garden” on the sprawling campus.
‘OMG’
He said anyone would lose his or her cool, if those tasked with protecting the ordinary citizen was protecting what the powerful had stolen.
“You already know what I’m referring to, so let’s not dwell on it,” the President said at the amphitheater.
“Just a simple OMG is our collective sigh here,” he said in Filipino, referring to the initials of Ombudsman Merceditas Gutierrez.
Mr. Aquino said he was focused on his mandate to “bring justice to all and place everyone under a fair and equal process.”
“Let there be no particular camp or party before the blindfolded justice. Now, if others consider themselves targets, maybe they’re being paranoid,” he said. “As I see it, they’re the ones who are bothered by their conscience.”
Twenty-one summa cum laude honorees were among the 4,000 graduates this year, led by 19-year-old John Gabriel Pelias, a BS in Mathematics graduate, who had a cumulative weighted average of 1.016.
Jobs, wage increase
The President’s tirade against Gutierrez did not catch much attention because minutes earlier some UP graduates sitting in the audience had tried to disrupt his speech.
The President had just started to talk about the “good news” in his administration when four graduates stood up from their seats and marched in front bearing placards.
“Jobs not demolition” read one placard held by a male graduate while another said “No to labor export policy.”
Another placard called on the President to heed labor’s demand for a P125 legislated-wage increase.
As UP policemen scrambled to the side of these graduates, Mr. Aquino continued with his speech.
When the President was done with his speech, five to six more graduates stood up and started chanting in Filipino: “There’s no change under Aquino.”
The action did not stop there as student regent Jacqueline Joy Eroles started to shout “Edukasyon, edukasyon” when the emcee announced her name so she could give a letter to the President.
Diliman Republic
Although Mr. Aquino did not mention the incident, he acknowledged in his prepared speech that he found it difficult to face the new UP graduates.
“Especially because there appears to be a tradition in the Diliman Republic—to criticize any visiting government official,” he said.
The President said he had accepted this reality. “Sometimes, we come from different backgrounds. But I hope we are moving toward the same direction,” he said.
Asking his audience to level with him, the President said there were issues delaying Philippine society’s development.
“I don’t blame all those who are complaining because of this. But I hope this is clear to you: Whatever path my administration takes, it is not our individual interests that we are pursuing,” he said.
Mr. Aquino said his administration was facing a tough task but was doing its best. “We are doing this by not stealing. We are focusing on leaving a Philippines without the big obstacles that we found when we took over so we can develop,” he said.
For leading the country in the fight against corruption, the President was conferred the highest academic and honorary degree at UP. He was awarded an honorary doctor of laws degree.
Mr. Aquino was honored for “providing leadership in rallying the people to stamp out corruption, campaigning for institutional reforms, and creating an environment for agencies, including the Armed Forces of the Philippines, to act with dispatch on malfeasance in government, promote the rule of law, and respect people’s constitutional rights,” among others.
The President was the 13th head of state to receive an honorary degree from UP.