Aquino wants ‘broader picture’ of 2016 landscape

MANILA, Philippines–With President Aquino repeatedly saying he is open to a second term, one survey showing six out of 10 Filipinos are against this might not be enough for him to make a final decision, Malacañang said on Monday.

“Perhaps we can have a broader picture when we learn of third-quarter survey findings from SWS (Social Weather Stations) and Pulse Asia,” Communications Secretary Herminio Coloma told the Inquirer in a text message.

Coloma said the President “would like to continue getting feedback from various stakeholders, especially on what can be done to ensure the continuity and permanence of reforms.”

A Pulse Asia survey released last week showed that 62 percent of the respondents were against extending Aquino’s term. Sentiment against another Aquino term was highest in Metro Manila (67 percent) and the rest of Luzon (71 percent), according to the survey conducted from Sept. 8 to 15.

The 1987 Constitution specifies a single, six-year term for the President, without reelection.

In a television interview in August, Aquino raised the possibility that he would seek another term and later said he would consult his “bosses” (the public) if they would agree to extend his term beyond 2016.

Last month, Aquino said there was still time to amend the Constitution if he decided to make another run for the presidency. “Don’t we have a saying that if one wants something, nothing is impossible, but if he doesn’t, nothing is possible?” he asked.

Following the Pulse Asia survey, Senate President Franklin Drilon said he was “sure the President is reading the surveys” and “on this matter, he will listen.”

Coloma said he had not discussed Drilon’s position with the President or if Aquino was now abandoning the idea of seeking another term because of Pulse Asia’s findings.

Aquino has come under fire from critics, many of whom had claimed that he was destroying the legacy of his late mother, former President Corazon Aquino, who had resisted calls for her to run again in 1992.

In August, a Church-led multisectoral group, National Transformation Council, called on President Aquino to resign, blasting an “unbridled and unpunished corruption, and widespread misuse of political and economic power in all layers of society.”