‘But then it stopped there’

President Benigno Aquino III INQUIRER FILE PHOTO / GRIG C. MONTEGRANDE

When President Benigno Aquino  III addressed  the chambers of Congress for the  first time  on July  26, 2010,  he made a promise to go after  corrupt officials in government.

“Pananagutin natin ang mga mamamatay-tao. Pananagutin din natin ang mga corrupt sa gobyerno (We will hold murderers to account. We will also hold the corrupt in government to account),”  Aquino  then said.

The President also  vowed to continue the  search for truth  on  corruption allegations raised during the time of his predecessor, President  and now Pampanga Representative  Gloria Arroyo.

The government  delivered Aquino’s promise by  filing  charges and jailing the former leader, who has been detained at the Veterans  Memorial Medical Center  in Quezon City since 2011 over  the alleged misuse of P325 million in intelligence funds of the Philippine Charity Sweepstakes Office.

BACKSTORY: Arroyo under arrest again

In an overwhelming vote of 20-3,  the Senate, dominated by Aquino’s  allies,  voted  to impeach Chief Justice Renato  Corona  in May 2012, for his alleged failure to disclose to the public his true statement of assets, liabilities, and net worth.

BACKSTORY: Senate votes 20-3 to convict Corona

Efraim Genuino, former   chair of the Philippine Amusement and Gaming Corp, was also charged in court  in 2013 for alleged  misuse of the agency’s funds.

Both  Corona and  Genuino were appointed by  Arroyo.

The latest high-profile case filed under the Aquino administration  was against three incumbent senators — Juan Ponce Enrile,  Jose “Jinggoy” Estrada, and  Ramon  “Bong” Revilla Jr. —  charged  with graft and plunder, a non-bailable offense, in connection with the so-called pork barrel  scam.

Revilla  is a member of Arroyo’s political group,   Lakas,  while Enrile and Estrada are members of the  minority bloc in the Senate. The three have been detained at Camp Crame in Quezon City since June 2014.

BACKSTORY: Bong Revilla, Jinggoy Estrada, Enrile seen ending terms in jail

Vice  President  Jejomar Binay,  who is leading the opposition’s United Nationalist Alliance (UNA), and  his son, Makati Mayor Jun-Jun Binay, are also facing  graft and plunder charges  in connection with the allegedly anomalous  construction of the Makati City Hall 2 parking building and other alleged irregularities in Makati City. 

The Vice President was long-time mayor of Makati before he won the vice presidency  in 2010.

ANALYSIS: Corruption controversies take toll on Binay’s 2016 election ratings

Not impressed

But a political analyst was not  impressed by the administration’s anti-corruption campaign,  saying it only targeted  the opposition and its known  enemies.

“Tama siya (Aquino) doon, pinagmamalaki niya na natanggal yung Chief Justice, pinakulong yung dating presidente (He’s right, he boasts about removing the Chief Justice, detaining the former president), but then it stopped there,”  Professor  Ramon  Casiple said.

He particularly noted the  government’s failure to  file charges  against its allies, who were  also allegedly involved  in the pork barrel scam.

“Kaya nga ang dating tuloy, revenge ang usapin. Si Gloria at mga tao nya, yun ang tinarget (That’s why the perception is, it’s about revenge. Gloria and her people are the targets),”  Casiple said.

He  said  Aquino’s campaign against  corruption  would have been  his legacy had he  succeeded in institutionalizing it.

“Bagsak  siya (He failed),”  Casiple said of  the President’s performance to eradicate   corruption in government.

“If he really got rid of this at least to a great extent, and  prevent it from coming back—meaning institutionalization, bibigyan ko siya ng high mark  kaagad kasi (I will give him a high mark right away because) that was what he promised. Mahirap  namang i -judge mo sa hindi niya prinomise (It’s hard to judge him on something he did not promise). Ang problem ko (My problem is), he failed.  Anti-corruption failed.”

“But to his credit, yung perception  ng corruption ay talagang tumaas  yung respect  sa atin (as far as perception of the campaign against corruption is concerned, respect for us has really risen),” he said.

Because  of the President’s promise to get rid the  government of corruption, Casiple said, more investors have started doing business in the country.

The political analyst  also credited  the President for  his efforts to modernize the country’s armed forces  and strengthen it amid tensions in the  disputed  South China Sea (West Philippine Sea).

“May issue lang kasi sa (There is just an issue regarding the) South China Sea but you have  to  give him the credit for that. Talagang pinakalakas niya (He really strengthened the military), of course  at the expense na ginalit nya yung China (he angered China). Talagang  galit na galit ang China (China is really, really angry),” he said.

BACKSTORY: 36 AFP modernization projects completed under Aquino, says Gazmin

But still,  Aquino could  have been a “historic” president like US President Barack  Obama, had he succeeded not only in his  anti-corruption drive but also  in combatting   poverty and bringing peace  in Mindanao.

“Wala na. Sinayang nya (It’s too late, he wasted the chance), he could have been a historic  president like Obama,”  Casiple said.

“Failure siya on all counts. Hindi  nagkaroon ng completion yung peace sa Mindanao. Nandyan pa rin yung corruption, mas pervasive pa nga in terms of scope at yung poverty hindi man bumaba, tumaas pa (He is a failure on all counts. The peace process in Mindanao did not reach completion. And corruption is still there, even more pervasive in terms of scope. And poverty did not only not go down, it even went up),” he said.

Less than a year before  Aquino steps down in office  in 2016,  Casiple doubts  whether  the President can still finish what his administration has started.

More stories about Aquino’s final SONA at the INQUIRER.net SONA special site