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