Aquino aides not giving up yet on second term

President Benigno Aquino III
INQUIRER FILE PHOTO

MANILA, Philippines — With President Benigno Aquino III repeatedly indicating he was open to a second term, one survey might not be enough for him to make a final decision.

Malacañang said Monday it preferred to get a “broader picture” of how the public felt about another Aquino administration, despite a Pulse Asia survey showing 62 percent of Filipinos were against a second term for the President.

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

According to the Pulse Asia survey, sentiment against another Aquino term was highest in Metro Manila (67 percent) and the rest of Luzon (71 percent).

Aquino earlier said he would consult his “bosses” (the public) if they wanted him to seek another term, a possibility he first floated in a television interview last August.

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

Following the Pulse Asia survey, which was conducted from Sept. 8 to 15, 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.

Last month, Aquino said there was still time to change the 1987 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 said.

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