President complains about media attention on private life

DAVAO CITY, Philippines – Grinning from ear to ear, President Benigno Aquino III blushed when asked Wednesday about what’s behind his “glowing aura.”

As if on cue, Mr. Aquino smiled when asked by a journalist: “May nagpapangiti ba sa inyo?” (Is somebody making you smile?)

But in an apparent move to evade the question– that wide smile still on his face –he said: “Magpapaalam na ako sa inyo…” (I’m saying goodbye now.)

Then every one in the room, including him, shared a fleeting burst of laughter but the President’s face turned serious in another moment.

“I have no answer to that. That is my business and if I can answer it this way– baka pwede naman akong matrato na ordinaryong tao (perhaps, in this case, I can be treated as an ordinary person),” Mr. Aquino told the media during the sidelines of the convention of Philippine Medical Association at the Grand Regal Hotel here.

Mr. Aquino was clearly connecting the question to the story about him and his mystery date in a concert in a hotel in Makati City last Monday.

“That matter is private. That is my business…I feel that many times my rights have been diminished. It is too much to explain,” now a more serious President told the media.

The love affair of the President has always been a the object of discussion among many Filipinos. After he broke up with Shalani Soldedad, he was romantically linked to his stylist Liz Uy.

While the President complains about how the Filipino public feasts on his love affair– or the lack thereof –it has been observed that he himself has the penchant to tease the public with bits of information on his love life.

In his opening message during the convention of the PMA, he also drew loud laughter when he floated the fact about his singleness.

“As you know I am still single, if I ever get a chance to go out on a date, it seems that I have invited the entire Filipino people to join me on that date. And I wonder who gave them the right and why am I apologizing to whoever had the misfortune of joining me in that circus,” he said.

At the sidelines, he again lamented over how his private life has often been encroached upon by the snooping public. But he also complained about people’s penchant to have their pictures taken with him even during his private night outs.

“Basta may dumaan, kailangan kunan ng litrato, pag sumusubo ka, di ka pa nag-uumpisa…ke lumamig na ang pagkain mo, picture time na (Passersby would take my picture, even while I’m eating or when I have not even started my meals yet… my food has gone cold but it’s picture-taking time),” he said.

“Kung lalabas man ako, may dumarating. Feeling nila karapatan nilang halughugin ang buhay ng tao. Wala naman ginawang kasalanan. Wala namang kontrobersya. Kailangan lang nilang guluhin ang buhay niya. Tama po ba kaya yon? (When I go out, people will come by.  They feel that it’s their right to pry into the life of a person. That person may not have sinned.  There’s no controversy.  They just need to complicate his life.  Is that right?) I have a feeling that they think it’s their right to,” he added.

But Gabriela Rep. Luzviminda Ilagan said it would be impossible for the Filipinos to look at Mr. Aquino as an ordinary citizen.

“How can that be done when he is no ordinary Filipino. He is the president of the country. He will always draw attention. Treating him as an ordinary citizen would be making a fool of ourselves,” Ilagan told the Philippine Daily Inquirer by phone.

“In the natural course of things, even his health is a public concern. His personal life would always be of interest to the media and the public. That is part of his persona as a president,” Ilagan added.

Ilagan also said people expectedly would treat the lovelife of Mr. Aquino like some delicious dish on the table for lack of anything else to eat.

“It is expected that people would be interested in everything that he does because he is the president. But there is not much to talk about him and his being the president of this country. Why? Because he has not done anything yet that warrants the attention of the people,” Ilagan said.

“Because of that, the attention of the people would be on his being single and his almost-lovers. If only his time were poured and devoted on what he should be doing as a statesman, then his lovelife would no longer matter,” Ilagan added.

“Of course, being written about is part of the hazard of the trade. It goes with the territory that anything the President does, especially in relation to affairs of the heart will merit public interest. Besides, his warning not to focus on his love life will naturally cause the opposite effect,” Ilagan said.