BY MATÈ ESPINA
SOCIAL media was abuzz with the sudden passing of former President Benigno Aquino III, popularly known as PNoy, short for President Noynoy.
Early Thursday morning, group chats were busy verifying the breaking news as the initial reports were sketchy pending the official statement from the Capitol Medical Center where he died. Soon, the official cause was renal failure secondary to diabetes.
Flags flew at half-mast as Bacolod and Negros Occidental mourned his passing last Thursday. PNoy left a legacy in this part of the region for initiating the Negros Island Region (NIR). This initiative was a logical solution to have regional seats in the island for the islanders who were divided into two regions – the occidental side belong to Western Visayas and the oriental side to Central Visayas, which means, crossing the sea to transact business at the regional level.
Ironically, the NIR initiative was akin to the concept of federalism that propelled the current administration to the presidency. However, President Rodrigo Duterte abolished the One Island, One Region set-up immediately after he took office.
Some said it was getting back at Negrenses that gave the Liberal Party, led by Mar Roxas, a wider lead, which was expected as Mar has roots from this province.
Negros Occidental’s Gov. Bong Lacson said Negrenses acknowledge the accomplishments made by the Aquino administration, “particularly the advancement of our economy, the change in perception of other countries with regard to corruption and the fight of our sovereign rights over the West Philippine Sea.”
Former governor Lito Coscolluela also paid tribute to PNoy saying he hopes the Filipinos will now honor the good that the former president did that gave us pride as Filipinos and remember him “for the dignity and decency by which his presidency became known.”
Bacolod City’s Mayor Bing Leonardia, on the other hand, ordered all flags in public buildings at half-mast for 10 days in recognition of PNoy’s significant contributions to the country and the Filipino people.
“We lost a statesman, a gentleman and a visionary, but we are grateful for the legacy he left, an indelible mark of honesty, integrity and honor,” Mayor Bing said.
Bacolod Bishop Patricio Buzon, on the other hand, said, though PNoy was “often vilified by vicious trolls,” he left us with “the strongest economy since the ‘70s, stood up to China to defend our sovereignty, and brought corruption at an all-time low.”
Negrense Gina Martin who was PNoy’s Sugar Regulatory Administrator said it was an honor for her to be part of the Aquino administration, and Raymond Montinola, national president of the Confederation of Sugar Producers also thanked PNnoy for his efforts in making the sugar industry sustainable.
All around the country, we saw leaders honoring PNoy, including Duterte who publicly condoled with Aquino’s family and we saw members of his Cabinet trooping to pay their last respects to him before he was cremated Thursday night.
Vice President Leni Robredo’s personal note on the death of a good friend of her late husband, Jesse was very touching.
Of course, while condolences and tribute poured, there were many bashers too, mostly coming from trolls and fans of the current administration. And of course, we cannot also deny that Aquino made some bad decisions as well during his presidency.
The first time I met PNoy was during his presidential campaign trail. Negros Occidental is the fifth biggest voting population in the country and a favorite among candidates because while there are claims that the sugar bloc does not exist anymore, the reality on the ground shows it still does. Add to that the unified political party and the province can certainly deliver substantial votes.
At that time, I was handling the campaign of the late Gov. Freddie Marañon who knew my vote was intended for another presidential candidate. Gov. Freddie would often joke, time to change your leanings as PNoy was clearly going to win this election.
As part of my job, I helped his sorties here and got to meet him twice. But I did not change my vote.
However, my admiration for PNoy grew and more so after his term ended, and we were thrust with the Duterte leadership.
A good person, a statesman, a gentleman, known for his dignity and decency.
I bet none of these words will ever be attributed to the present leadership who is known for being uncouth, vulgar, brutal and who has been charged with the thousands of deaths since he took office./PN
