EDITORIAL - Personal glimpses of two presidents

Two recent and very important events afforded Filipinos a rare glimpse into the personalities of two of their presidents, the incumbent Rodrigo Duterte, and his immediate predecessor, Benigno Aquino III. The two events were the State of the Nation Address of Duterte delivered before Congress and the meeting of the National Security Council where all living presidents are members.

At the SONA of Duterte, the president greeted with a handshake a known critic of his, then justice secretary and now senator Leila de Lima. Duterte was then on his way to join Senate President Aquilino Pimentel III and Speaker Pantaleon Alvarez when he caught a glimpse of de Lima. Actually, he already was a few steps past the senator when he stopped and came back to shake her hand. Then he walked away without saying a word.

What caught the public's interest, however, was when Duterte turned around slightly in the direction of de Lima and made a face. It was not an offensive gesture. It was done with no malice or spite. More like a naughty jest, surprising for a president to do, but honestly personal enough to be endearing. Even de Lima saw it in a positive light. Aquino, by the way, did not show up at the SONA though he was invited and was expected to be there as a matter of tradition.

An entirely different thing happened at the NSC meeting. There, all the media covering the event, as well as most everybody present, could not help notice how Aquino did not acknowledge the presence of former president Gloria Macapagal Arroyo, either with a handshake, a smile, or a hi. He was totally oblivious to her presence. Not even the seriousness of the matter that brought the NSC together for a meeting could break what it was that held the two former leaders apart.

There are, of course, a number of ways to see both incidents, the most obvious of which being to hew along which side of the political divides the onlooker chooses to review the incidents. There are those who would say Duterte was just playing to the gallery, that he did not sincerely wish to greet de Lima. And then there are those who would say Aquino was just being himself and was just being honest with his disdain for Arroyo.

Memes of both incidents have proliferated on the Internet, a reflection of how seriously or frivolously Filipinos take their politics, and the political leaders they associate them with. Regardless of whose side one is on, the one thing very clear about Filipinos is their quickness to notice anything that happens in the political environment and the genius and wittiness of how they are able to articulate their interpretations thereof.

That said, it is therefore very difficult to say Duterte is better than Aquino or vice versa. To the beholder his own idea. Those will not be the only times comparisons will be drawn between and among political leaders past and present. And all the more so now that the Filipino has discovered the perfect medium to express himself. As to which interpretation is more accurate, that will still depend on where anyone stands. Even the viral numbers will not suffice when truth is on the line.