Palace hints term extension for Noy dead

MANILA, Philippines - Term extension for President Aquino seems to be dead, as he goes back to saying he is in the last two minutes of his administration.

Presidential Communications Operations Office Secretary Herminio Coloma Jr. would not answer whether Aquino had given that signal when he spoke before the business community on Friday, but said the President had told the Foreign Correspondents Association of the Philippines (FOCAP) that he wanted to focus on helping people find the right successor.

According to Coloma, Aquino explained that if ever the Constitution would be amended, it should for judicial reforms and, on the part of Congress, for economic provisions.

At the Philippine Business Conference and Expo on Friday, Aquino said he presided over a small ceremony in Malacañang involving the heads of various government departments and agencies to concretize their commitment to redouble their efforts in the so-called “last two minutes of our term” towards maximizing service to the public.

During the FOCAP forum on Wednesday, Aquino said, “Even if I were to get a second term, it cannot rest on just one individual. The empowerment of the people and their ability to get a candidate that really responds to them is, I think, the legacy that one would have.”

“Even if I were to have a second term, that would still be a need, a personal need of mine (to) prove the maxim that ‘the measure of success is your ability to train your successor’ works in the country or is operative in the Philippines,” Aquino said.

Before the business community, Aquino expressed belief that the administration had shown in the past four years and three months its sincerity and, more importantly, the results of commitment to turn the tide in the Philippines.

The idea of extending Aquino’s term was first broached by Interior and Local Government Secretary Manuel Roxas II, Liberal Party stalwart and presumptive standard bearer. However, a survey showed that majority of Filipinos reject such an idea.