#ThankYouPNoy

When I asked President Aquino, who has only one (full) day more before he bows out of office, where he was going to ride after he hands over the torch to President Rodrigo Duterte before noon of June 30, he said, “the same Toyota Land Cruiser I’ve been using all these years.”

Isn’t it the government’s, I asked, thinking of the day his mother rode a family-owned white Toyota Crown, giving up her official Mercedes-Benz, on June 30, 1992 at the Quirino Grandstand?

“But the Toyota I am using is not the government’s. It is leased but not paid for by government,” he explained. Noticing my raised eyebrow, he added, “From the moment I became President, my personal comfort was the least of my priorities.”

Thus, there isn’t much of the trappings of power that he is going to miss when he steps down the day after tomorrow. He never used a “wang-wang,” so he won’t miss it. He won’t miss travelling abroad on government expense because he doesn’t particularly like travelling, and only did so when necessary.

What he will miss, he said during my last interview with him as President at Malacañang Palace, “is being in a position to be able to effect change in the lives of others.”

* * *

Of all P-Noy’s achievements, I value those that are measurable — although this is not to say that the “proving that it is possible for government to shun corruption” — doesn’t reverberate in me.

But numbers are cold and calculating, and can stand the tough test of authentication. According to the compendium, The Aquino Legacy, the Philippine economy under P-Noy achieved a 6.2 percent average annual growth in gross domestic product, the highest since the ‘70s. As of February 2016, the Philippine inflation rate was pegged at 0.9 percent, from 3.7 percent in 2010, when he took office. It received three credit rating upgrades from three credible ratings agencies: Fitch (BBB Positive); Moody’s (Baa2 Stable); and S&P (BBB Stable).

When I asked Josemaria Claro, a member of his communications team, why it is perceived that these upgrades have not trickled down to the masses, he said, “You must remember we are still a Third World Country.” It will take more years till everyone in the barangay gets to ride his own motorcycle. But we’re getting there.

During a dinner he hosted for some members of media in a Chinese restaurant in Makati, P-Noy said that unlike in 2010 when he only had a fraction of the budget to spend for government services when he took office, he is leaving behind P1.5 trillion in the nation’s coffers. That is one half of the national budget — untouched for the Duterte administration to use.

I asked him what role Vice President-elect Leni Robredo of the Liberal Party could play in government aside from being a so called “spare tire,” given that she has not been offered a Cabinet post as of this writing.

“She has a lot of advocacies and I’m sure she could continue all of those. As VP, she will have a wider constituency to become a better advocate,” he said. He didn’t comment further.

* * *

President Corazon Aquino and President-elect Fidel Ramos at the Quirino Grandstand in 1992.

P-Noy said his successor Rodrigo Duterte was “nice” when they spoke over the phone and he (P-Noy) offered his help. On the possible non-traditional changes in the inaugural ceremony of President Duterte, P-Noy says with understanding, “It’s his day.” You have to give it to the new President.

Executive Secretary Jojo Ochoa was more direct to the point. “All those who are co-terminus with President Aquino, you only have until June 30. Get out of there. Your time is up. We’re done and finished or not finished, pass your papers!”

He asked the media to give the incoming Duterte administration a chance, “the way you gave us a chance. Everybody deserves a chance.”

“It will be good for the country for the Duterte administration to succeed. Iisa lang naman yung bansa natin.”

As for P-Noy, he can’t forget how his mother the late former President Cory Aquino was radiant at the Quirino Grandstand after she passed over the baton of government to her anointed successor, Fidel Ramos. “I can’t forget the smile on my mother’s face,” the proud son recalled.

On June 30, the day after tomorrow, I am certain that the man who fulfilled his promise to the nation and to himself — “to utilize every second in further improving the lives of the Filipino people” — will also have a happy smile on his face when he exits the gates of Malacañang for the last time as President.

A week ago, P-Noy, without fanfare, decided to try out Texas Roadhouse, a restaurant in the Bonifacio Global City. As he was making his way to the door after his meal, one table burst into applause, followed by another table, then another, till the whole restaurant was cheering him on. Those moments, for him, make the sacrifices and the “long days and long nights” — worth it.

If I were his neighbors, I’d tie yellow ribbons on the ol’ oak trees on Times Street to welcome him the day after tomorrow.

#ThankYouPNoy.

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