PNoy: Next gov't needs depth of experience, ironclad integrity

MANILA, Philippines - President Benigno Aquino III maintained that the next administration should continue his reforms to sustain the country's gains under his watch.

In a speech during the 41st Philippine Business Conference on Tuesday night, Aquino also said that the next leaders can speed up the nation's progress if they have experience and integrity.

"We have to protect the successes that the Filipino people have made; more than that, we have to continue and build on them," Aquino said.

"Sustained good governance likewise means sustained good economics; when bolstered by a depth of experience and ironclad integrity, it accelerates inclusive growth," he added.

Aquino told business leaders that good governance should be carried on so that Filipinos can realize their full potential.

"I tell you today the best news of all: we've only just begun," Aquino said.

"While we have already achieved so much, I submit that we have not even scratched the surface of what the Philippines has to offer, which is why we have to nurture these beginnings," he added.

In a forum with foreign media agencies also on Tuesday, Aquino said the 2016 presidential elections will be a referendum of the administration's achievements.

Aquino said he is willing to help the next president even if it is not his anointed one, Liberal Party standard-bearer Manuel Roxas II.

"I'd like to think that if my help is requested by anybody, then I should always be willing to help anybody regardless of the status," Aquino said told the Foreign Correspondents Association of the Philippines.

Aquino endorsed Roxas in July, claiming that he is the only presidential aspirant with the track record and integrity for the presidency.

Apart from Roxas, the three other prominent presidential hopefuls are Vice President Jejomar Binay and Sens. Grace Poe and Miriam Defensor Santiago.

Binay is hounded by corruption allegations while Poe, the survey frontrunner, has been criticized for lacking experience as a public servant. Santiago, meanwhile, is lagging behind the surveys like Roxas despite her credentials.

In a forum last week with leaders of the semiconductors and electronics industry, Aquino said his successor should not just play a game of politics.

"I think that is a lesson to everybody that you don't have to, shall we say, just play a political game but actually doing right redounds to everybody's benefit. Hopefully, that message is clear to all of those all vying to replace me," Aquino said.