‘None of the good we do is ever lost; not even the light in an empty room is wasted’

Thus said the late former President Corazon Aquino in her last State of the Nation Address (SONA) on July 22, 1991.

Yesterday, it was the turn of Cory’s son, President Benigno “Noynoy” Aquino III to deliver his last SONA, which was interrupted around 150 times by applause.

For her ultimate SONA, Cory said she wanted “to be remembered as the President who restored democracy and the rule of law.”

Noynoy Aquino, I believe, wants to be remembered — yes, this early — as the President who made the greatest strides against wide-scale corruption in government, starting from the top, and the President who effected an economic turnaround. With a vigilant media, traditional, social and otherwise, I think it is improbable that the figures the President, or anyone for that matter, touts, will be padded or distorted.

Because of his achievements on the economic front, and most of all, because of the big cut he made in the jugular of the gargantuan monster that is corruption, Noynoy Aquino is one of the best presidents we’ve ever had.

Slaying the corruption monster is impossible, but by showing by example that it can be defanged — and succeeding to a large extent — P-Noy is showing that not all cooks in the kitchen need to have their noses smudged by charcoal. (“Ang nasa kusina hindi maiiwasan na madungisan ng uling.”) Neither is there grease in P-Noy’s hands.

According to yesterday’s banner headline in The STAR, President Aquino is proud of a stable economy with the highest GDP growth in 40 years and second best in Asia after China; a million jobs generated as of January further reducing unemployment, and reduced number of overseas Filipino workers from 10 million to eight million in five years under his stewardship.

These are among the achievements President Aquino highlighted when he delivered his sixth and final State of the Nation Address (SONA) yesterday before the joint session of Congress at the Batasang Pambansa complex in Quezon City.

The President also mentioned the lower incidence of self-rated hunger, citing surveys that showed it was the lowest in 10 years, as well as the end of shortages in classrooms and textbooks.

The Philippines, once dubbed the laggard of Asia, is now a frontrunner in economic growth. In four years, it has quadrupled the amount of foreign direct investments in its shores, seen a 9.9-percent growth in the manufacturing sector and an eight-percent growth in the services sector. As a result of this growth, car sales have increased by 40 percent, and property sales have also grown significantly.

According to an SWS survey, eight out of 10 Filipinos think the Philippines will soon be a developed country and according to a Gallup survey, Filipinos are the most optimistic about their jobs in Asia and second most optimistic in the world.

“Success begets success,” a smiling Trade and Industry Secretary Gregory Domingo said earlier this year at the Bulong Pulungan at the Sofitel Philippine Plaza. “The Philippines is breaking all its records.”

“In 2010, the Foreign Direct Investment (FDI) in the Philippines totaled $1 billion. In 2011, it was $2 billion. In 2012, $3.2 billion; 2013, $3.8 billion. And as of August last year, it already hit $4.008 billion. According to President Aquino, FDI eventually hit $6.2 billion in 2014,” he announced proudly. “And next year will even be better.”

 “Investors now know they’re going to get a fair shake when doing business in the Philippines,” Domingo pointed out. This, he stresses, has reduced the risk perception that every businessman factors into his investment.

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Of course, not all is rosy. I see the long lines at MRT and LRT stations every day. I think the mass public transport system in Metro Manila at present dampens the quality of life of residents, majority of whom spend precious time on the road. Traffic is monstrous, though I think drivers are as much to blame as traffic managers for the perennial gridlock.

In Metro Manila, we still see a lot of homeless people on the streets. At the Port Area’s side streets, you see colonies of homeless people and teenaged boys sniffing rugby. You understand why Dan Brown called this side of Manila “the gates of hell.”

But on the road to Daanbantayan in Cebu from Cebu City, the road is mostly paved with concrete. The homes that line the highways and main roads are also of concrete. You see convenience stores in the middle of nowhere. So you wonder, do we bring hell upon ourselves when we have the power to escape it?

We grieved that the President was not at the air base to salute the remains of the Mamasapano 44. But I think the latter was not due to disrespect on the part of the President for the fallen soldiers — he probably was not advised prudently (if his mother were alive, or if he had a wife, I’m sure he would have gone to the air base rites). Later on, he himself would say that Mamasapano would forever be part of his life.

So next year, we will be saying goodbye to a President who is imperfect, like we are. But unlike us, he was thrust into a job where there is little room for mistake. A job that makes little allowance for imperfections. And though we pay for our mistakes with a scolding from our boss, he pays for his with a scolding from 100 million bosses.

True, he sought the job. But I believe majority of us will agree that he sought it for the right reasons.

In an exclusive interview I had with P-Noy in May 2010, a month before he took his oath as President, I asked him what he thought his role in history was going to be.

“Nobody can really say how my role in history will be completed. I know how it started. How will it end? What is the extent of God’s mission for me? I don’t think anybody can foretell that. Even at this point I am really content that we have gotten to the stage where people, from being apathetic, are now the prime movers of democracy.”

In her last SONA, Cory Aquino said, “I hope that history will judge me as favorably as our people still regard me, because as God is my witness, I honestly did the best I could. No more can be asked of any man.” I think it is also P-Noy’s hope, that history will be on his side.

All the best, Mr. President. Count me among the grateful ones.

(You may e-mail me at [email protected].)