Pinoy's P-noy

It was only once that I saw then President Benigno Aquino III. He was to turn over several classrooms in the largest barangay in Cebu City, Guadalupe. The process was smooth --his PSG didn't bug us as much but checked all bags as part of protocol, the PIA didn't screen our questions but listed our names in case we wanted to ask questions and he arrived on time at the venue. No busy fanfare or whatever, no "wang-wang" or noisy sirens.

At that, I knew he was a simple man who gave his life for the country. From what I knew, he was busy doing diplomatic meetings to advance the country most especially in terms of economic matters. It was only in his time when I remembered that the price of gasoline dived down to half of what it is now. Life was easy; a couple of hundred pesos let me buy a lot of things that I needed and sometimes what I wanted. The inflation rate wasn’t as bad and the peso-dollar rate was hitting an all-time high.

But, of course, he wasn’t perfect, no leader is. He focused on his small steps to alleviate the life of every Filipino but he missed out on some parts. The police force wasn’t as aggressive as they are today, the teachers are underpaid and the tourism industry messed up slogans and marketing campaigns. Yet despite all that we were enjoying a life better than what we have today. We could freely speak of him and what we didn't like about him as a leader without fearing for our own lives. It was democracy at its best.

Today he is home now --in the presence of his parents who have sacrificed themselves for the country. He is back with his father who fought so hard to end tyranny, and died after he returned to the Philippines. He is back with his mother who continued that legacy, poured her whole life into a campaign to start a new democracy and who freed us from the chains of a dictator. Many don't see that now as their judgment are clouded with the ugly rather than the good. They don't see how this family loved the country on top of their own agenda. This goes beyond the issue of being a yellowtard, or whatever they call it these days.

President Noynoy, more known as PNoy, may not be the best but he was the president we wished to still have --calm, reserved, and full of wisdom. Mornings were spent for press conferences, people placed in position actually knew their job and his speeches were stellar; no curse words and senseless berating. As he will be laid to rest, let us pray for his eternal peace and that his family find stillness in the Lord. This is not a battle lost, but a reminder of what we used to enjoy.