Saturday, June 12, 2010

Kopi talk With honor and alacrity

Eventually, former President Joseph Estrada has acknowledged the victory of Senator Benigno "Noynoy" Aquino III as he congratulated him on the latter's proclamation as president-elect.

But in the same breath, the former President pointed to "tell-tale signs of elctoral fraud and manipulations" which he said, raised questions and mysteries which remain unanswered about the last elections.

"We owe it to the millions of our people who were disenfranchised and who wanted to believe in the sanctity of the May 10 elections but in the end were deprived of their ultimate equalizer which is the right to vote," the former President declared.

No matter.

At the moment, what is important is that Noynoy Aquino has been proclaimed as the elected President and Makati Mayor Jojo Binay the duly elected Vice-President by the Senate and House sitting as the National Board of Canvassers, as required by the Constitution.

Aquino won over Estrada by a margin of 5,720,841 votes, in the canvassers' tally.

It must be noted that Estrada was the last of the presidential candidates who conceded to Aquino's election.

President Gloria Macapagal Arroyo who is leaving office after nine years on June 30 has put up a whole page ad in the national newspapers congratulating the President-elect and Vice-Preswident-elect with a call on "all Filipinos to rally behind the new administration," and an admonition that "we stand with our new leaders in building unity and prosperity for all."

But obviously the incoming President remains unimpressed.

He is more concerned with the problems that he is inheriting from the Arroyo administration, saying he wanted an inventory of all of them, including officials who may not want to abide by the new administration.

He said he would dismiss them from public service, reminding them that "the President's power to appoint carries with it the power to dismiss."

From what I see, there will be a lot of changes in the manner of bureaucratic practices and governance right from the assumption to office onward of the Aquino administration.
Thanks zhern for the article
The incoming President has intimated that he would not be tied up by tradition and common practices in the Executive Office and in the whole range of activities of the bureaucracy.

In fact, as a start, he wants to have his oath-taking at the Quezon City Memorial Circle, and not before the Chief Justice as has been the tradition, but before Supreme Court Associate Justice Conchita Carpio-Morales.

He considers Chief Justice Renato Corona a midnight appointee which he disapproves. Despite all these differences, the important thing is that Noynoy Aquino has indicated his anxiousness and eagerness to assume the burden of the Presidency with both honor and alacrity.

Already, he has been receiving congratularoty messages from leaders around the world led by United States President Barack Obama.

They are auspicious for the start of a new and long journey.