The late President Benigno Aquino III criticized the Philippine media on several occasions during his time in Malacañang, when he felt that he was being criticized unfairly.
His episodes now look harmless in comparison to his successor, President Rodrigo Duterte, who ordered, among others, the shutdown of ABS-CBN and the cancelation of Rappler’s license to do business while banning its reporters from covering Malacañang events.
Aquino, the only son of democracy icons, Sen. Benigno “Ninoy” Aquino Jr. and former President Corazon Aquino, remained “a champion of press freedom” despite his occasional clashes with the media.
“Any relationship between the chief executive and the media will have to have problems but, even though they (media) were critical, they were never threatened during [the Aquino] administration,” said Melinda Quintos de Jesus, executive director of the Center for Media Freedom and Responsibility (CMFR).
In November 2012, on the third year of his administration, Aquino criticized the media during a top-level management conference of the Kapisanan ng mga Brodkaster ng Pilipinas (KBP).
“Tila ba nakasanayan na ng media ang magpaulan ng batikos sa mga lumalabas na balita. Allergic po yata ang iba sa good news (It seems that the media prefer news that criticize the government. They seem to be allergic to good news),” Aquino said.
He demanded space for his government’s accomplishments as he recognized the media's role in shaping public opinion and restoring public trust in government.
Four months earlier, in July 2012, Aquino criticized ABS-CBN’s “TV Patrol” during the evening newscast’s silver anniversary celebration, where he was the keynote speaker.
Aquino started his speech praising the top-rating news program for delivering timely news to the public, especially during disasters, but later targeted one of its news anchors for a commentary that upended a favorable report – on the spike of passenger arrivals at the newly renovated Ninoy Aquino International Airport (NAIA) Terminal 3. The news anchor cited problems in another terminal, NAIA Terminal 1.
‘Hirap kasi ng mga tanong ninyo’
Aquino called for reforms in the media even before he became president.
In November 2009, weeks after he filed his candidacy for president, he praised the Philippine Center for Investigative Journalism (PCIJ) for being “what media should be in this country.”
In a speech during PCIJ's 20th anniversary event at the Asian Institute of Management in Makati City, Aquino said PCIJ engaged not just in critical journalism but also in promoting alternatives.
Yet he did not grant this investigative news organization’s requests for a sit-down interview during his term. “Hirap kasi ng mga tanong ninyo (It’s because you ask difficult questions),” he told a PCIJ contributor.
PCIJ monitored Aquino’s failed promise to pass the Freedom of Information (FOI) Act. Under his “Social Contract with the Filipino People,” which he released during the 2010 presidential campaign, he said his administration would be defined by transparency, accountability, and participatory governance.
The Philippines became, under his administration, one of the eight founding countries of the Open Government Partnership, a multilateral initiative that aims to secure commitments from governments to promote open government. However, his government’s policies on access to information were inconsistent across branches, with offices in the executive branch being more open than others.
Despite its shortcomings, the Philippines’ score in the Open Budget Survey, a global research on budget transparency, rose from 44 in 2012 to 67 in 2017, eventually outrunning Indonesia in Southeast Asia.
Duterte would later issue Executive Order 2 or the FOI order, but would ironically become the first president since the EDSA People Power Revolt to refuse the release of his Statement of Assets, Liabilities, and Net Worth.
Apart from these issues, Aquino was criticized over the slow pace of the trial of Ampatuan massacre, where 52 Filipinos were killed, including 32 journalists and media workers, in the country’s worst case of election violence.
A champion of free press
The Philippine media, touted as the freest press in Asia, has a long history of adversarial relationship with people in power.
Aquino took on criticisms “with as much grace as one could expect,” said de Jesus, even as he sulked over news coverages, such as when there was “inordinate focus” on his love interests.
De Jesus said Aquino “was not appreciated as much” because there was a focus on soundbites. She said a historical narrative should have been added to the news reportage to appreciate the difficult issues Aquino dealt with as he pushed his reform agenda.
“It (criticisms) irked him but he was never uncivil or insulting,” said de Jesus. “He was a champion and advocate of a free press no matter what that cost him.”
Aquino’s relationship with the media was in “stark contrast” to Duterte’s attacks. De Jesus said it’s time for the media to appreciate Aquino.
Duterte criticized the PCIJ for its routine reporting on the president’s wealth, and threatened this organization that he would disclose how money supposedly influenced the reports. PCIJ reported in April 2019 a big spike in Duterte’s assets, as well as those of his daughter, Davao City Mayor Sara Duterte, and son, former vice mayor Paolo Duterte.
“[This stark contrast] is something that journalists have never pointed out. Maybe we should have brought it up earlier [in the term of President Duterte],” said de Jesus.
Duterte reverses Aquino’s policies
There are few policies where the two presidents saw eye to eye.
Duterte, like Aquino, pursued the peace process with the Moro Islamic Liberation Front and the creation of the Bangsamoro Autonomous Region in Muslim Mindanao, the modernization of the Armed Forces of the Philippines, and an infrastructure buildup.
There were many differences between their brands of governance and positions on key policies, and their relationships with the media was just one of them.
Aquino, who pursued an aggressive anti-corruption campaign, sent ex-president Gloria Arroyo and three senators to jail. Most of them were released under Duterte’s administration. Arroyo and former senator Juan Ponce Enrile advised Duterte on a few issues.
Aquino pressed on Congress to remove the late Chief Justice Renato Corona in a politically divisive move early in his administration. Duterte later removed Corona’s replacement, Aquino appointee Maria Lourdes Sereno, who was supposed to retire in 2030.
Aquino made sure that the annual budget of the national government was always approved on time, avoiding the re-enacted budgets of the Arroyo government, which delayed releases of funds and often resulted in wastage of resources and underfunding of priority programs.
Aquino’s reform program started in budget preparation, ensuring equitable and judicial distribution of limited funds. It was his advocacy even as a member of the House of Representatives and later, the Senate. He was always among the few who stayed through budget hearings and meticulously scrutinized expenditure items and funding sources, particularly for the military.
Duterte’s administration would again see the government operating on reenacted budgets in 2019 and briefly in 2020. The Duterte government was also prone to giving itself big intelligence funds, which lacked transparency.
Aquino’s biggest legacy is taking China to court after Beijing occupied Scarborough Shoal off the coast of Zambales province. The case before the Permanent Court of Arbitration in The Hague resulted in a landmark decision dismissing Beijing’s “nine-dash-line” claim over the South China Sea.
The Duterte administration set aside the arbitral award, however, describing it as “nothing more than a scrap of paper to be thrown in the trash bin.” Duterte forged a friendship with China instead.
Aquino's sorrow
Aquino chose to keep a low profile after his presidency, staying quiet as Duterte demonized his administration and reversed many of his policies.
The late president suffered in silence as he watched the country’s decline, said Florencio “Butch” Abad, Aquino’s former budget secretary, mentor, and friend.
On rare occasions, Aquino broke his silence to speak out against killings in Duterte’s campaign against illegal drugs, to support detained Sen. Leila de Lima, and assert the country’s legal victory against China’s claims in the West Philippine Sea.
His health began to fail in 2019. In one of the last dinners he had with his trusted Cabinet members, in November 2019, he refused to engage in political talk. He had a persistent cough, but boasted that he had cut down his smoking from two or more packs to just one pack a day. He had no appetite, which explained his weight loss.
Three weeks later, Aquino was hospitalized. His diabetes progressed, affecting his liver. He had since been in and out of the hospital, undergoing angioplasty and regular dialysis until his death on June 24 due to renal failure. He was preparing for a kidney transplant. Aquino was 61.
“Marami na siyang nararamdaman na rin, lumala lang sa lungkot sa nangyayari sa atin (He had several ailments, [his condition] deteriorated due to sadness over what’s happening to us),” Abad said. – Tita Valderama, Carmela Fonbuena, and Karol Ilagan
*TOP PHOTO. Then Sen. Benigno Aquino III keynotes the 2019 PCIJ Conference. Photo courtesy of Tita Valderama