‘Feels great to be Filipino’
Aquino home after rousing state visits to Australia, New Zealand
TJ Burgonio“Indeed it feels great to be a Filipino these days,” President Benigno Aquino III said Friday night, fresh from his “very successful” state visits to Australia and New Zealand.
On top of boosting bilateral ties with the two countries, including agreements on air services and geothermal energy, the President said he was bringing home “good memories” of his engagement with the thousands of Filipinos working in Australia and New Zealand.
Aquino happily recounted his encounter with two Filipinos who packed their bags to work in New Zealand, one during the oppressive martial law regime in the 1970s, and the other during the nine-year watch of the previous Arroyo administration.
“With a lot of pride I told them that the Philippines has a very different face. Anytime they want to come home, they’ll notice it. We’re reaping the changes of a new Philippines,” he said in his arrival speech at the Ninoy Aquino International Airport.
The President recalled telling them the reforms he had initiated, such as the ban on the use of wangwang (sirens) by government vehicles, and a fair justice system for the rich or poor.
Cites Corona as example
He cited as an example when he met the Filipino community in Campbelltown in the outskirts of Sydney, former Chief Justice Renato Corona’s fall from power as the leader of the judiciary in May, about two years after Corona became Chief Justice of the Philippines through a midnight appointment by former President Gloria Macapagal-Arroyo.
“You can make progress while following the rules. You need not look for patrons to uplift your life. In the new Philippines, we’ll realize our dreams. If they choose to stay there in New Zealand or Australia, or anywhere else in world, with heads up high, our countrymen can proudly say, ‘Yes, I’m a Filipino and my country is reaping changes,’” he said.
Corona may join Arroyo
Corona may soon join former President Arroyo in jail, a confident President Aquino predicted on Friday as he wrapped up his three-day state visit to Australia.
Speaking to the gathered Filipinos, Aquino claimed that on his watch, justice was being dispensed equally for “those in power [and] those with no connections.”
The President explained to them that only about 2 percent of Corona’s real wealth had been declared. The rest remains hidden, he said.
“Now a case for tax evasion has been filed against him. If proven guilty, he might join the President that I replaced in prison,” Aquino said, drawing applause from the Filipinos.
The Bureau of Internal Revenue (BIR) has filed charges against Corona at the Department of Justice (DOJ) for allegedly evading P120.5 million in taxes.
Corona was impeached in December last year for culpable violation of the Constitution and betrayal of public trust for misdeclaring his wealth.
He was tried in the Senate, found guilty and fired from the judiciary on May 29.
Corona’s daughter Carla and her husband Constantino have also been charged for allegedly evading P30 million in taxes.
The Coronas submitted counteraffidavits to the DOJ last week, denying the charges the BIR had brought against them.
Impeachment series?
Meeting reporters on Thursday over coffee here, the President appeared to be back in good health after a day or two with a bum stomach and cold.
Asked about Corona’s claim that he was the favorite whipping boy of the administration these days, the President said: “A series of impeachment? Can he be impeached when he is no longer in office?”
Aquino said he would rather not comment because Corona had a different appreciation of the law, citing the misdeclaration of his wealth and accepting a presidential appointment during an election ban.
“Corona is just one of the justices. He is not the only magistrate on the court,” Aquino said.
He said he could not bar BIR Commissioner Kim Henares from suing Corona, or stop any proceedings, because this would be tantamount to stopping the “BIR commissioner from doing a lawful function.”
“If I stop her, that [will be an] impeachable [offense] on my part,” Aquino said.
Next chapter
Then he segued into one of his favorite topics, the filing of electoral sabotage and plunder charges against Arroyo, welcomed with roaring approval by the audience that represented just a fraction of the estimated 224,000 Australians of Filipino descent.
Aquino said he was optimistic these cases would come to a logical conclusion.
“Wait for the next chapter,” Aquino said in Filipino, drawing cheers and applause from the audience.
Arraignment
Arroyo will be arraigned on plunder charges in the Sandiganbayan on Monday regardless of her health condition.
The graft court has ordered her appearance, with escorts if necessary.
She is suffering from a rare spine ailment and is held in arrest at Veterans Memorial Medical Center (VMMC) in Quezon City.
“We were ordered by the Sandiganbayan, and we will comply,” Dr. Nona Legaspi, VMMC director, said Friday.
Simple goal
In Campbelltown, President Aquino contrasted the corruption in the government and the hopelessness of Filipinos that characterized the Arroyo presidency with the progress his administration had achieved in reducing corruption and dealing with classroom backlogs, rice insufficiency, inadequate infrastructure and sluggishness of the economy.
To achieve these, Aquino said, the Philippines did not need a miracle, only honesty in the government.
He vowed to continue the change he had started, with an emphasis on his “simple goal”: To step down on June 30, 2016, “with honor,” because the country is already on the road to an all-inclusive growth, progress and stability.
‘Wheelchair’ joke
The President refused to apologize for his “wheelchair joke” last Monday aimed at Arroyo.
Meeting the Filipino community in New Zealand on Monday, Aquino quoted a text joke that took a swipe at the rich and powerful who tried to leave the country in wheelchairs, an excuse to evade prosecution.
Fanned by Arroyo’s allies in the House of Representatives, the joke reportedly offended people with disabilities, who demanded an apology from Aquino.
But the President appeared unwilling to take back his statement, saying that people with disabilities should rile against former officials who feigned disability to avoid prosecution.
Explaining the “context of the joke,” Aquino said he was trying to point out the irony posed by those who drove fancy cars but chose to use wheelchairs when being chased by law enforcement authorities.
Arroyo tried to leave the Philippines in November last year, going to the airport in a wheelchair. Immigration officers stopped her from boarding a flight to Hong Kong. Days later, the Commission on Elections (Comelec) filed electoral sabotage charges against her in a Pasay court, and she was ordered arrested.
Final engagements
On Thursday, Aquino had a roundtable discussion with Australian CEOs, keynoted a business forum of the Asia Society Australia and the Australia-Philippines Business Council, and met with Filipino journalists later in the night.
On Friday morning, he unveiled the statue of Dr. Jose Rizal in Campbelltown City, met the Filipino community and watched a counterterrorism demonstration of the Australian 2nd Commando Regiment in Sydney.
Aquino and his entourage were scheduled to return to Manila last night. With a report from Julie M. Aurelio
Meanwhile, 60-year-old Chris Mateo was born and raised in Baguio City to middle-class working parents. 
