WHILE the late former president Benigno “Noynoy” Aquino III was unfairly treated and even vilified under the Duterte administration, he chose to remain silent instead of defending himself because his conscience was clear, Vice President Leni Robredo said yesterday.
Robredo said Aquino, who died last Thursday of renal disease secondary to diabetes, was the No. 1 victim of fake news and disinformation under the Duterte administration.
“Iyong years after the (Aquino) presidency naging unfair. Naging unfair sa kaniya na… Hindi na-highlight iyong marami talagang ginawa niya (The years after the Aquino presidency were unfair. It became unfair to him… His many achievements were not highlighted,” the Vice President said on her weekly program on RMN radio.
She said the “atmosphere” was different under President Duterte because many people believed the propaganda against the former president who still refused to set the record straight and enumerate his administration’s accomplishments.
Robredo, chairwoman of the former ruling Liberal Party led by Aquino, said the late former president did not bother to refute the lies being spread against him by supporters of the Duterte administration, believing that he did during his incumbency what was right for the country.
“Even if he was vilified, he didn’t defend himself. He always felt that God knows the truth and that ‘history will judge me correctly),’” she said in Filipino.
Robredo said Aquino did not want public attention and even stopped allies who wanted to come out and defend him because the chief executive did not want to steal someone else’s thunder as there was already a new administration.
Just last month, President Duterte slammed the previous administration for losing control of the Scarborough Shoal in the West Philippine Sea in a showdown with China, saying it was primarily the fault of then Foreign Affairs Secretary Albert Del Rosario who ordered the retreat of Filipino forces in the area.
The Vice President expressed “regret” that she did not exert more efforts to present Aquino’s accomplishments to the public and show the people that the allegations that he sat on the job was a blatant lie.
She said it is now the obligation of the opposition to show the people the truth every chance they get.
She enumerated some of the Aquino administration’s achievements, particularly in putting the country’s fiscal house in order, citing the $28.70 billion foreign direct investments under it from only $11.77 billion in 2010.
“The less corrupt, the less na perception na corrupt ang bansa, mas nakakabuti as far as investments are concerned (The less corrupt, the less the perception that a country’s government is corrupt, the better for the country as far as investment are concerned),” she said.
