It would have been great to hear President Benigno Aguino III apologize for the mistakes his administration made during his term. Weary listeners who have been desensitized by previous presidents and recycled speeches were hoping that his sincerity would come through during his recent and final State of the Nation Address.
Instead, Aquino choose the usual path of other politicians and blamed others for the sorry state of Philippine affairs. His scapegoat was none other than the ailing former President Gloria Macapagal-Arroyo who remains in house arrest for plunder charges.
Aquino did say sorry at some point – not for his sins or those of the people around him, or the challenges he failed to hurdle because of the wrong decisions he made. Instead, he apologized for his nagging cough and his misinterpretation of reports. In effect, we had a confused President who seemed oblivious to what went wrong.
For sure, being president of a country plagued with problems isn’t a walk in the park, and Aquino should be credited for doing his share of improving in his own little way the gloomy local landscape that once covered the country. When he started his term, Aquino was greeted with a plethora of problems that included the Hong Kong tragedy and the tragic Mamasapano Massacre.
Several political personalities called on him to apologize for these incidents, including former President Fidel V. Ramos, Senator Serge Osmeña, and his greatest rival, Vice President Jejomar Binay. All of them urged the president to issue a public apology, especially for what happened during the Mamasapano clash.
Also included in the list of people who await the President’s apology are the victims of the Hong Kong tragedy, the families of the Fallen 44, and, above all, Filipinos in general who have yet to benefit from his brand of public service.
Militant groups likewise criticized the President for the sorry state of the MRT / LRT, but they were only disappointed since these issues were not discussed during the recent SONA. Relevant issues surrounding the poorly managed railway systems – a leaking roof, the highly criticized fare hike, faulty train couplers, and various incidents where commuters were forced to walk on dangerous train tracks due to technical difficulties – were omitted or conveniently left out. Instead of apologizing, the President choose to put the blame on the past administration.
There’s a slim chance Aquino might apologize sometime just like Arroyo did for the Hello Garci scandal. However, we doubt if that will do any good. At this point in time, we don’t think it will a make any difference at all, so we might as well grin and bear it.
