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The Philippines
This Week in AsiaOpinion
Mark R Thompson
Mark R Thompson

Opinion | Benigno Aquino’s lost liberal ‘yellow’ legacy in the Philippines

  • The late former president’s liberal reformist agenda was upended by his failure to address structural problems, which successor Rodrigo Duterte seized upon
  • But his legacy of decency, commitment to democracy and national sovereignty may one day again prove relevant in a post-populist Philippines

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Former Philippine president Benigno Aquino III flashes the ‘L’ sign meaning “Fight!” as he leads a 2018 commemoration of the assassination of his father. Aquino died on June 24 at the age of 61. Photo: AP
Mark R Thompson
The public response to the death of former Philippine president Benigno “Noynoy” S. Aquino III on Thursday has so far been decidedly mixed. While some social media influencers continued bashing him, other supportive posts showed yellow ribbons hung in largely high-end neighbourhoods.
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This popular music-inspired symbol (“Tie a Yellow Ribbon Round the Ole Oak Tree”) refers to the welcome planned by supporters for his father, Benigno “Ninoy” Aquino Jnr, the leading opponent of the dictatorship of Ferdinand Marcos who was assassinated at the Manila International Airport after attempting to return from exile in 1983.

But even this limited sympathy is in stark contrast to the huge anti-government protests following his father’s killing and the national grieving after his mother, former president Corazon “Cory” C. Aquino, died in 2009, setting up Noynoy Aquino’s successful presidential campaign a year later.

This is in part due to Cory Aquino’s fairy tale-like story as the “simple housewife” and “weeping widow” who led the anti-Marcos struggle despite her apolitical instincts. It can also be partially attributed to Noynoy Aquino’s often awkward public persona – many Hongkongers were angered when he appeared to show a lack of empathy after the deaths of eight Hong Kong tourists in the 2010 Manila bus hostage crisis.

But it should also be remembered that Noynoy Aquino easily won the presidency in 2010 by promising to take a “straight path” and clean up corruption – a popular message coming on the heels of the scandal-plagued administration of previous president Gloria Macapagal Arroyo.

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Aquino was widely praised for his personal honesty, emphasis on governance (with the Philippines’ ranking in Transparency International’s Corruption Perception Index steadily improving), a buoyant economy (with some of the highest growth rates in the region) and the strengthening of democratic values (including improvements in the country’s human rights record).

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Former Philippine president Benigno Aquino dies at 61

Former Philippine president Benigno Aquino dies at 61
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