Noynoy Aquino’s Most-Bitter Critic During the Electoral Campaign Now Defends Him from Wags and Pundits

Aquino, meanwhile, yesterday inadvertently made another disclosure before the media that the primary reason behind his cancellation of a supposed state visit in Vietnam this month was not because of conflicting schedules but the Manila bus tragedy last Aug. 23 instead.—Philippine Daily Inquirer report

T he Philippine Daily Inquirer reported that Philippine President Benigno S. “Noynoy” Cojuangco-Aquino issued the statement in a press conference he held last Thursday in New York when reporters tried to get details on what transpired during his recently concluded bilateral talk with Vietnamese President Nguyen Minh Triet. In short, President Aquino admitted that he told a white lie in Manila to the Filipino press and the public about his reason in not making an official or state visit to Vietnam prior to his trip to the United States.

Now some of President Noynoy Aquino’s critics and detractors are saying that he had been telling a series of “white lies” and other empty promises during the election campaign and the early days of his presidency.

Now, some members of the Philippine-American Society of Pundits Humorists and Wags (PASPHAW) are starting to call President Aquino the Filipino version of Pinocchio. The PASPHAW members now dub him the ““P-Noychio” after the sobriquet “P-Noy” that his public-relations handlers wanted the Filipino people to call the new President.

The use of “P-Noy” was an ill-advised move, as some of the new President’s critics started to make fun of it. For instance, Washington, DC-based writer Ado Paglinawan started to make fun of it by using instead “Pe-Noy and Balut” (Penoy is the Filipino colloquial term for a hard-boiled egg and Balut is the cooked duck egg with embryo). Mr. Paglinawan’s use of “Pe-Noy and Balut” may be descriptive of the Filipino comedians Pugo (AKA Mariano Contreras) and Togo – implying that the new President’s performance is so far a comedy of errors. Now it appears that Mr. Paglinawan is the foreign-based number-one critic of the new Philippine President.

Editor’s Note: Please just go to the http://www.mabuhayradio.com/history/ to read Mr. Paglinawan’s series of articles about the alleged “bogus” May 10, 2010, presidential, national and local elections. To read Mr. Paglinawan’s other articles in this website, please just type in “Ado” in the Search button at the top right of each and every page – beside the Login button.

T he moniker “P-Noy” of course is a derivative of “Pinoy,” which is the colloquial word for a Filipino. But then many people, especially Overseas Filipinos, do want to be called “Pinoys.” To read the reasons why “Pinoy” is even rated as an insult to some Filipinos in the United States, please read this article that this writer also penned: Why Many Filipinos Don’t Like to Be Called “Pinoy”

“P-Noychio” Is an Insult to the Philippine Presidency

A ccording to the Wikipedia, “Pinocchio (pronounced [piˈnɔkːjo] in Italian) is a fictional character that first appeared in 1883, in The Adventures of Pinocchio by Carlo Collodi, and has since appeared in many adaptations of that story and others. Carved from a piece of pine by a woodcarver named Geppetto in a small Italian village, he was created as a wooden puppet, but dreamt of becoming a real boy. The name Pinocchio is a Tuscan word meaning ‘pine nut’ (the standard Italian term is pinolo pronounced [piˈnɔːlo]).”

The Wikipedia continues to say that “Pinocchio is known for having a long nose that becomes longer when he is under stress (chapter 3), especially while telling a lie (chapter 17).”

The use, therefore, of “P-Noychio” – or even the use of “P-Noy” – is an insult to the Philippine presidency. As this writer said before, “the presidency is a serious business.” The constituents must not make fun of their President unless the Chief Executive makes tons of blunders and comedies of errors, as had happened in the last four previous presidencies.

Nearing the End of the 100-day Honeymoon Period

As I mentioned in this article, We Congratulate President-elect Aquino and Pledge to Observe the 100-Day Honeymoon Period with the Press But . . ., this writer pledged on May 11, 2010, to honor the traditional 100-day “honeymoon period” that the press observes with a newly-elected President. The honeymoon period ends on Oct. 8, 2010. But this is THE time to tell President Aquino’s critics and detractors to give due respect to the presidency – even if they attack the occupant of the Office of the President.

But I take an exception to the self-proclaimed “honeymoon period” to write this commentary in defense of President Noynoy Aquino or at least to the Office of the President. Borrowing the words of my political mentor, former Sen. Nene Pimentel, “there is no love lost” between a target of my criticism and me, as the critic, but I have always stressed the need to respect the Office of the President.

There are still 12 days left in the “honeymoon period” with President Noynoy Aquino. He – or at least his Press Secretary – has still to answer the first “love letter” that this writer has sent to him. Please read again the said correspondence: First Love Letter for President-elect Aquino: Please Order the Prosecution of Mike Arroyo on the Anomalous Purchase of Cargo-screening Devices

It is up to the new Aquino Dispensation to accept our Los Angeles-based coalition’s offer to work together or follow-in the footsteps of his predecessor, Gloria Macagapal-Arroyo, who decided to ignore – like what her precursors also did – to ignore completely the Filipino-American press and even the Overseas-Filipino communities. # # #