Noynoy Aquino to run for president

noynoykris
Noynoy campaigning in 2007

Flanked by members of his family, Sen. Benigno “Noynoy” Aquino III this morning declared his intention to run for president, seeking to capitalize on the memory of his prominent parents and to “continue” their fight.

In a press conference, Aquino said:

Tinatanggap ko ang hiling ng sambayanan. Tinatanggap ko rin po ang bilin at habilin, tagubilin ng aking mga magulang. Tinatanggap ko ang responsibilidad na ituloy ang laban para sa bayan. Tinatanggap ko ang hamong mamuno sa labang ito. Bayang Pilipinas, tatakbo ako sa pagkapangulo sa darating na halalan.

Aquino’s decision came on the 40th day since the death of former President Corazon Aquino.

As we all pause and examine what’s in store for all of us, read a thought-provoking column on Noynoy’s candidacy. The author is Dr. Carol Araullo, chairperson of Bayan.

Noynoy’s task now is to cobble together the broadest possible coalition of forces to enable him to win, even perhaps as the sole opposition candidate.  There are many things that could happen between now and the deadline for the filing of candidacies and, more importantly, he still has time to convince the public that we can repose our trust in him as the candidate we should campaign for.

The saddest and most tragic thing that could happen is for some to champion Noynoy to again deceive the people about the politics of personality, which for the longest time has failed to deliver the country from the doldrums. We cannot allow ourselves to be fooled either so we must raise the bar, we must ask all candidates running for president to explain to us how they intend to lead, what their concrete plans are, and what role they think the public should play in the democratic process.

Photo grabbed from noynoy.ph.