Controversies under PNoy: Loss of lives, misuse of public funds

Back in 2010, on his first day as the country’s top elected official, President Benigno Aquino III sang his favorite Filipino song, Freddie Aguilar’s “Estudyante Blues.” The 1980s hit goes, “Ako ang nakikita. Ako ang nasisisi. Ako ang laging may kasalanan.”

As it turned out, the song choice was inspired. Throughout Aquino’s almost five-year-old presidency, the lyrics rang true. The president’s satisfaction and approval ratings always took a hit every time his administration was embroiled in a controversy, usually involving the misuse of public funds or the loss of lives.

The biggest controversies during the Aquino administration which adversely affected the President’s popularity were:

1. Manila hostage crisis

The administration’s first major debacle came just two months into Aquino's presidency. In August 2010, eight Hong Kong tourists were killed by a disgruntled former police officer Rolando Mendoza, after a bungled rescue attempt supervised by Aquino himself. The incident also strained ties between the Philippines and Hong Kong.

2. PNoy’s Porsche

Aquino’s popularity ratings continued to slide in the following months, after reports came out that he had bought himself a third-hand Porsche. After drawing flak for supposedly violating his government’s austerity policy, the President eventually sold the German high-performance car.

3. Corona impeachment

Although his ratings gradually recovered in 2011, Aquino once again saw his ratings slowly decline during the first months of 2012, during then Chief Justice Renato Corona’s impeachment trial.  A complaint, backed by the president’s allies in the House of Representative, triggered the impeachment. After Corona was convicted, Aquino’s ratings once again recovered dramatically.

4. Yolanda aftermath

In November 2013, Typhoon Yolanda—the strongest cyclone to ever hit land—cut a swath of devastation across the central Philippines and left 6,300 people dead. The disaster also wreaked havoc on Aquino’s ratings, after his government was heavily criticized, even by international news organizations, for its slow response to the calamity.

5. Pork Barrel Scam

The Aquino government also had to weather major political storms. In July 2013, the pork barrel scam—perhaps the biggest scandal involving public funds in recent years—was exposed, leading to the detention of three senators and several other lawmakers on plunder and graft cases. Aquino was initially reluctant to abolish the graft-ridden priority development assistance fund, but eventually ended up doing so. Still, his ratings took a hit due to this scandal.

5. DAP controversy

A year later, another controversy involving government funds further diminished Aquino’s popularity: the disbursement acceleration program (DAP). The administration was accused of ilegally tapping government savings to fund senators' pet projects, allegedly in exchange for a Corona conviction. The president actively defended the DAP, which he characterized as an economic stimulus program. In the end, certain aspects of the DAP were declared unconstitutional by the Supreme Court.

6. Mamasapano encounter

With just over a year to go before he relinquishes the presidency, President Aquino faced his biggest controversy: the botched January 25 Mamasapano operation. Forty-four police commandos, 18 Moro Islamic Liberation Front (MILF) fighters, and at least five civilians died during an anti-terror mission in Maguindanao. Aquino was primarily blamed for letting his close pal, resigned police chief Alan Purisima, play an active role in the bungled mission despite his suspension over graft charges. — DVM, GMA News