President Benigno S. Aquino III: 15th President of the Philippines

PRESIDENT
Benigno Simeon
―Noynoy‖
Cojuangco
Aquino III

The 15th President of the Republic of
the Philippines, Benigno Simeon Aquino III,
has come to stand for Filipinos’
reinvigorated passion to build a nation of
justice, peace, and inclusive progress.

Aquino—the only son of democracy icons
Senator Benigno ―Ninoy‖ Aquino, Jr. and
President Corazon ―Cory‖ Cojuangco-
Aquino—has in different junctures
throughout his life responded to the
challenge of acting with and serving the
Filipino people.

President Aquino was born on Feb. 8, 1960.
He was fourth of the five children of Ninoy
Aquino, Jr., who was then the Vice
Governor of Tarlac Province, and Cory
Aquino, the former president of the
Philippines.

He has four sisters, Maria Elena ―Ballsy‖
Aquino-Cruz, Aurora Corazon ―Pinky‖
Aquino-Abellada, Victoria Elisa ―Viel‖
Aquino-Dee and Kristina Bernadette
―Kris‖ Aquino.

He attended Ateneo de Manila in
Quezon City for his elementary, high
school and college education. He
graduated in 1981 with a Bachelor’s
degree in Economics.

Aquino’s classmates remember him as a
―quiet‖ yet ―friendly‖ student. Gene
Manalastas, a batch mate in grade school,
said: ―He could not go to parties with us on
weekends because he was always visiting
his dad in prison.‖

His father, then a senator and opposition
leader to President Ferdinand Marcos, was
incarcerated after the declaration of
Martial Law in September 1972.

In confinement, the senator wrote his son a
letter, asking him to continue the family
legacy of working for the good the every
Filipino:
―The only advice I can give you: Live with
honor and follow your conscience.
There is no greater nation on earth than our
Motherland. No greater people than our
own. Serve them with all your heart, with all
your might and with all your strength.
Son, the ball is now in your hands.‖

In 1980, his father was allowed after a series
of heart attacks to receive medical
treatment in the United States. Aquino
joined the family in a period of self-exile.

In 1983 after the assassination of his father,
he returned from exile to the country to
help show the way for the EDSA People
Power Revolution—the nonviolent and
prayerful revolution by ordinary people that
toppled a dictatorship and restored
Philippine democracy.

Following his return to the Philippines,
Aquino served as assistant of the Executive
Director of the Philippine Business of Social
Progress, an institution that coordinates the
efforts of private companies to help
struggling Filipinos.

He was also Assistant Retail Sales Supervisor
of Mondragon Philippines, and was the
Assistant Promotions Manager of
Nike Philippines.

Aquino continued to work in the private
sector even during the presidency of his
mother. He was the Vice President of the
Intra-Strata Assurance Corporation all
through her term.

In August 28, 1987, Aquino was wounded
by five bullets when rebel soldiers
assaulted Malacañan Palace in an
unsuccessful coup attempt. One of the
bullets remains embedded in Aquino’s
neck—an enduring reminder of the
sacrifices one must make to defend
democracy.

―I will be there because of the people and I
will stay there because of the people and
hopefully, I will be true to my word to serve
the people.‖
-Benigno Simeon Cojuanco Aquino III

In 1998, Aquino entered public service to
make sure that the democracy his parents
fought for would bring changes in people’s
lives.

He served as the Representative of the
2nd District of Tarlac, (from 1998-2007)
and legislator in the House of
Representatives, he worked to pass a
number of bills and resolutions to
uphold public accountability and
address the people’s pressing
concerns. These include the following:

Granting annual productivity incentives to
all workers in the private sector.
Strengthening the regulatory power of
the Department of Trade and Industry to
effectively enforce consumer laws.

Increasing the penalties for non-
compliance of the prescribed increases
and adjustments in the wage rates of
workers.
Extending the period for the educational
qualification for the Philippine National
Police.

providing for the codification of criminal
laws.
Inquiry in aid of legislation into the policies
and processes of the Energy Regulatory
Commission in granting rate increases to
electric utilities.

creates a Congressional Oversight
Committee to check and study the use of
intelligence funds by government
agencies.

Aquino served as Deputy Speaker of the
House of Representatives. He, however,
relinquished the post after calling for the
resignation of former President Gloria
Macapagal-Arroyo when the Hello Garci
Scandal was exposed.

In May 2007, he joined the Philippine
Senate, wherein he worked to bring about
legislative initiatives anchored on the
protection of human rights and honest and
responsible governance.

He spent long hours examining the General
Appropriations Act of 2009, and proposed
key amendments to make sure that public
funds were prudently spent. Aquino
vigorously participated in Senate
investigations on the abuses of government
officials, and fought for justice for victims of
human rights violations.

Aquino, then chairperson of the Senate
Committee on Local Government,
introduced substantial amendments to the
Cooperative Code to make it more
responsive to the needs of the people for
which the code was enacted.

Among his proposed measures
were: Senate Bill 2035, which seeks to raise
standards in the construction of all public
infrastructures by penalizing contractors of
defective infrastructures; and Senate Bill
2160, which seeks the amendment of
Government Procurement Act.

Although Aquino was elected president
before these bills were passed into law, his
efforts to make sure that government acts
to bring about fairer outcomes for all
Filipinos continue today.

The most despondent days perhaps in
Aquino’s life took place in 2009 when his
mother passed away from cancer after
suffering for nearly a year.

Cory’s demise prompted mourning from all
over the country. And yet it also awakened
a remembrance of the values she stood for.
It stirred up the people’s yearning for a
leadership that is honest and
compassionate, and a nation that trusts
and works with its government.

Immediately after Cory’s wake, people
began to call on Aquino, urging him to run
for presidency in the 2010 elections to
continue his parents’ work. Signature drives
and an outpouring of support through
yellow ribbons and stickers went full blast,
convincing him to run.

Moreover, candidates for president such as
Senator Manuel ―Mar‖ Roxas II, Pampanga
Governor Eddie Panlilio, and Isabela
Governor Grace Padaca gave up their
presidential aspirations to support Aquino.

After a spiritual retreat at the Carmellite
Monastery in Zamboanga City, Aquino
responded to the call to make the people’s
passion for change the driving force behind
a new government.

On September 9, 2009, the 40th day after
former president Cory Aquino’s passing, he
officially announced his candidacy for
president at the Club Filipino in
Greenhills, San Juan—where his mother
took oath on the final day of the EDSA
People Power Revolution.

―I want to make democracy work not just
for the rich and well connected but for
everybody,‖
-Noynoy Aquino

Almost two weeks later, Roxas pledged to
run alongside Aquino as the Liberal Party
standard-bearer for vice-president. The
Aquino and Roxas filed their respective
certificates of candidacy
for President and Vice-president on
November 28, 2009.

During the 2010 presidential election, held
on May 10, 2010, in unofficial tallies,
conducted by the Commission on Elections
(COMELEC) and the Parish Pastoral Council
for Responsible Voting (PPCRV), Aquino
was the leading candidate in tallied votes
for President, and in the official
Congressional canvass, Aquino was the
leading candidate in canvassed votes for
President

On June 9, 2010, the Congress of
the Philippines proclaimed Aquino as the
President Elect of the Philippines.

―We are here to serve and not to Lord over
you. The mandate given to me was one of
change. I accept your marching orders to
transform our government from one that is
self-serving to one that works for the
welfare of the nation.‖
-PNoy on his Inaugural Address (June 30, 2010)

The Presidency of Benigno Simeon C.
Aquino III began at noon on June 30, 2010,
when he became the 15th President of the
Philippines, succeeding Gloria Macapagal-
Arroyo.

Fourth-youngest president after Emilio
Aguinaldo, Ramon Magsaysay and Ferdinand
Marcos.
First president to be a bachelor, being unmarried
and having no children.
Second president not to drink alcoholic
beverages; the first president not to drink alcohol
was Emilio Aguinaldo.

Eighth president to be a smoker.
First graduate of Ateneo de Manila University to
become president.
Third president who will only hold office
in Malacañan Palace, but not be a resident,
following Corazon Aquino and Fidel V. Ramos.
First president to make Bahay Pangarap his
official residence

Third president to use his second given
name, Simeon, as his middle initial, as Manuel L.
Quezon and José P. Laurel did (Like his
grandfather and father used his second name as
well).
Second president to be a child of a former
president (Former President Corazon Aquino).
First president to be a former student of a former
president (Former President Gloria Macapagal-
Arroyo, the daughter of former
President Diosdado Macapagal).

PRESIDENT BENIGNO S. AQUINO III

From government policies influenced by well-
connected private interests to a leadership that
executes all the laws of the land with impartiality
an d decisiveness.
From treating the rural economy as just a source
of problems to recognizing farms and rural
enterprises as vital to achieving food security and
more equitable economic growth, worthy of re-
investment for sustained productivity.

From government anti-poverty programs that
instill a dole-out mentality ® to well-considered
programs that build capacity and create
opportunity among the poor and the
marginalized in the country .
From a government that dampens private
initiative and enterprise to a government that
creates conditions conducive to the growth and
competitiveness of private businesses, in big,
medium and small.

From a government that treats its people as an
export commodity and a means to earn foreign
exchange, disregarding the social cost to Filipino
families to a government that creates jobs at
home, so that working abroad will be a choice
rather than a necessity; and when its citizens do
choose to become OFWs, their welfare and
protection will still be the government’s priority.

From Presidential appointees chosen mainly out
of political accommodation to discerning
selection based on integrity , competence and
performance in serving the public good.
From demoralized but dedicated civil servants,
military and police personnel destined for failure
and frustration due to inadequate operational
support to professional, motivated and energized
bureaucracies with adequate means to perform
their public service missions.

From a lack of concern for gender disparities
and shortfalls, to the promotion of equal gender
opportunity in all spheres of public policies and
programs.

From a disjointed, short-sighted Mindanao policy
that merely reacts to events and incidents to one
that seeks a broadly supported just peace and
will redress decades of neglect of the Moro and
other peoples of Mindanao.

From allowing environmental blight to spoil our
cities, where both the rich and the poor bear with
congestion and urban decay to planning alter
native, inclusive urban developments where
people of varying income levels are integrated in
productive, healthy and safe communities.
From a government obsessed with exploiting the
country for immediate gains to the detriment of its
environment to a government that will
encourage sustainable use of resources to benefit
the present and future generations.

Regulating the use of sirens, bells, whistles, horns
and other similar devices only to motor vehicles
designated for the use of the President, Vice
President, Senate President, House
Speaker, Chief Justice, Philippine National
Police, Armed Forces of the Philippines, National
Bureau of Investigation, Land Transportation
Office, Bureau of Fire Protection
and ambulances.

On June 29, 2010, Aquino announced the
formation of a truth commission that will
investigate various issues including corruption
allegations against outgoing President Gloria
Macapagal-Arroyo. Aquino named former Chief
Justice Hilario Davide, Jr. to head the truth
commission.

On July 30, 2010, Aquino signed Executive Order
No. 1, creating the Truth Commission. The
commission is tasked to investigate various
anomalies and issues including graft and
corruption allegations against the past
administration, government officials and their
accomplices in the private sector during the last
nine years.

On August 4, 2010, Aquino
implemented Executive Order No. 2, signed on
July 30, 2010, ordering the immediate removal of
all midnight appointments made by the previous
administration for violating the 60-day
constitutional ban on presidential appointments
before a national election.

July 30, 2010, an executive order
revoking Executive Order No. 883, signed by
former President Gloria Macapagal-Arroyo on
May 28, 2010, that automatically
promoted lawyers in government executive
service to the rank of Career Executive Service
Officer III (CESO III).

July 30, 2010, reorganizing and renaming
the Office of the Press Secretary as the
Presidential Communications Operations Office
(PCOO), and creating the Presidential
Communications Development and Strategic
Planning Office (PCDSPO).

On September 1, 2010, Aquino
August 25, 2010, an executive order
amending Executive Order No. 594, signed by
former President Gloria Macapagal-Arroyo on
December 20, 2006, stating the rules governing
the appointment or designation and conduct of
special envoys. Executive Order No. 5 prevents
special envoys from using the title "ambassador".

On September 2, 2010, Aquino signed Executive
Order No. 6, extending the duration of the
operations of the Presidential Middle East
Preparedness Committee (PMEPC) to December
30, 2010.

Order No. 7, ordering the suspension of all
allowances, bonuses and incentives of board
members of government-owned and-controlled
corporations (GOCCs) and government financial
institutions (GFIs) until December 31, 2010

Order No. 8, reorganizing and renaming
the Build-Operate and Transfer Center (BOT) to
the Public-Private Partnership Center (PPP) and
transferring its attachment from the Department
of Trade and Industry (DTI) to the National
Economic and Development Authority (NEDA).

On October 1, 2010, Aquino signed Executive
Order No. 9, amending Section 1 of Executive
Order No. 67, signed by former President Gloria
Macapagal-Arroyo on January 22, 2002, and
reorganizing the Presidential Commission on
the Visiting Forces Agreement created
under Executive Order No. 199, signed by former
President Joseph Estrada on January 17, 2000.

On October 2, 2010, Aquino signed Executive
Order No. 10, declaring October 2, 2010 as the
Nationwide Philhealth Registration Day (NPRD)
and directing the Department of Health (DOH)
to lead concerned government agencies to
facilitate the nationwide Philhealth registration.

On November 8, 2010, Aquino signed Executive
Order No. 11, transferring the National
Commission on Indigenous Peoples from
the Department of Environment and Natural
Resources (DENR) to the Office of the President.

Order No. 12, delegating to the Executive
Secretary the power to approve compromises or
releases of any interest, penalty or civil liability to
the Social Security System (SSS) pursuant to
Section 4(6) of Republic Act No. 8282, otherwise
known as the Social Security Act of 1997.

Order No. 13, abolishing the Presidential Anti-
Graft Commission (PAGC) and transferring its
investigative, adjudicatory and
recommendatory functions to the Office of the
Deputy Executive Secretary for Legal Affairs and
the Office of the President.

Order No. 14, transferring the control and
supervision of the Philippine Charity Sweepstakes
Office (PCSO) from the Department of Health
(DOH) to the Office of the President.

On December 9, 2010, Aquino signed Executive
Order No. 18, abolishing agencies under the
Office of the President such as the Presidential
Anti-Smuggling Group (PASG) and the Office of
the Presidential Adviser on Global Warming and
Climate Change.

Order No. 15, granting combat allowance to
uniformed members of the Armed Forces of the
Philippines (AFP) who are directly involved in
combat operations against members of National
Security Threat Groups.

Order No. 16, extending the term of
the SOCCSKSARGEN Area Development Office
(ADPO) from January 2010 to December 2016.
Order No. 17, forming the EDSA People Power
Commission, designated to organize the
nationwide celebrations commemorating the
25th anniversary of the 1986 People Power
Revolution.

Order No. 19, extending the suspension of the
grant of allowances and other incentives to
members of the Board of Directors/Trustees of
Government-Owned and Controlled
Corporations (GOCCs) and Government
Financial Institutions (GFIs).

On January 6, 2011, Aquino signed Executive
Order No. 20, extending the duration of
operation of the Presidential Middle East
Preparedness Committee (PMECC), led by
Special Envoy Roy Cimatu, to June 30, 2011.

On January 14, 2011, Aquino signed Executive
Orders No. 21 and 22, reducing the rate of import
duty on milling wheat, cement and cement
clinker to zero under Section 104 of the
Presidential Decree No. 1464, otherwise as the
Tariff and Customs Code of 1978.

On February 1, 2011, Aquino signed Executive
Order No. 23, declaring a moratorium on the
cutting and harvesting of timber in the natural
and residual forests and creating the Anti-Illegal
Logging Task Force.

Order No. 24, which prescribed rules to govern
the compensation of members of the Board of
Directors/Trustees in Government-Owned
Controlled Corporations (GOCCs) and
Government Financial Institutions (GFIs).

Order No. 26, declaring the implementation of a
National Greening Program (NGP). The NGP will
plant some 1.5 billion trees covering about 1.5
million hectares for a period of six years, from
2011 to 2016.

Order No. 27, implementing the reduction of real
property taxes and interest/penalties assessed on
the power generation facilities of independent
power producers under build-operate transfer
contracts with Government-Owned and
Controlled Corporations in Quezon.

On March 14, 2011, Aquino signed Executive
Order No. 28, reorganizing the Single Negotiating
Panel into the Philippine Air Negotiating Panel
and the Philippine Air Consultation Panel,
mandated by the Philippine government's
Domestic and International Civil Aviation
Liberalization Policy.

On March 14, 2011, Aquino signed Executive
Order No. 29, authorizing the Civil Aeronautics
Board and the Philippine Air Panels to "pursue
more aggressively" the International Civil Aviation
Liberalization Policy.

On March 14, 2011, Aquino also signed Executive
Order No. 30, transferring the Land Registration
Authority (LRA) from the Department of
Environment and Natural Resources (DENR) to
the Department of Justice (DOJ).

On August 14, 2010, Aquino directed
the Department of Transportation and
Communications (DOTC) and the National
Telecommunications Commission (NTC) to fully
implement Executive Order No. 255, issued on
July 25, 1987 by former President Corazon
Aquino, requiring all radio stations to broadcast a
minimum of four original Filipino musical
compositions every hour.

On August 16, 2010, Aquino launches his official
presidential website. The presidential website's
aim is to create communication between
Aquino and the people, getting feedback from
the people, telling Aquino their woes and
grievances.
(http://www.president.gov.ph)

On July 14, 2010, the National Disaster
Coordinating Council (NDCC) called an
emergency meeting in Camp Aguinaldo to
assess the damage caused by Typhoon
Basyang. Aquino attended the meeting to
obtain information on the damage caused by
Typhoon Basyang and to personally monitor the
repair and recovery work in the aftermath of the
typhoon.

During Aquino's first State of the Nation
Address (SONA), Aquino announced his intention
to reform the education system in the Philippines
by shifting to K–12 education, a 12-year basic
education cycle.

On September 30, 2010, Bishop Nereo Odchimar
of Tandag, head of the Catholic Bishops'
Conference of the Philippines (CBCP), said that
Aquino might face excommunication from
the Catholic Church for supporting
the Reproductive Health Bill, the plan to distribute
and give Filipino couples the choice to
use contraceptives for artificial birth control.
However, despite the possibility of
excommunication, Aquino said that he is not
changing his position on contraceptive use. In
January 2013, Aquino signed legislation which funds
contraceptives for poor individuals; the law has
been challenged in the Philippine Supreme Court.

On September 20, 2010, Aquino delivered
his departure statement at the Ninoy Aquino
International Airport (NAIA), before leaving for his
first official trip to the United States.

his speech during the Citibank Economic
Conference in New York City.

his extemporaneous remarks during a meeting
with the Filipino community at Baruch
College in New York City.

his remarks at the Millennium Challenge
Corporation (MCC) compact agreement signing
ceremony at the Waldorf-Astoria Hotel in New
York City. The US$434-million MCC compact
agreement will fund the Aquino administration's
various programs on poverty reduction, revenue
generation, and infrastructure development.

On September 24, 2010, Aquino had a seven-
minute one-on-one talk with President of the
United States Barack Obama during the
2nd Association of Southeast Asian
Nations (ASEAN)-US Leaders Meeting at
the Waldorf-Astoria Hotel in New York City. During
the meeting, Aquino recognized the United
States’ commitment to reinvigorating its
relationship with the region and its individual
nations at a time of ever-increasing complexity in
global affairs.

On October 26, 2010, Aquino delivered
first official trip to Vietnam.

On October 26, 2010, Aquino met with President
of Vietnam Nguyễn Minh Triết at the Presidential
Palace in Hanoi, Vietnam. Aquino and Triết
signed four memorandum of agreement on four
areas of cooperation, namely, higher education,
defense, oil spill preparedness and response, and
search and rescue at sea.

his extemporaneous remarks during a meeting
with the Filipino community in Vietnam.

his statement during the ASEAN Leaders’ Retreat
in Hanoi, Vietnam. On October 29, 2010, Aquino
delivered his statements during the 13th ASEAN-
Japan Summit, 13th ASEAN-Republic of Korea
Summit, 13th ASEAN-China Summit, 13th ASEAN
Plus Three Summit, and 3rd ASEAN-UN Summit in
Hanoi, Vietnam.

On November 11, 2010, Aquino delivered
first official trip to Japan for the Asia-Pacific
Economic Cooperation (APEC) Summit
in Yokohama, Japan.

his speech during the APEC CEO Summit
in Yokohama, Japan.

his statement during the APEC Economic Leaders
Meeting Retreat in Yokohama, Japan.

A protest gimmick in the form of
a neologism that Aquino's critics have used to
question his work ethic, alleging his inaction on
the issues of disaster response and rising oil prices.
A play on the term planking and Aquino's
nickname, Noynoying involves posing in a lazy
manner, such as sitting idly while resting their
heads on one hand, and doing nothing.

President Benigno S. Aquino III: 15th President of the Philippines

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