Kiss Me!

Before the August 5, 2009 funeral of his mother, there was no public clamor for Senator Noynoy Aquino to run for president in 2010. Neither was there any reason for his youngest sister, popular television personality Kris Aquino, to discuss his love life on national television after its details leaked out in different broadsheets and gossip rags.

He had been living a quiet life, or at least as quiet a life as someone named ‘Benigno Simeon Cojuangco Aquino III’ could live. A cursory check of headlines over the years reveals how the spotlight seemingly shone on Noynoy only incidentally; his name was mentioned mostly in stories about the political crusades of his mother, former President Corazon ‘Cory’ Aquino, against Joseph ‘Erap’ Estrada in 2000 and Gloria Macapagal Arroyo in 2005, or in items about the twists and turns of Kris’s love life and how these affected the Aquino family.

Then Cory Aquino passed away last August 1. A few days later, her funeral triggered an outpouring of sympathy from millions of Filipinos, who soon turned their gaze on her grieving 49-year-old son as the only candidate who could supposedly summon the so-called ‘Cory magic.’

Support for Noynoy’s run for president has since grown steadily, highlighted by the withdrawal from the race of early presidential aspirant and Liberal Party colleague Sen. Mar Roxas, as well as other potential candidates such as Pampanga Gov. Ed Panlilio and Isabela Gov. Grace Padaca. Yet the truth is that the public remains in the dark about the not-so-apparent heir to the Aquino political legacy. Between now and May 2010, the country will be trying to figure out who Noynoy Aquino is, apart from being the son of Cory and Ninoy, the brother of Kris, and the uncle of Josh and Baby James.

It can be argued that Noynoy, a fifth-generation politician and a scion of two political clans, already has politics in his DNA. But Noynoy did not show the political precociousness of his father, the so-called “Wonder Boy of Philippine politics." Noynoy won his first political race in 1998, a seat in the House of Representatives from the 2nd District of Tarlac, at age 38. This was in stark contrast to the political career of his father, Benigno ‘Ninoy’ Aquino Jr., who was the country’s youngest mayor at 22, the youngest governor at 29, and the youngest senator at 34. And unlike his father, who was a captivating speaker even outside the halls of Congress, Noynoy is seen as less eloquent, albeit with his own folksy speaking style.

Veteran PR man and close family friend Reli German himself says he has heard about Noynoy’s “quiet sipag (hard work)" but cannot recall any major law that the younger Aquino has passed as Tarlac congressman for nine years and senator for three years.

He swears this much about Noynoy: “He is sincere, ‘di siya peke (he’s not fake), ‘di siya (he’s not) plastic, straight shooter, simple living, hindi mahilig gumimik (doesn’t crave fun life)." Dining at restaurants and occasional visits to a gun-firing range are the “worst" indulgences of Noynoy, says German.

Noynoy did not dive head-first into politics, to be sure. After earning his degree in Economics from the Ateneo de Manila University in 1981, he joined his family in Boston in exile. In 1983, shortly after the murder of his father, Noynoy had a short tenure as a member of the Philippine Business for Social Progress. He followed that up with stints in Nike Philippines and Mondragon, working in sales. In 1986, he joined two family-owned corporations, Intra-Strata Assurance Corp. and Best Security Agency Corp., serving as vice-president for both companies.

In 1987, he almost lost his life during a military coup d’etat, after encountering rebel soldiers at the gates of Malacañang. To this day, a bullet remains lodged in his neck.

He went to work for the Central Azucarera de Tarlac in 1993, the sugar refinery owned by the Cojuangco clan. He started out as an executive assistant for administration, before becoming field services manager in 1996.

By 1998, Noynoy decided to run for representative in the 2nd district of Tarlac. It was perhaps inevitable; two relatives, cousin Gilbert C. Teodoro Jr. and uncle Jesli Lapus, also ran and won congressional positions in Tarlac’s two other districts.

By the time he got to the House of Representatives, Noynoy had hitched his political wagon to the Liberal Party, along with other young politicians such as Manuel ‘Mar’ Roxas II, Florencio ‘Butch’ Abad, and Michael ‘Mike’ Defensor. The party was part of the administration in 1998, but they withdrew support from Joseph Estrada when allegations exploded against the president. Cory Aquino also joined those calling for Estrada’s resignation, and in late 2000, Noynoy signed the impeachment complaint against Estrada.

In a 2002 interview with the Philippine Star, a year after Estrada was ousted from power, Noynoy revealed his friendship with the former president. “Erap up to the end was very good to me," he said. “Even up to today, after I had withdrawn support for him, I still consider Erap on a personal basis as a good friend. Unfortunately on the public side, on his politics, I felt that his policies were leading our country towards a civil war arising from hunger," Noynoy said.

By 2004, the Liberal Party membership in the House had grown substantially, and the group threatened to bolt Jose de Venecia’s administration coalition and install Noynoy as House Speaker. De Venecia was able to placate the LP, with Noynoy being designated Deputy Speaker for Luzon.