Noynoy chides ‘Professor Arroyo’ after announcement

Shortly after he announced his presidential bid in next year’s elections, Senator Benigno “Noynoy" Aquino III slammed his college professor for her alleged unwise use of the country’s resources. That professor happened to be President Gloria Macapagal Arroyo, who had taught Aquino economics at the Ateneo de University. “Unfortunately, this professor of mine seemed to have forgotten the lessons that she taught me. I kept my notes," Aquino said in a press conference Wednesday at Club Filipino in Greenhills, San Juan. Aquino, the only son of the late President Corazon Aquino and slain Senator Benigno “Ninoy" Aquino Jr., said he had a partial briefing Tuesday night on “how unwisely the utilization and the resources of the state have been for the past nine years." “As an economist by training, efficiency and maximum utilization of resources is a priority," he said. Aquino announced his presidential bid on the 40th day after his mother's death last August 1 due to complications caused by colon cancer.
Arroyo anomalies In a separate interview in the Senate, Aquino cited the anomalies that allegedly involved the present administration, such as the P723 million fertilizer fund scam, the $329-million botched national broadband network project with China’s ZTE Corp., and the P24 billion CyberEd project. “As the chief executive, she bears the responsibility of this administration and all its actuations. (Were these projects) a good utilization of the financial resources available to the State?" he asked. Aquino said he wanted to look into these controversies and hold the perpetrators liable. “My father taught me of the importance of preserving the rights of a person, everybody is presumed innocent until proven guilty so you have to investigate all of these happenings and then proceed from that," the senator said. He said he would also look into the failure of the government to recover the ill-gotten wealth of the Marcoses. “It’s been 23 years and there’s still no closure to all of these. I don’t think justice is swift in this country and as they say justice delayed is justice denied," he said, adding that the government’s lack of political will is delaying the implementation of justice in the country. “Political will is the necessary component to have and afford justice to each and everyone," the senator said. - GMANews.TV