Noynoy expects civil reception from ‘Marcos country’

DAET, Camarines Norte — Senator Benigno Simeon “Noynoy" Aquino III said on Wednesday that he expects at least a civil reception from the Marcos bailiwick of Ilocos Norte when he visits the province on Thursday. “When my sisters went there, they were received warmly. Siguro naman, at the very least, I’ll be received civilly. And I’m talking only of Ilocos Norte," Aquino said. Aquino, whose late mother Corazon who toppled the late dictator Ferdinand Marcos in a bloodless people’s uprising in 1986, took a swipe at President Gloria Macapagal-Arroyo, who he said has become worse than Marcos. “Marcos perhaps pales in comparison because of the time element involved, that was three decades ago. Baka ‘di natin malalaman sa memorya. Iba ang conditions noon (We may no longer remember much of Marcos’ abuses. The conditions were different before)," Aquino told reporters. He said Marcos would at least have legal covers for his actions, calling his critics subversives, yet acknowledging the role of constructive criticism. “Dito parang walang legal cover, walang pakialam. Saan [ka] ba nakakita [na ang] DOJ, sasabihin [ay] lahat [ng kritiko ng Pangulo ay] destabilizing force. [Sa] panahon ni Marcos, [ang] tawag doon subversive. Recognized naman [na] may bahagi ang opposition sa anumang demokratikong sistema," he said. (Under this present administration, there is no legal cover. Where else do you see the Department of Justice branding all critics of government as a destabilizing force? At least under Marcos, they called his critics subversives, yet recognized the role of the opposition in a democratic system.) Aquino said President Arroyo has followed Marcos’ “template" but went a step further by liberally wrecking key institutions. He said that under Mrs. Arroyo, the executive department sought to muzzle coequal institutions – the Senate for instance – by issuing decrees such as Executive Order 464, which prevents officials from testifying in a Senate hearing without permission from the president. He also said several controversies involving the Arroyo administration remain unresolved, including the “Hello Garci" controversy where an allegedly wiretapped phone conversation revealed a plot to rig the results of the 2004 presidential elections. Aquino said that this is why he is pushing for the formation of a commission to investigate these issues. — with Nikka Corsino/LBG, GMANews.TV