Noynoy on TIME article: ‘Good news on RP a challenge’

CALAMBA, Laguna — Sen. Benigno "Noynoy" Aquino III found his being on the cover of TIME Magazine touching, but considers it a challenge to generate more positive stories on the Philippines. He said he was challenged to improve the country’s lot so that more positive articles about it will be written by foreign media. "The next time they write an article on the Philippines, hopefully, it will be a marked difference from what they normally write about us," Aquino said here last Saturday. He also admitted he has big shoes to fill. Noynoy’s late parents — former Sen. Benigno "Ninoy" Aquino Jr. and former President Corazon "Cory" Aquino — have both been featured in the American publication. The magazine named Cory Aquino its Woman of the Year in 1986, months after she was swept to power following a massive street uprising that overthrew the Marcos regime. When she died last year, TIME’s Asian edition paid tribute to her by placing her on its cover and naming her "the woman who changed Asia." (See: TIME Magazine extols Cory Aquino anew) The Liberal Party standard bearer said it was hard to remember the last time foreign publications had written positively about the Philippines, whose government has been listed by multilateral and nongovernment groups as one of the most corrupt in the world. Aquino said the magazine cover article will inspire him to find solutions to the country’s problems, particularly those that need only political will to solve. He cited as an example the Justice on Wheels program of Chief Justice Reynato Puno, which he said brought justice to folks in the provinces. "You really have a lot of things to brag about. If they will be a bit fair, they will have to write about all these positive attributes. And I keep mentioning over and over again, we do have a lot of problems. But a lot of the solutions also seemingly are very simple, [needing] only political will," he said. ‘Ghandian simplicity’ In the TIME article titled "The Next Aquino: Can Noynoy Save the Philippines?" writer Ishaan Tharoor followed Aquino on his presidential campaign trail and described him as the "unlikely man of the moment." "Shirt loose, pants baggy and hair thinning, he looked more an abashed computer nerd than the sort of brash, swaggering politician that has become the stock-in-trade in the Philippines," Tharoor said of Aquino. The article quoted Aquino as saying he cares and wants to empower the people by delivering them "freedom from hunger," as well as from corruption. It also said Aquino seemed "well-suited" for the part of the candidate promising social renewal, "carrying himself with an air of almost Gandhian simplicity and uprightness." But the article also said Aquino himself is a product of the status quo since both his late parents "came from pedigreed stock — landed, aristocratic families that have long been part of the ruling establishment." The article added that Aquino’s vice-presidential running mate, Sen. Manuel Roxas II, is the grandson of Manuel Roxas, the country’s first President. Last Saturday, Aquino admitted he felt nervous and tired posing for the international magazine since the photographers wanted to take as many shots from different angles as possible. "The photo shoots were exhausting because the photographers kept experimenting. The photos appeared nice on the Internet, but it is still different seeing it in print," he added. — SMD/NPA, GMANews.TV