Noynoy draws more foreign media attention in campaign's homestretch

As the campaign period nears its homestretch, Sen. Benigno Simeon “Noynoy" Aquino III is getting more attention from foreign media, throwing questions mostly concerning his ability to fight corruption in the country. The questions also centered on Aquino’s views on poll fraud and the possibility of a failure-of-elections. US-based Cable News Network (CNN) is among foreign media outfits that recently have been tailing the Liberal Party’s standard bearer in his sorties in the provinces. On Friday, a Thai journalist covered Aquino’s sortie in Imus town in Cavite, and asked him how he would generate enough goodwill from Filipinos to realize his anti-corruption platform. Also, a crew from CNN asked him the same question during his sortie in vote-rich Pangasinan province Saturday.

“I don’t think that’s a fair judgment," Aquino replied to the CNN crew, saying his late mother was able to generate enough goodwill such that even policemen who used to mulct from motorists realized their practice was wrong. He also said he plans to reform the judicial system and improve the conviction rate from the present 18 percent through a system of incentives for government prosecutors. “Our strategy, the executive will go after all people perceived to have committed corrupt practices. We are going to change the parameters where prosecutors are judged not on their ability just to merely shift paper we have a low conviction rate of 18 percent, but rather in the winning of the cases that they will bring before the courts," he said. Aquino was also asked about his worries involving possible fraud in the country’s first nationwide automated elections on May 10. “There were allegations of fraud that remain unresolved to this day from the last presidential elections. Obviously it is but natural to be concerned because those issues haven’t been resolved; all the problems haven’t been addressed at this point in time. A lot our suggestions have gone by the wayside as far as the Comelec is concerned. Again, that adds to our apprehension," he said. Before getting added attention from foreign TV news outfits, Aquino was featured on the cover of the prestigious Time magazine’s April 26 edition. Aquino, son of the late former Sen. Benigno Aquino Jr. and former President Corazon Aquino, had been leading in preference surveys conducted by poll firms Social Weather Stations and Pulse Asia. He is running on the platform “Kung walang corrupt, walang mahirap (There will be no poor Filipinos if there is no corruption)." — LBG, GMANews.TV