A Nation of Oligopolies, Dynasties and Autocratic Nostalgia

Richard Javad Heydarian

As Benigno “NoyNoy” Aquino entered his final year in office, the question of how to assess his legacy has gained greater salience. Both his opponents and supporters have powerful arguments to present.

Read on…

Comments

  1. For an anti-Marcos, you are missing some of the points. Marcos managed to subdue most of these Oligarchic families. He created his own, though. An autocratic regime can also serve to get rid of oligarchies, more effectively than our current democracy.

    Aquino has no legacy in the classical sense. Philippine society under him was blessed with gainful transparency due for the most part to the fact that he did not steal. Because he did not steal, there were no cover ups in the media (nakakabobo) and policy-wise (more legal road blocks for growth). Filipinos were able to improve slowly on their own hard work. There remains much to do. Strategically, our economy is reliant on foreign money (BPOs and OFWs) and constantly held back by local companies that are uncompetitive, relying too much on the opportunity to make a quick buck out of OFWs and call center workers.

  2. manuelbuencamino

    Heydarian saying that Aquino is a transitional president indicates that he believes the transition is towards something better…paving the way to a transformational president to a higher level of democracy. The question then becomes should we elect Mar Roxas who is on the same page as Aquino and will build on what he has started or do we elect someone new?

  3. manuelbuencamino

    One thing I disagree with is the statement lending credence to selective justice under Aquino.

    Now that may be the general perception but the reality is different. Enrile and Jinggoy were part of Aquino’s coalition in the Senate. In fact even Revilla, who was president of GMA’s party, voted to impeach Corona.

    Many of the congressmen charged were also part of Aquino’s coalition. Also all those in the president’s official family who were involved in corruption controversies are gone, some of them his closest friends.

    Ang malungkot diyan ay nagpaloko ang taumbayan kay Jinggoy at sa mga black propagandists nina GMA at iba pang mga nanganganib ang kinabukasan dahil sa daang matuwid.

  4. batang genyo,alah eh

    @mb: I agree with you that it is not true Aquino admin dispensed selective justice. even party mates like Ex-representative Biazon and Tesda head, Joel Villanueva and lately several Liberal Party mates were indicted by Ombudsman Carmencita Carpio-Morales for PDAP and various corruption charges. such generalization by foreign journalist like Richard Javad Heysdarian should be de-listed as credited journalists and barred as persona non-grata for demeaning and destroying our govt which is fighting an ingrained evil to the benefit of foreign vested interests by expressing biased opinions. This is one of the factors why our govt cannot move on because of the foreign press are tools of western powers who want to divide and create animosity in the corridors of power in our govt and in board rooms of powerful industries that impacts on the lives of ordinary citizens.