CLAMOR FOR SENATOR BENIGNO 'NONOY' AQUINO III TO RUN FOR PRESIDENT SNOWBALLING!

Noynoy Aquino filing his Candidacy for the Senate with his late Mother, Cory Aquino, sister Kris and brother in law James Yap

MANILA, Philippines — The color yellow, long associated with the late President Corazon “Cory” Aquino, is now her son’s, too.

Sen. Benigno “Noynoy” Aquino III, the son and namesake of martyred opposition leader Benigno “Ninoy” Aquino Jr., Friday issued a call to those who want him to run for president to wear yellow.

The bachelor senator has admitted in several interviews that he has yet to find a compelling reason to seek the country’s No. 1 post.

To help him make that decision, the senator turned to the ever reliable “yellow,” the trademark of his mother, Cory, and symbol of the Edsa I People Power revolt.

Riding on the crest of public outcry over the 1983 assassination of Ninoy, Cory unified the fragmented opposition in the 1986 snap election. Against all odds, she ran for president to challenge the 20-year rule of strongman Ferdinand Marcos.

People’s mandate

“Wear something yellow on your person, your ID, house decor, car stickers to show that many of us here are still hopeful and committed to change our country,” Noynoy Aquino told reporters.

The senator, who barely warmed his Senate seat after being elected in 2007, made it clear that he was not being overly ambitious by considering the presidency.

“If this is only my ambition, it is pointless. If a lot of people will share the ambition of where we want to go, then that’s a certainty. But if I will be the obstacle that will prevent this certainty, I will not run,” he said.

“The only way it will become feasible is if it becomes a people’s campaign,” he said, adding that in such a scenario, “the mandate of the people is there, and it’s really the people’s clamor.”

Color of commitment

Asked why the need to show the color yellow, he explained that winning the electoral battle was not the ultimate goal of running for president.

“You’re not only concerned about Election Day, but more important, if you’re lucky, you will have a position backed by supporters to help you push for reforms,” he said. “So this early, I hope this commitment can be shown.”

Amid observations that he was passing the burden to the people instead of deciding for himself whether he was really prepared to become president, Aquino said the signature campaign launched to make him run was “good, but wearing that yellow is imperative to show commitment.”

“All of these manifestations, taken together, give you more confidence that it is not just a pipe dream,” he added.

“Wearing yellow will be a statement from the people that they are committed to doing something for the country. That’s the message.”

Mounting calls

Calls for the senator to run for a higher post have been mounting since his mother’s death.

The Aksyon Demokratiko party of the late presidential candidate Raul Roco led the others in formally endorsing Aquino as its standard-bearer with an announcement from Roco’s widow, Sonia, on Monday.

The senator said, however, that he would gladly participate in the consultation process of the Liberal Party, of which he is a member, and meet this weekend with its president, Sen. Manuel “Mar” Roxas II, who has been endorsed by some party leaders as the LP standard-bearer in 2010.

Other invitations for a meeting will have to wait until after Sept. 9, the 40th day of his mother’s death.

Clamor

The senator said he was aware some have raised the issues of competence and lack of experience, by way of discouraging him from running for the top post—the same issues used against his mother. “Some said I’m not yet ripe for the picking,” he added.

Aquino has cited his four siblings—Ballsy, Pinky, Viel and Kris—as the reasons for his reluctance to immediately make a decision, among others.

But he said that he could get his siblings’ endorsement only “if they see that there is really a clamor. Then we have an obligation that we have to fulfill and my sisters will not back down. What I am hoping for is that their decision will be something that will come from their hearts.”

“Many ask why I remain undecided,” Aquino said. “In the first place, I had no plans of running for higher office. It’s not an easy job. I ask you, how many can honestly raise their hands and volunteer to take on this great responsibility? You have to think it over before you accept the challenge. You don’t want to fail. Most important, you don’t want to fail those who believe in you.” [Philippine Daily Inquirer First Posted 05:57:00 08/29/2009]