Aquino: Filipinos should be discerning in their choices for next President

ROMANESQUE PAGEANTRY President Aquino and Italian Prime Minister Matteo Renzi at the courtyard of Palazzo Chigi on their way to a bilateral meeting. Mr. Aquino is on an official visit to Rome where among notable trade agreements inked was the direct Manila-Rome, Rome-Manila air services. MALACAÑANG PHOTO

ROME—President Benigno Aquino III came out swinging on Thursday night against his anointed one’s rival candidates in the 2016 presidential elections as he addressed more than 500 members of the Filipino community here.

But Mr. Aquino played a guessing game as he stopped short of naming names in his speech as he reminded the Filipino community to be discerning of their choices on who should be the next President.

“Tayo ba ay patuloy na tataas o babagsak?” the President said, noting that a study has shown that if the Philippines continues its path towards progress in a generation, it could reach a high income status.

The electorate must be discerning, he said.

President Aquino said one candidate is accused of corruption even as he promises that under his administration “gaganda ang buhay.”

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Yet another candidate promised to do better than his administration but if the candidate’s speeches are analyzed, there is no mention of how this would be done, Mr. Aquino said.

“Akala yata nya kapag sya ay nahalal, gigising na lang s’ya sa isang bagong umaga,” he said.

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Another candidate vowed to campaign via social media but apparently forgot that roads cannot be built through Facebook, and still, another presidential candidate seems to have threatened kill many people, President Aquino said.

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The President also said that he could not let the opportunity pass without mentioning a vice presidential candidate who promised to serve the Filipino well, but to this day has not acknowledged the sins of the past.

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President Aquino’s speech was more than half an hour.

He received an applause from his audience after he showed a video of a young Filipino Muslim girl who narrated how the government’s conditional cash transfer program has helped her get an education.

President Aquino met the Filipino community at 5:40 pm (12:40 am in Manila) and lasted for nearly an hour.

He is on a three-day working visit in Rome and the Vatican, where he will meet Pope Francis on Friday morning (Friday afternoon in Manila). TVJ