Senator Grace Poe (left) reverses roles with news photographers, taking the picture of newly elected Press Photographers of the Philippines officers shortly after their oath taking Monday at the Senate. Poe led the oath taking as chairman of the Committee for Public Information and Mass Media. (MNS Photo)
TOKYO (Mabuhay) – President Aquino lamented the mudslinging among today’s politicians and appealed to them to them to engage instead in intelligent debate.
Aquino made the comment when he was asked for his views on the word war between the camps of Vice-President Jejomar Binay and Senator Grace Poe.
The President said politicians tend to “overreact.”
“If I can appeal as a citizen… We, for instance, (in the) LP (Liberal Party) have a dream. We move our politics beyond personalities and to issues… parang each party takes a stand on a particular issue and win the votes on that matter. Parang when you elect this particular party, you expect this system of governance, you expect this type of decision-making and so on and so forth.”
“At this early, when it’s, in a sense, parang black propaganda that is at the forefront, the appeal is – especially for those who are younger than us – can we not help them change the system to something better and bring the debate to a more intelligent and studied level, rather than going to… ‘di ba? I won’t describe na lang the particular method. But I guess the better question is: ‘Why are you so overreacting? Why (do) all of you need to be overreact?’” he said.
Meantime, Aquino clarified that he is not interested in running for any position after his term ends in 2016, saying he never said so.
“Can I just clarify? I have no intentions of running for any position. Nasa newscaps ko kanina kasi ‘yon – that I hinted I might run (in 2016). The phrase, I think, that you should pay attention to is: ‘my nephews and nieces might decide to change their names.’ Okay? So I just want that clear,” he said. (MNS)