Time to deliver

It was the American film genius Woody Allen who wisecracked that “Eighty percent of success is showing up.” This certainly seems to be the case with President Aquino’s decision to attend the presidential forum of the Foreign Correspondents Association of the Philippines, for a long time a yearly tradition. The decision alone was a welcome development and a long-awaited one. The refusal of Mr. Aquino’s predecessor, Gloria Macapagal-Arroyo, to attend the annual Focap forum from 2006 to 2010 highlighted the former president’s often contentious relationship with the foreign press.

“After a five-year break, President Aquino is breathing new life into this tradition that his late mother had so graciously supported,” Focap president Girlie Linao said, referring to Aquino’s mother, former President Corazon Aquino.

Attending the Focap forum not only shows that an incumbent president shares a cordial and professional relationship with the representatives of foreign media, it also gives him/her an opportunity to demonstrate just how sincere is his/her administration’s commitment to transparency.

This was affirmed by President Aquino’s answers to the range of questions thrown at him, among them questions about presidential priorities, the West Philippine Sea, and, most controversially, the possibility of a burial with military honors for the late dictator Ferdinand Marcos – Mr. Aquino shot down that last one rather definitively.

But the most contentious topic had to do with the President’s alleged predilection for playing video games instead of dealing with the crises of the moment. This was an accusation leveled at him particularly during the catastrophic Manila hostage crisis on Aug. 23, 2010. It was at this question that the President clearly bristled, but he answered it plainly anyway. “So, if you just do a little checking, you will see that there is no basis for such an allegation and I’m sorry, I’m also human. I feel kind of insulted when I’m asked to disprove a non-event. And I think any of us given the same situation would also feel that way, why do I have to prove something that did not happen,” he said, adding after being asked if he played video games at all that, “I can’t even go home to Tarlac anymore and that is my main source of relaxation.”

By all accounts it wasn’t a perfect answer but Mr. Aquino acquitted himself quite well. The reporters present noted that even his visible annoyance at certain questions was only more proof that he was answering them as honestly as he could.

In gamely answering even the most difficult questions asked of him, the President demonstrated a surprisingly candid and relaxed demeanor for the most part (he seemed to understand what was expected of him and he clearly wanted to do his part), thus revealing as well that he may indeed be getting over the somewhat shy and laid-back attitude he had displayed in the past.

But most of all, by the simple act of attending the forum and interacting with the gathered members of the press, Mr. Aquino healed what had for five years been a sore spot in the relationship between president and press. He stood up for transparency in government, which he has often spoken about, and indicated that he was willing to be criticized and called to account for any perceived weakness in his performance – especially in front of the rest of the world’s media.

This is where Allen’s quote falls away from what Mr. Aquino is trying to do. The positive and encouraging comments from the Focap members indicate that he is being watched by the world – with the benefit of the doubt for now.

It is now for the President to prove that he isn’t merely engaged in pressroom smoke-and-mirrors. It is now up to him to make sure that the transparency he speaks of and stands for matches the public’s optimism and will accompany his administration’s actions for the rest of his term. But more than all this, that he can and does deliver on his promises.