‘P-Noying’

Admittedly a clever product of spontaneity and sarcasm, “Noynoying” gets its name from a curious hybrid of President Aquino’s nickname and the planking fad. But instead of people lying stiff as a board in public places, Noynoying involves striking the laziest pose one can muster; the lazier the look, the better.

That’s because Noynoying is an act of protest and criticism, a still-life presentation of what many perceive to be the President’s lackadaisical nature and aversion to work. That characterization of him may not be universal, but the idea that he tends to sit around instead of doing what he is expected to is not exactly uncommon. “He has not lifted a finger but he should be doing something,” said Anakbayan national chair Vencer Crisostomo. “That is Noynoying, when you do nothing when in fact you have something to do.”

Noynoying, like many other cool oddities, came from the Metro Manila streets, where activists first struck the pose while protesting the Aquino administration’s apparent lack of action against wickedly rising oil prices.

The protesters hope that Noynoying will become a trend just like planking, that more and more people will upload their images of indolence on social networks like Facebook, with each click becoming a defiant sound added to a growing thunder. They hope the unusual form of protest will go viral.

In the meantime, it has obviously hit a nerve in Malacañang. Within days of the debut of Noynoying, the President’s people issued photographs of him in the thick of meetings or carrying a sheaf of file folders, seemingly workaday pictures of the man, well, working. A Palace ally, Budget Secretary Florencio Abad, came to Mr. Aquino’s defense as well, saying: “[The protesters] are seriously in danger of drifting into irrelevance. That is why they have now degenerated into launching baseless ad hominem attacks against the person of the President.”

But beyond the rhetoric, it bears saying that Malacañang has a point to a certain degree. The President is unrelenting in his crusade against corruption in government, and his economic programs are bearing fruit, as reflected in the record-breaking brisk trading at the stock market. For successes like these, he deserves credit for not welshing on campaign promises and sticking to an avowed agenda despite a perceived lack of substance in his administration. As he himself said, “When we started out, given the enormity of the problems, we thought two years minimum before [one can] start sensing things are changing. But I think it’s [already] happening.”

But the President also needs to grow a thicker skin; he and his people should know that slings and arrows come with the territory. He should grin and bear the brickbats and—more important—seriously wonder why many Filipinos, activist youth, in particular—no less his “boss” than the others—are viewing him in such a negative light. Instead of arguing that he is being unfairly judged—“How can one show something to a person who does not want to see?” he has said—maybe he should try a different tack. But the photographs showing him at work are hardly the answer; they come across as a conservative and superficial response to the activists’ dynamic approach.

And it’s not like the Noynoying bunch is completely wrong. The President may be doing well in some areas, but he has done nothing to quell a growing apprehension among the public vis-à-vis the oil price increases. The skyrocketing costs of petroleum products are what the protests are about, to begin with. And another area where Mr. Aquino is clearly being asked to do more is the out-of-control tuition hikes. Between oil and school, young Filipinos are losing hope for the present day and the future.

Instead of being on the defensive, Malacañang should take a proactive stance. There’s nothing like a dialogue to clear the air. Perhaps the Noynoying bunch can tell the President what’s on its mind; if he says, “I will try to do what is right and what I think will produce results,” it will be because he is promising action instead of merely responding to the sting of street theater. It is when the President himself sees and listens, and goes on to do the right thing—like, say, removing or reducing the value-added tax on oil—that Noynoying can become a positive thing. The drama of P-Noy in action with poise and self-possession, not pretense—that’s something everyone would want to watch.