NOYNOYing vs. NAY, NAYing; P-NOYing and PINOYing

A few weeks ago, a Facebook friend asked me what my take was with respect to the term “Noynoying” as being portrayed then by the Philippine Press and given credence by an article in one major newspaper in the United States.

I chose to ignore it at first because it would mean spreading further the ‘word’ as defined by a small group of protesters and critics.

But after reading the reactions of the media, President Aquino, other Philippine Government officials and other relevant movers and shakers, and also hearing the views of my barber and what he has been getting from his customers, I thought that I might as well express my take on it too.

“Noynoy” is the nickname of Benigno Aquino III, the only son of the late “Icon of Democracy” and President Cory Aquino and martyr Benigno Aquino, Jr.

A few months after Cory Aquino died, and before the 2010 Presidential elections, there was a clamor for change of the culture of corruption and impunity engulfing the Philippines under the then President Gloria M. Arroyo (GMA). It mirrored the corrupt practices under the late dictator President Ferdinand Marcos.

It took the death of an Aquino (Ninoy, father) to awaken the submissive and dormant Filipinos, and another Aquino (Cory, mother) with the help of the people rising to topple Marcos successfully.

Through a signature campaign clamoring for Noynoy to run for President, a substantial number of Filipinos were practically saying, “We need another Aquino to help us eliminate this culture of corruption and impunity in the Philippines.”

I personally joined the clamor and later his Presidential campaign, thus- Noynoy’s acceptance of the challenges and the sacrifices required.

NOYNOYing

My take at that time was I chose him as my Presidential candidate because he represented the 4Hs: Honesty, Humility, Honor, and Hope.

Noynoying to me was being honest and untainted; being the humble son of two Philippine heroes who would bring honor to his country, father and mother; and the bearer of the hopes and dreams of a desperate country victimized by corruption in almost all sectors of society.

Noynoy became president of the Philippines winning by a landslide under the catchy and appropriate campaign slogan “Kung walang corrupt, walang mahirap.” (If there is no corruption, there is no poverty).

Upon assumption of the Presidency, he was correspondingly called P-Noy (short for President Noynoy).

As expected in a democracy, there are always critics. Those who opposed him during the elections continued to look and interpret his ways negatively, never giving credit to the positive achievements.

Some are inherently pessimistic and resigned to accepting and expecting what they have been exposed to re past activities of people in power.

NAY, NAYing

These people are what we call the naysayers - negativists who are always saying No to whatever P-Noy and his administration do. They are the NAY, NAYing people who are hopelessly waiting that “the NAYs have it”.

NAY, NAYing is blaming P-Noy for the oil and gas prices; for the rise of tuition fees in colleges; for a delayed delivery of goods and services during the floods, typhoons and other calamities; for playing video games; and for his dating practices. The tendency is to blame him for any problem that the country faces.

While some of the problems mentioned by the naysayers exist, P-Noy is not necessarily the one to blame. External factors could have caused them.

For all the responsibilities and burdens of being President, all work is not advisable. Effective and efficient management, delegation of authority and accountability, inspiring leadership, effective planning and control should allow P-Noy some R & R (Rest and Recreation). Playing video games (Nintendo, Play Station, X-Box) which train one for better eye-hand coordination and quick decision-making are good aside from delivering gaming pleasure and entertainment.

We, the people knew that he was a bachelor when we clamored for him to run for President. We should at least give him some leeway on his private or personal concerns including spending time with women or with friends.

P-NOYing

As President, is he delivering on the 4Hs – Honesty, Humility, Honor, and Hope?

For the first H, he appointed honest and incorruptible Cabinet and Bureau Chiefs. This resulted in the filing of corruption charges against officials in the Military, Customs, Internal Revenue, Immigration and other agencies. These also brought fiscal discipline and increase in government revenue collections.

For the second H, he forced high officials to humbly give up their “Wang Wang” mentality and started the campaign to reverse the culture of impunity. He is currently pursuing aggressively the prosecution of the perpetrators of the Maguindanao Massacre and the electoral sabotage against former President Gloria Macapagal Arroyo who conspired with political warlords.

For the third H, he brought honor to the Philippines by getting appointed to the exclusive Board of the Open Government Partnership led by President Obama in recognition for his leadership in promoting transparency and accountability. In a very short period, the Philippines under his Presidency, has obtained a ratings upgrade from Standard & Poor’s and other rating agencies several times when even the United States got a downgrade.

For the fourth H, he has given the Filipinos a ray of hope.  By going after the “big fish” such as GMA, Ombudsman Gutierrez, Chief Justice Corona, General Garcia, and other high officials, he is showing that he is serious about fighting corruption. The improvement in our economy, the budget surplus, the low inflation rate, the higher growth rate and other significant factors such as technological advances and scientific discoveries and development certainly do make us very hopeful.

In recognition for his success in P-NOYing, the latest survey showed an approval rating of 70% and a disapproval rating of only 9%. The NAYs just do not have it!

PINOYing

The Filipino people are all Pinoys. The Philippine Government is a government OF the Pinoys, FOR the Pinoys and BY the Pinoys.

PINOYing or being a Pinoy should not be all about rights, privileges, fun and excitement alone. It is also about responsibilities and obligations. Quoting John F. Kennedy, we should “ask not what the country can do for you; ask what you can do for your country.”

We clamored for NOYNOY to run. We elected him to govern. We should now practice PINOYing by helping him pursue NOYNOYing in the positive sense, and P-NOYing in the presidential sense.

In this period of our history, “the AYEs have it!”