Yearbook 2010
Philippines. The May presidential election became a grand
victory for Benigno "Noynoy" Aquino. He received 42 percent
of the vote against 26 for second, former president Joseph
Estrada. Aquino, who was previously a relatively anonymous
congressman, had a reputation for being honest and
corruption-free. He was best known as the son of two famous
advocates of democracy: former President Corazon Aquino, who
passed away in 2009, and her husband Benigno "Ninoy" Aquino
who was murdered in 1983. When the mother died, hundreds of
thousands of Filipinos mourned and "Noynoy" was persuaded to
stand for the Liberal Party in the presidential election.
In the congressional elections, Arroyo's valallians,
Lakas-Kampi-CMD, were the biggest. The Liberal Party became
the second largest. Some criticism of the election came from
international observers. There were reports of violence,
harassment, threats and the purchase of votes, and a new
computer system was flawed so that long queues arose in
several places. At least ten people were reported killed on
election day.
According to
COUNTRYAAH, the outgoing President Gloria Arroyo, who for
constitutional reasons could not be re-elected to the post,
was elected a member of the House of Representatives. So did
Imelda Marcos, 80-year-old widow of deceased dictator
Ferdinand Marcos. In the governor's election in Maguindanao,
Ismael Mangudadatu, whose wife, sisters and other relatives
were murdered in a celebrated massacre in November 2009,
prevailed.
Trials against nearly 200 people who had been indicted
for involvement in the massacre began in September. The main
accused was Andal Ampatuan, son of the then provincial
governor of the same name and himself a candidate for the
governor post. The father and several family members were
among the defendants. According to the indictment, the
younger Ampatuan himself led a riot of militiamen and police
who in a brutal assault killed at least 57 people on one
road. In addition to Mangudadatu's relatives, the victims
also had more than 30 journalists who would guard when his
candidacy for the elections was registered.
The Maguindanao massacre focused on the many private
armies in the Philippines, often with the good memory of the
authorities. The Ampatuan family was allied with President
Gloria Arroyo, but was excluded from her party after the
massacre. For the anniversary of the massacre, the human
rights organization Human Rights Watch presented a report of
extensive abuse committed by the Ampatuan clan for 20 years.
President Aquino encountered resistance when he plunged
into widespread corruption. The Supreme Court, whose members
were appointed by Arroyo, halted an investigation into
corruption crimes during her reign. The court also stopped
Aquino's attempt to dismiss an ombudsman, and to withdraw
appointments made by Arroyo just before the election.
Sharp criticism was directed at the Manila police for
handling a hostage frame on a bus in August. A dismissed
policeman who demanded the job again held Hong Kong tourists
hostage. After twelve hours, the police stormed the bus,
resulting in eight tourists and the hijacker killed. In Hong
Kong, the authorities demanded an investigation and warned
their residents to travel to the Philippines.
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