The rise of Aquino
This was my column on the date indicated above. This post is antedated. At noon today, Benigno Simeon Cojuangco Aquino, or P-Noy as he prefers to be addressed, will take his solemn oath to defend the Constitution and uphold the laws of the land as the 15th President of the Republic of the Philippines. He will be the second second-generation President to occupy the highest seat of the land after Gloria Macapagal Arroyo and the first unmarried person to become President. This particular juncture in the history of the country represents different things to different people. On one end of the continuum would be meanings captured by the words destiny, deliverance, and redemption. On the other end of the continuum would be words like disappointment, grudging acceptance, defiance. But I think it is safe to assume that everything converges on one prayer: Hope for better times ahead. Some people have expressed the wish that P-Noy’s assumption into the highest seat in the land would also signal