VISUAL SYMBOLS OF FAILED PRESIDENCY

By Philip M. Lustre jr.

Every presidency is known - or notorious - for the kind of public images it provides the Filipino people.

The Diosdado Macapagal presidency was notorious for public images of those long queues of people waiting for their turns to buy cheap NARIC rice. 

Rice ran short during his incumbency; it became scarce and expensive, forcing the Macapagal administration, through the National Rice Commission, now the National Food Authority, to import this political commodity from neighboring countries and sell it at cheaper prices.

The Marcos dictatorship was associated with public images of violent protest demonstrations and, of course, the throngs of people, who went out of their way to join the 1983 funeral of Ninoy Aquino and the 1986 EDSA Revolution.

Do not forget the Smokey Mountain, or that mountain of garbage associated with Marcos and the enduring mass poverty of his presidency. And too Imelda Marcos, who was then the symbol of profligacy and extravagance.

The Cory Aquino presidency was equally associated by the public images of those military coups and violent confrontations among factions of the military. This time, the symbol of poverty was largely the Payatas.

The Ramos presidency gave us the public image of emaciated Mang Pandoy, who personified poverty.

The brief Erap presidency gave us images of the EDSA 2, which led to his ouster from office after two and a half years, and, of course, the comical "EDSA 3" in front of the Palace, where drug-crazed Erap supporters stormed Malacañang in a failed effort to restore him to the presidency.

The GMA presidency gave us several public images and symbols: Sonny Trillanes and the Oakwood Mutiny; the Hyatt Ten; Comelec Commissioner Garcillano (I do not recemmber his first name) of the fabled Hello Garci tape controversy; the contrite face of GMA, who said "I am sorry" in the aftermath of the Hello Garci scandal; and lately Jun Lozada of the ZTE / NBN scandal. 

They are faces that have attempted to redefine integrity in public office.

How about the Noynoy Aquino presidency? 

One public image is a standout: crocodile, the biggest seawater crocodile that was captured and later died in captivity. 

Or the monstrous traffic jams along EDSA and MRT trains that broke down in the middle of the EDSA tracks.

Filipinos are great when it comes to public images.

We are not a reading people. We are basically storytelling people.

And we are basically visual thinkers.