Philippines comes to terms with the end of the Aquino legacy

The death last week of Benigno Aquino, the Philippines’ president from 2010 to 2016, marks the end of a disappointing chapter.

Sara Duterte-Carpio and Rodrigo Duterte
Sara Duterte-Carpio and Rodrigo Duterte: a new dynasty the Philippines doesn’t need
(Image credit: © Nir Alon/ZUMA Wire/Shutterstock)

The public reaction to the death last week of Benigno Aquino, the Philippines’ president from 2010 to 2016, has been one of “limited sympathy”, says Mark Thompson in the South China Morning Post. Signs of mourning and support were mostly confined to wealthier neighbourhoods, in contrast to how the deaths of his parents galvanised the whole country.

The huge anti-government protests that followed the assassination of Aquino’s father – also called Benigno – in 1983 eventually led to the overthrow of the dictator Ferdinand Marcos and to the election of Aquino’s mother, Corazon, as president from 1986 to 1992. The “national grieving” after her death in 2009 then fuelled his own presidential campaign. But while Aquino remained “personally popular”, his “liberal, reformist agenda” was undermined by a failure to tackle the Philippines’ structural problems. That makes it unlikely that any ally will now be able to take up his mantle and gain enough support to win next year’s presidential election.

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Cris Sholto Heaton

Cris Sholto Heaton is an investment analyst and writer who has been contributing to MoneyWeek since 2006 and was managing editor of the magazine between 2016 and 2018. He is especially interested in international investing, believing many investors still focus too much on their home markets and that it pays to take advantage of all the opportunities the world offers. He often writes about Asian equities, international income and global asset allocation.

Cris began his career in financial services consultancy at PwC and Lane Clark & Peacock, before an abrupt change of direction into oil, gas and energy at Petroleum Economist and Platts and subsequently into investment research and writing. In addition to his articles for MoneyWeek, he also works with a number of asset managers, consultancies and financial information providers.

He holds the Chartered Financial Analyst designation and the Investment Management Certificate, as well as degrees in finance and mathematics. He has also studied acting, film-making and photography, and strongly suspects that an awareness of what makes a compelling story is just as important for understanding markets as any amount of qualifications.