Speech by Secretary Florencio B. Abad deliverd during the ONE.ANSA event.
In his inaugural speech on June 30, 2010, the Philippines’ new president, Benigno Aquino III, addressed the Filipino people and said, “Kayo ang boss ko (You are my boss).”
In those four words, President Aquino expressed his unqualified commitment to accountability to the Filipino people. No Filipino president has ever expressed this as directly and simply as he has.
President Aquino is a non-traditional politician who came to power in a non-traditional way. He never aspired to be president, but the death of his mother, the former president and revered democratic icon Corazon Aquino, caused the people to turn to him and say “You must continue the legacy of your mother.”