Philippine news: Philippines' new president Aquino sworn in

Benigno Aquino III was sworn in Wednesday as the Philippines' 15th president, leading a Southeast Asian nation his late parents helped liberate from dictatorship and which he promises to deliver from poverty and pervasive corruption.

Hundreds of thousands of people, many clad in his yellow campaign colour, applauded and yelled Aquino's nickname, Noynoy, as he took his oath before a Supreme Court justice at Manila's seaside Rizal Park.

Vice-President Jejomar Binay was sworn in before Aquino in the nationally televised ceremonies that resembled a music concert, with celebrity singers and an orchestra belting out nationalist and folk songs. Yellow confetti rained from two helicopters.

Diplomats from more than 80 countries and two former Philippine presidents — Fidel Ramos and Joseph Estrada — attended.

East Timor President Jose Ramos Jorta, a longtime supporter of the Aquino family, and U.S. Trade Representative Ron Kirk, sent as head of the American delegation by President Barack Obama, were among the foreign dignitaries.

Aquino, wearing a native formal shirt and speaking in Tagalog, promised to fight corruption, particularly in the notoriously graft-ridden bureaus of customs and internal revenue. He pledged to bring a new era of good governance, reforms and a bureaucracy that will be sensitive to the plight of the common folk.

"Today our dreams start to become a reality," Aquino said. "It's the end of a leadership that has long been insensitive to the suffering of the people."

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MANILA — Benigno S. Aquino III was sworn in as the 15th president of the Philippines  on Wednesday and promised sweeping reforms that he said would improve the quality of life for the country.

Mr. Aquino, 50, takes over a country that saw much political turbulence in the nine years under his predecessor, Gloria Macapagal Arroyo. He reiterated a pledge to investigate allegations of corruption and abuses under her government and promised to listen to ordinary Filipinos and ensure that their welfare was protected.

“You are the reason why, today, the suffering of the people will end,” Mr. Aquino told a crowd estimated by police officials at half a million.

“Here, on this day, ends the reign of a government that is indifferent to the complaints of the people,” he said in his 21-minute speech. “There can be no reconciliation without justice.”

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Aquino Pledges to Fight Tax Evasion, Improve Investment, Jobs

 “We will boost collection and fight corruption in the tax and customs bureaus” to fund education, health care and housing programs, Aquino said in his inaugural speech in Manila today. He pledged to implement stable economic policies and “level the playing field. We will make our country attractive to investors. This is the only way we can reduce unemployment.”

Philippine growth has lagged behind its Southeast Asian neighbors as tax evasion and smuggling resulted in budget deficits in 21 of the past 25 years. Investors including Germany’s Fraport AG and Spain’s Union Fenosa SA have left the country following contract disputes and regulatory reversals. Switzerland-based Xstrata Plc’s $5.2 billion copper and gold project is in limbo after a local government this month banned open-pit mining.

“We are hopeful they will provide an enabling business environment,” said ING Groep NV Country Manager Zondy Garcia. “Once investors believe there’s a level playing field, and processes are more transparent and efficient, where investors could generate sufficient return, we will be back on the radar screen of long-term investors.”

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"We will cut red tape dramatically and implement stable economic policies," Mr. Aquino said in the 21-minute speech, which was interrupted more than a dozen times by applause. "We will level the playing field for investors and make government an enabler, not a hindrance to business."

The scion of one of the Philippines most prominent political families, Mr. Aquino was elected in May with the strongest mandate in Philippine history.

"You are my boss, so I dare not not listen to you," he told the hundreds of thousands of Filipinos who gathered to witness the inauguration. "We are here to serve, not to reign."

Read more... Wall Street Journal

Addressing his new justice secretary, Leila de Lima, Aquino ordered her to deliver "true and complete justice to all."

The rise of Aquino, a low-key legislator and son of democracy icons, reflects the Filipinos' longing for moral and political renewal. Outgoing leader President Gloria Macapagal Arroyo's stormy nine-year rule saw four failed power grabs and opposition impeachment bids against her over allegations of vote-rigging, corruption and rights abuses.

The Cabinet he unveiled Tuesday has mostly allies and defectors from Arroyo's government. Aquino said he would immediately form an independent commission to investigate corruption allegations against Arroyo and other scandals under her term after taking power.

"They will as necessary prepare and prosecute the cases to make sure those who committed crimes against the people will be made to pay," Aquino said, adding the commission will be headed by a respected retired chief justice, Hilarion Davide.

Read more... Associated Press 

 "My parents sought nothing less, and died for nothing less, than democracy, peace and prosperity," Aquino told an adoring crowd that police estimated at about half a million people.

"I am blessed by this legacy. I shall carry the torch forward," he said at the ceremony at the Quirino Grandstand near Manila Bay in the old part of the capital.

Many in the crowd were dressed in yellow, the colour of the 1986 People Power revolution that drove dictator Ferdinand Marcos from office and swept Aquino's mother Corazon to power. Yellow confetti was sprinkled over the crowd from helicopters shortly before Aquino took his presidential oath.

Read more... Reuters