MANILA, Philippines – Although the next presidential election is still two years away, Caloocan City 2nd District Rep. Edgar “Egay” Erice has already begun weighing in on the kind of leader Filipinos should choose.
In a Facebook post on Sunday, February 8, Erice said the country needs a president similar to the late former president Benigno “PNoy” Aquino III in the 2028 polls. The post coincided with what would have been Aquino’s 66th birthday.
“We need a PNoy-like president in 2028,” Erice wrote, sharing a throwback photo of himself with Aquino and adding, “I miss the PNoy Philippines.”
Erice, a longtime member of the Liberal Party (LP), which Aquino led during his presidency from 2010 to 2016, cited a series of “then versus now” comparisons to support his call for a leadership patterned after Aquino’s administration.
Among the indicators he highlighted were economic growth, foreign investment, public debt, and education infrastructure.
Erice noted that gross domestic product growth averaged around 7 percent during Aquino’s term, compared to 4.4 percent at present.
He also pointed out that foreign direct investment was at its highest during the Aquino years, while current levels are “almost nil.”
He further said the country previously had no classroom shortage, in contrast to an estimated 165,000-classroom deficit today.
Foreign debt, he added, stood at ₱5.9 trillion during Aquino’s presidency but has since risen to about ₱17.7 trillion, with the debt-to-GDP ratio increasing from 51 percent to around 65 percent.
Erice also claimed that the Philippine economy was once considered the most promising in Southeast Asia but has since regressed, while the national budget was balanced before and is now, in his words, “corruption-laden.”
He likewise contrasted what he described as minimized corruption in infrastructure projects during Aquino’s term with what he called the “greatest heist” in the country’s history today.
Aquino, the son of former president Corazon “Cory” Aquino and late senator Benigno “Ninoy” Aquino Jr., died on June 24, 2021, due to renal disease.
During his presidency, he posted an average net satisfaction rating of +45 percent based on surveys by the Social Weather Stations (SWS).
Erice currently serves asthe senior deputy minority leader of the House of Representatives in the 20th Congress.