Philippine President The president of the Philippines ( fil, Pangulo ng Pilipinas, sometimes referred to as ''Presidente ng Pilipinas'') is the head of state, head of government and chief executive of the Philippines. The president leads the executive branch of t ...

Benigno Aquino III Benigno Simeon Cojuangco Aquino III (; February 8, 1960 – June 24, 2021), also known as Noynoy Aquino and colloquially as PNoy, was a Filipino politician who served as the 15th president of the Philippines from 2010 to 2016. The son of ...

has made political position on many national issues.

Energy policy

Nuclear energy

Aquino is not keen on utilizing nuclear energy as a remedy to a power shortage

Mindanao Mindanao ( ) ( Jawi: مينداناو) is the second-largest island in the Philippines, after Luzon, and seventh-most populous island in the world. Located in the southern region of the archipelago, the island is part of an island group of ...

experienced in the second quarter of 2012. Aquino said that while he is open to adopt nuclear energy he is more inclined to tap "other sources of energy that have less impact – or potential negative impact – that are available to us. While Aquino remained open to nuclear energy he has publicly expressed his opposition to plans to revive the moth-balled

Bataan Nuclear Power Plant The Bataan Nuclear Power Plant is a nuclear power plant on the Bataan Peninsula, west of Manila, Philippines. Completed but never fueled, it is located on a government reservation at Napot Point in Morong, Bataan. It was the Philippines' ...

Environmental policy

During an interview in

CNN CNN (Cable News Network) is a multinational cable news channel headquartered in Atlanta, Georgia, U.S. Founded in 1980 by American media proprietor Ted Turner and Reese Schonfeld as a 24-hour cable news channel, and presently owned by ...

in November 2013, Aquino said that countries "contributing immensely to the global warning" have a moral responsibility to contribute to end

climate change In common usage, climate change describes global warming—the ongoing increase in global average temperature—and its effects on Earth's climate system. Climate change in a broader sense also includes previous long-term changes to ...

Financial policy

Priority Development Assistance Fund

Following the

Priority Development Assistance Fund scam The Priority Development Assistance Fund scam, also called the PDAF scam or the pork barrel scam, is a political scandal involving the alleged misuse by several members of the Congress of the Philippines of their Priority Development Assistance ...

, Aquino initially insisted that the abolition of the

Priority Development Assistance Fund The Priority Development Assistance Fund (PDAF) was a discretionary fund in the Philippines available to members of Congress. Originally established as the Countrywide Development Fund (CDF) in 1990, it was designed to allow legislators to fund sm ...

or PDAF is unnecessary. Aquino later detracted from his earlier statement and vowed to abolish the fund and replace it with a new system.

Social policy

Abortion and reproductive health

Despite his support for the

Reproductive Health Bill The Responsible Parenthood and Reproductive Health Act of 2012, also known as the Reproductive Health Law or RH Law, and officially designated as Republic Act No. 10354, is a Philippine law that provided universal access to methods on contracept ...

, which was perceived by critics as a precedent to a law on legalizing

abortion Abortion is the termination of a pregnancy by removal or expulsion of an embryo or fetus. An abortion that occurs without intervention is known as a miscarriage or "spontaneous abortion"; these occur in approximately 30% to 40% of pre ...

, Aquino insists that he is against the

legalization of abortion Abortion-rights movements, also referred to as Pro-choice (term), pro-choice movements, advocate for the right to have Abortion law, legal access to induced abortion services including elective abortion. They seek to represent and support wome ...

. Aquino supported the passing of the

. He believes on the responsibility of the state to inform couples on their right to plan their family.

Foreign land ownership

Aquino is against revising the

constitution A constitution is the aggregate of fundamental principles or established precedents that constitute the legal basis of a polity, organisation or other type of entity and commonly determine how that entity is to be governed. When these princ ...

to allow full

land ownership In common law systems, land tenure, from the French verb "tenir" means "to hold", is the legal regime in which land owned by an individual is possessed by someone else who is said to "hold" the land, based on an agreement between both individual ...

by foreigners. Aquino remains firm in keeping the 60/40 foreign ownership law which guarantees Filipinos majority share on land ownership.

Gay marriage

Aquino has yet to make a firm stance on

gay marriage Same-sex marriage, also known as gay marriage, is the marriage of two people of the same sex or gender. marriage between same-sex couples is legally performed and recognized in 33 countries, with the most recent being Mexico, constituting ...

. During a forum at the Sofitel Philippine Plaza in December 2013, Aquino was inquired on his view on gay marriage and if he was in favor of its legalization. Aquino initially refused to answer the question but later clarified his views on the issue. He said that while he believes on

universal human rights Human rights are moral principles or normsJames Nickel, with assistance from Thomas Pogge, M.B.E. Smith, and Leif Wenar, 13 December 2013, Stanford Encyclopedia of PhilosophyHuman Rights Retrieved 14 August 2014 for certain standards of hum ...

he is undecided on the legalization of gay marriage. Aquino expressed some concerns that legalization of gay marriage may follow legalization of abortion. He said that the issue must first be viewed on a "child's perspective".He expressed concerns that children adopted by gay marriage couples may experience gender confusion.

Security policy

Gun ownership

Aquino, a gun enthusiast himself, is against the imposition of a total

gun ban Gun control, or firearms regulation, is the set of laws or policies that regulate the manufacture, sale, transfer, possession, modification, or use of firearms by civilians. Most countries have a restrictive firearm guiding policy, with onl ...

in the country. He believes in the

right to bear arms The right to keep and bear arms (often referred to as the right to bear arms) is a right for people to possess weapons (arms) for the preservation of life, liberty, and property. The purpose of gun rights is for self-defense, including securi ...

. On May 29, 2013, Aquino signed the Republic Act No. 10591, an "Act Providing for a Comprehensive Law on Firearms and Ammunition and Providing Penalties for Violations thereof", providing a new set of standards on obtaining a license to bear firearms.

Height restriction on security personnel

Aquino vetoed a bill that would have remove height restrictions on police, fire and jail personnel. Aquino found the bill unnecessary as a waiver can be given to applicants under certain conditions. Aquino insists that jail personnel in particular "must possess the necessary physical attributes to perform their functions effectively".

Foreign policy

China

Aquino has made statements critical to China indirectly and directly. At the 2013 ASEAN summit in Brunei, He accused China of being uncooperative after it rejected to participate in a case filed by the Philippines to the United Nations tribunal. Aqunio also said that he is open of an idea of a joint development in the South China Sea but remained cautious and insisted that a joint development would be under Philippine law. Aquino supports a diplomatic solution to the

South China Sea dispute Territorial disputes in the South China Sea involve conflicting island and maritime claims in the region by several sovereign states, namely Brunei, the People's Republic of China (PRC), Taiwan (Republic of China/ROC), Indonesia, Malaysia, Ph ...

. He reiterated that ASEAN members should draft the Code of Conduct of Parties in the West Philippine Sea before commencing ASEAN-China talks.

Japan

Aquino supported a proposal to allow Japanese troops access to Philippine military bases along with another proposal to give American troops greater access to Philippine military installation. Aquino views these proposals as an avenue to build a credible alliance with Japan and the

United States The United States of America (U.S.A. or USA), commonly known as the United States (U.S. or US) or America, is a country primarily located in North America. It consists of 50 states, a federal district, five major unincorporated territori ...

References

{{Noynoy Aquino Benigno Aquino III Political positions of Philippine politicians