Philippines: The President’s Zero Love Life · Global Voices
Karlo Mongaya

The bachelor Philippines President Noynoy Aquino's comparison of his love life to a soft drink in a five-day state visit to China not only drew laughter but also criticism online.
“May nagtanong ho kasi sa akin, sabi niya, ‘kamusta love life mo?’ Eh ang sabi ko po sa kanya, parang Coca-Cola. Noong araw, ‘regular.’ Naging ‘light.’ Ngayon, ‘zero,'” said the president.
The president has been reported in the media to be dating several women since his break up with his girlfriend Soledad Shalani last year. His state visit was intended to draw Chinese investments to the Philippines.
The President’ comment immediately drew amusement and speculation on who the president would fall for next.
If he’s love life is ZERO now, the question is, who is next? And when will his countrymen witness a grand wedding at the Palace?
But some are not very amused with these comments. Not Offline blogs about why the bachelor president's lovelife has become a national issue.
I remember him being pissed off of the media breaching his privacy borders about his lovelife that the media shouldn’t bother with it. Then the next day, he goes on to talk about it himself.
Zero for Human Rights
Human rights advocates meanwhile compared the president's zero love life to a lackluster commitment to uphold human rights:
The Mokong Perspective longs for the day when there will be no more human rights violations in the country.
Sana someday when asked “Kamusta human rights violations sa inyo?” Pinoys would say “parang Coca-Cola. Nung araw regular, naging light, ngayon zero.”
International and local human rights groups have noted that the Aquino administration has done little to curb human rights violations and to dismantle private armies by regional warlords.
A Philippine-based human rights advocacy alliance has documented 48 extrajudicial killings, 5 enforced disappearances, 29 torture cases, 151 illegal arrests and 3,010 victims of forcible evacuation from rural villages.
Zero for State Universities and Colleges
Not to be outdone, students protesting drastic budget cuts for State Universities and Colleges (SUCs) have also joined the fray, this time comparing Aquino's zero love life with his decreasing spending for public schools.
The capital outlay is used for the construction of new facilities and acquisition of new equipment. Fifty schools will have budget cuts of as much as P569.8 million in the proposed 2012 national budget. The cuts have been blamed for the Philippine universities’ fall in ranking among top world universities.
September 16 has been set as Blog Action Day for Education. Filipino students are gearing for a September 21-23 nationwide campus strikes against budget cuts for education and social services.