After a mere six months, President Benigno Aquino III has ended another love affair.
The fast car that was dragging him down finally had to go.
The President on Tuesday said he had sold the 鈥渢hird-hand鈥� 2007 Porsche he bought with his own money last year, which had become a magnet of criticism and cited as one of the factors behind a drop in his popularity.
The 51-year-old bachelor and motoring enthusiast said he could no longer use the P4.5-million car without exposing himself and the presidential guards to 鈥渦nnecessary鈥� security risks.
鈥淚 will be exposed. It鈥檚 like an advertisement that said, 鈥楬ey, I am here,鈥欌�� Mr. Aquino said of his white, flashy ride in an interview with reporters at the 113th anniversary program of the Department of Foreign Affairs.
He also conceded that the bad press he got for the Porsche made him 鈥渕ost vulnerable鈥� and forced him to 鈥渞elegate it to the garage (where) it would deteriorate if it鈥檚 not used.鈥�
鈥淪o it was time to let somebody experience it also,鈥� he said,
The President said he sold the Porsche for the same price he paid for it last Christmas, but declined to field further questions on the matter, like who bought it.
鈥淚 hope that鈥檚 the last question on the car that is no longer in my possession,鈥� he stressed.
PSG heart attack
Communications Secretary Ricky Carandang said the President sold the car a few weeks ago. 鈥淭he PSG (Presidential Security Group) has a heart attack whenever he uses the car,鈥� he said.
The President first hinted at plans to sell the car as early as January, a month after buying it, saying he had become too busy to take it for a spin as often as he would want.
The Inquirer earlier learned that Mr. Aquino usually drove his Porsche whenever he went to his hometown in Tarlac province.
Shortly after the purchase, he took his new car to a private track at the Clark Freeport in Pampanga province that was frequented by race car enthusiasts.
Mr. Aquino maintained that he sold his old BMW and took out a personal loan to buy the Porsche. But the purchase still sparked criticism, including a YouTube spoof by the comedienne known as Juana Change, who supported his presidential campaign.
Misguided
Critics said it was a misguided decision for the President to give himself a luxury vehicle鈥攅ven if it was a used car bought with personal funds鈥攊n a poor country where food and fuel prices were rising sharply.
But Mr. Aquino also explained then that 鈥渋f [driving the car] now and then relaxes me, surely it would redound to the country鈥檚 benefit when I have to make decisions.鈥�
Still, a Social Weather Stations survey in March found that the majority or 48 percent of its respondents agreed that the President was not setting a good example with his purchase. Thirty-three percent disagreed, and 19 percent were undecided on the matter.
The results also coincided with the release of Mr. Aquino鈥檚 net satisfaction rating, which took a steep drop from +64 in November last year to +51 in early March. With reports from Reuters, Inquirer Research