Benigno Aquino III, the son of two democracy heroes, was sworn in as new Philippine president as Filipinos worldwide celebrated the dawn of a new era of clean government. After waving goodbye to former president Gloria Macapagal Arroyo during the inaugural ceremony, Aquino in his 22-minute inaugural speech quickly vowed to go after those who have committed crimes against the nation, clearly alluding to his predecessor. Aquino declared: “On this day will end a leadership insensitive to the cries of the people.” Aquino said he would start suppressing corruption by dealing with Arroyo's last-minute appointments. “To those who oppressed me, I can forgive you and I have already forgiven you,” Aquino said. “But for those who oppressed the nation, I don't have the right to forget your transgressions.” Continuing in English, he added: “To those who are talking about reconciliation, if they mean that they would like us to simply forget about the wrongs that they have committed in the past, we have this to say: there can be no reconciliation without justice.” Aquino said he would fight poverty, improve investment climate, and seek a just resolution to a long-running insurgency in the south of the poor, mainly Catholic nation.
