Why Noynoy?

I can't be the only one disturbed by the sudden increased perception of Noynoy Aquino as a potential presidential candidate.

There's an image on today's front page of volunteers soliciting signatures for a petition endorsing Noynoy for president. The workers are wearing a yellow shirt with the tagline "the legend lives on", and the stylized signature image of his father.

It's one thing to have a romantic notion of the son following in his famous father's footsteps, but Noynoy Aquino has nothing else going for him.

Let me be clear, I have nothing against Noynoy. But the fact is that he has done nothing to deserve his current position of prominence, or even his current seat in the Senate. He has no greater qualification than that his mother was once President of the Philippines, and nothing to offer the country aside from a perceived inflated sense of moral righteousness. No outstanding leadership, initiative, or vision.

It remains to be seen whether the media's fixation on Noynoy corresponds with an actual wave of grassroots support, but the idea of it is disappointing. The Philippines needs more than just another poetic twist in its unending soap opera.