Aquino’s hair

JEERS TO The Philippine Star for publishing a report on President Benigno Aquino III’s jokes in his speech during the graduation rites of the Technical Education and Skills Development Authority (TESDA) beneficiaries on June 23, and his praises for its director general.

While other news organizations veered away from the subject of the President’s  hair, the article “Noy: White hair better than no hair” in The Star’s June 24 issue mostly focused on Aquino’s  jokes about his “thinning hair” and how he “elicited laughter during his speech.”

In the article, Aquino is also quoted as praising TESDA chief Joel Villanueva saying: “Nakita naman po ninyo si Secretary Joel, dumarami na po ang puting buhok niya. Sabi ko sa kanya, okay lang ‘yang puting buhok, basta meron (As you can see Secretary Joel, he has a lot of white hair now. I told him, white hair is okay, as long as you have hair).”

It was even reported in the article how Aquino used the same joke on United States President Barack Obama.

“He told me: ‘Look at my hair, it’s white.’ I answered him: ‘Better white than none.’ He smiled. For a minute, he forgot his problems. He’s a friend.”

As for his love life, The Star wrote that Aquino is “still searching” and quipped that “as long as there is life, there is hope.”

The Star also wrote how Aquino praised Villanueva as he endorsed the director general for the “happy changes” he has done in TESDA.  Villanueva reportedly has “plans to run for senator” in the 2016 elections.

The report quoted Aquino as saying “He has proven this at TESDA, I am sure he will do the same when he is given bigger responsibility in the country.”

The article, however, failed to report on Aquino’s message to the TESDA graduates themselves.