PNS — A PORSCHE, it turns out, can be a hot car in more ways than one.
Malacañang is finding this out the hard way as criticisms continue to be hurled against President Benigno C. Aquino III over his new toy – reportedly a Porsche 911.
Mr. Aquino recently bought the third-hand German-made sportscar – for P4.5 million – using his own funds.
“It is very clear that the President bought the car out of his personal funds and that the money (he used for the purchase) did not come from the budget of his office,” Deputy Presidential Spokesperson Abigail Valte said in a briefing with Palace media.
“It is clear that the money did not come from government funds,” she stressed.
Valte said she was surprised that the Porsche thing, which should be a non-issue, was reported not only by local media but was taken up too by foreign press and that the news spread quickly in the Internet.
On the site caradvice.com.au, reactions were mixed. “So what if the president buy a used Porsche? It’s how he runs the country that counts,” a posted comment said. “In a country where half of the population lives on a dollar a day, what a guy! How about sensitivity and appropriateness? Bad taste!,” countered another on the same site.
“His timing is off, he timed it during hike of MRT, toll fee, taxi fare,gas, consumer goods etc.,” one tweet from a Filipino read.
Though the Porsche issue is fast becoming a hot political topic, it has so far stayed below the social media radar. So far, it has not yet been listed in the top topic lists on such sites as Twitter and Yahoo.
But the President has already drawn flak from the Freedom from Debt Coalition which said the purchase of a Porsche appeared to be out of character for him.
Party-list Rep. Teddy Casiño has likewise joined the fray. “What the people told Pres. Aquino is that he should be pro-poor, not pro-Porsche),” Casino said in a text message sent to reporters.