He has brought to justice not only small-time wrongdoers – or “flies,” as Chinese President Xi Jinping’s calls such people – but also “tigers” like Senator Juan Ponce Enrile, who helped overthrow Marcos and bring Corazon Aquino to power two decades ago. As a result, the Philippines has dramatically improved its ranking in Transparency International’s annual corruption index, rising from a 134th-place tie with Nigeria in 2010, to 94th place, alongside India, last year.
其他菲律宾领导人——包括阿基诺三世之母、在推翻马科斯后当选为总统的柯拉蓉·阿基诺（Corazon Aquino）在内——只是口头反腐，而阿基诺三世直击腐败的根源。他不但将位卑权小的犯错者——即中国国家主席习近平所谓的“苍蝇”送上法庭，也没有放过参议员胡安·旁斯·恩里莱（Juan Ponce Enrile）这样的“老虎”。二十年前，恩里莱在推翻马科斯和柯丽蓉·阿基诺问鼎权力过程中立下过汗马功劳。而菲律宾也得以大大提高了其在透明国际（Transparency International）年度腐败排行榜上的排名，从 2010年的134名（与尼日利亚相当）上升到去年的第94名（与印度并列）。