Manila, Philippines (The Adobo Chronicles) – The yellow ribbon has become a national symbol of the political opposition in the Philippines. It began during the final years of Ferdinand E. Marcos’ dictatorial rule, when Cory Aquino and her allies wore the yellow ribbon as a public display of the movement to oust Marcos. It is the same symbol that Cory’s son, President NoyNoy Aquino uses as the battle cry for his beleaguered administration.

For the first time since he assumed the presidency in 2010, Aquino appeared unsure about public support for him. Results of the latest surveys conducted by Social Weather Stations and Pulse Asia Incorporated showed the lowest satisfaction and approval ratings of Aquino.

Aquino has been in hot water since the Supreme Court declared parts of his fund disbursements under the Disbursement Acceleration Program (DAP) as unconstitutional, prompting calls for his impeachment. He also upset many Filipinos by snubbing actress Nora Aunor when he named this year’s National Artists.

“We will come up with perhaps the manifestation of the support – if I still have the support – of our people, and concrete examples of this, perhaps wearing a yellow ribbon, among other things, just to demonstrate exactly in a quick manner where the sentiments of our people lie,” he said.

Soon after Aquino made the statement, millions of Filipinos started wearing red, white and blue ribbons (the colors of the Philippine flag) to let their leader know of their sentiments.

Another Aquino administration gimmick gone awry?