Philippines' Aquino steps out of parents' shadows

MANILA (Reuters) - Benigno Aquino III has picked up the mantle his mother wrested from a dictator and his father fought and died for, winning the Philippine presidency on a promise to fight endemic corruption and improving governance.

From nowhere, the 50-year-old bachelor known as Noynoy swept to victory after his late entry into the presidential race, relying heavily on his revered family name and its reputation for probity in the poor Southeast Asian nation.

Having won a clear, but still unofficial, victory in Monday's vote -- he had a 15 percentage point lead with about 80 percent of votes counted -- the reluctant candidate needs to show more leadership than a lackluster 12-year record as a legislator would suggest.

"The ability of the new administration to push forth with reforms -- not all of which will go down well with the populist agenda -- and to get the fiscal house back in order will be one of the key challenges as the economy works its way out of the downturn," said Vishnu Varathan, regional economist at Forecast in Singapore.

Aquino has been defined by his parents through much of his political life -- his namesake father Benigno was an opposition leader assassinated during the rule of Ferdinand Marcos, and his mother took up the cause and won office during the People Power revolution that drove Marcos from power in 1986.

The push for the Aquinos' only son to run took off after hundreds of thousands poured onto the streets for Cory's funeral last August. After some consideration, including a prayer retreat in a nunnery, Noynoy embraced his parent's legacy.

Political savvy is important in the Philippines, where party allegiances are fluid and unwieldy coalitions are built from across the spectrum, and Aquino's low-key personality has raised doubts as to whether he could impose his will when needed.

Those who didn't vote Aquino for president were often turned off by his easy-going demeanor -- he often wore loose shirts and baggy pants, which he usually had to pull up while addressing a crowd, and made no effort to hide his balding head or a lack of polished public speaking skills.

Instead, his platform of anti-corruption and greater transparency in government quickly won him the support of most Filipinos tired of corruption associated with the government of President Gloria Macapagal Arroyo, the most unpopular leader since Marcos.

Aquino, who smokes two packs of cigarettes a day, enjoys wide support among business for embracing market-friendly policies and was applauded for vowing to investigate Arroyo.

"The first priority has to be to address the issue of corruption. Get government's power back so that they can empower the people," Aquino, wearing his mother's trademark People Power yellow, said on Tuesday in his first comments after the poll.

Aquino is dating local councilor Shalani Soledad, who was re-elected on Monday, but has said he would be married to his job as president and set aside plans to have his own family.

Still carrying a piece of shrapnel in his neck from an attack in one of the many coup attempts during his mother's presidency, Aquino says popular support will give him the necessary authority.

"I was ambushed in 1987. I'm living a second life. I believe this is a role that I have to play," he told Reuters in February. "If it is my mandate from the people, then the people will back me up, then it becomes doable."

(Additional reporting by Manolo Serapio Jr., Editing by John Mair and Bill Tarrant)