If our Air Force and Navy are made to do with 30- to 40-year hand-me-down combat aircraft and warships, why should the Commander-in-Chief have a brand-new, sleek, and shiny presidential jet?

We cannot think of a more compelling argument against the purchase of a new executive jet than the fact that the people who actually do the fighting against the enemies of the state have do with old transport vehicles and second-hand assault air and sea craft.

This is not only a cause of demoralization among the ranks who are poorly fed, ill-equipped, and grossly underpaid considering the hazards that they face in the battlement and during disaster rescue and relief operations.

But then again why should we be surprised considering that this President has a penchant for something upscale to go around in?

How can we forget the infamous Porsche he bought for himself, insisting that he got  the dream car using his own money but which he was eventually forced to sell because of public outrage over his ostentatious display of wealth?

The code of ethics for public officials requires ALL of them – including the President himself – to lead simple lives.

On this criterion alone, President Aquino flunked the lifestyle test.

Thus, we support two lawmakers who on Thursday opposed the government’s plan to buy a new presidential plane to replace the 30-year-old Fokker 28 being used by P-Noy.

Reacting to the Budget department’s plan, San Juan City Rep. Joseph Victor Ejercito said there were more important things to spend money on, especially after the damage wrought by tropical storm Sendong in Mindanao.

Navotas Rep. Toby Tiangco, who is also a member of the appropriations committee, agreed, citing the more pressing need for relief and rehabilitation in Mindanao.

“The government [can buy] a new presidential plane—but not just now,” he was quoted by a broadsheet as saying.

Still, Eastern Samar Rep. Ben Evardone, a former staunch ally of ousted president Estrada and jailed former president Gloria Arroyo, unabashedly  said he saw nothing wrong with buying a new plane as long as the transaction was transparent.

Wrong. It’s the timing, stupid! Where is the sense of priority?

Even the thoroughly discredited Erap flew commercial and was even on Cloud Nine at one time during his abbreviated presidency.   

Budget Secretary Florencio Abad had earlier said the department intended to allot funds for the new presidential plane, noting that the Fokker 28 was too old and the President “cannot be renting planes all the time”.

House Speaker Feliciano Belmonte Jr. said he approved of the plan to buy a new plane for P-Noy.

“I will support a supplemental budget for it if necessary,” Belmonte said in a text message, noting that he had even suggested it to the President.

The F-28 Fellowship, with a total flying time of 5,525 hours, was manufactured by the now-defunct Fokker Aviation BV based in The Netherlands. It came off the factory floor in 1979 and was bought by the central bank for $15 million for use by then President Marcos.

The CB then donated the plane to the Office of the President on Dec. 26, 1995, after which the plane was turned over to the Air Force in May 2006.