Pursuing the unsolved murder of his father is not the topmost priority of his incoming administration, President-apparent Sen. Benigno Simeon “Noynoy” Aquino III said Tuesday.

Aquino said he is more inclined in reminding future generations what transpired that time that resulted in the murder of his father, the late Senator Benigno “Ninoy” Aquino Jr.

“Not as number one priority. The interest is to make known clearly to future generations what transpired...what abuses managed to happen because of the governance that existed at that point in time,” Aquino said at a press briefing in his house on Times St., Quezon City Monday afternoon.

He said there have been those who have offered new information about the case.

“May school of thought na nagsasabi, the prescription period already lapsed. May nagsabi pag ‘di na-acquire ng korte ang person involved, hindi pa lapsed. Buhay pa ang magli-link sa pinakataas na conspiracy. Meron din nangangako ng tell-all na libro about supposedly sa mga may kinalaman,” said Aquino.

“Pero sa akin mas importante na hindi ma-confuse sa abuso ng dating rehimen ang susunod na kabataan. Pag nakalimutan natin ang aral na lumipas siguradong uulitin natin ang mali. Yan ang gusto ko iwasan,” he added.

As for the challenge posed by Anakpawis party-list Rep. Rafael Mariano for Aquino to go after his uncle businessman Eduardo “Danding” Cojuangco with regard to the disputed coco levy funds, the President-apparent said he would let the courts decide on the cases.

Meanwhile, Aquino is considering holding his inauguration at the Quezon Memorial Circle (QMC) in Quezon City instead of the Quirino Grandstand in Manila.

This is the latest twist to Aquino's plans for his inauguration at the end of the month. He had earlier considered taking his oath before a village chief instead of the traditional oath-taking before the Chief Justice.

“That’s tradition but we also want to emphasize the idea that we are going to change a lot of things,” Aquino said when asked Monday at a press briefing if he would hold his inauguration at the Quirino Grandstand.

He would have to deal though with the lack of facilities at the QMC. Aquino said they are also working out a plan to hold a street party after his inauguration.

“We're still working it out,” Aquino said of the street party which may have a “rocker or ballroom” theme.

Aquino said he would be changing a lot of things – even his thinning hairline. “Yung buhok ayusin natin ng kaunti,” he said, chuckling but declining to provide details.

“When I represent the people, syempre ayusin ko naman siguro,” Aquino said.

Meanwhile, an official of the Presidential Commission on Good Government (PCGG) said militant groups should not push Aquino over the issue of recovering the multibillion-peso coco levy fund.

PCGG Commissioner Ricardo Abcede issued this statement following the clamor of protesters, particularly Anakpawis party-list representative Rafael Mariano, to fast-track the recovery of the fund from Cojuangco.

“The ultimate decision on the ownership of the coco levy funds rests with the Supreme Court, not with the Executive Branch of the government,” Abcede said.

He said he doubts if Aquino or anyone else for that matter can recover the funds from Cojuangco, saying that attempts to do this is like “retrieving milk spilt into sand.”

“And so it is unfair to impose on Senator Noynoy Aquino a burden over which he has no effective or direct control. In short, because Noynoy has no authority to decide on the matter one way or the other, neither should he be given the responsibility. No authority, no responsibility,” Abcede said.

However, Abcede told reporters that it would also be hard to recover those funds now because they have already been invested in many companies and “what complicates matters even more is that these organizations in turn have invested the funds in subsets of their own ‘this and that’s.’”

“It would also be hard to identify the small coconut farmers who should get the funds once they are recovered. Who qualifies to be called a small coconut farmer? Is a farmer with only three coconut trees in his backyard more qualified to benefit from the fund than another farmer with, say, one thousand trees?” Abcede pointed out.

He also said that if not for Mariano’s opposition to the PCGG to convert the 27.63 percent of common shares stocks at San Miguel Corporation (SMC) into preferred shares, there wouldn’t be a problem about the funds now. (With a report from Pam Brooke A. Casin)