2011 ACCORDING TO P-NOY
MANILA, JANUARY 2, 2011 (STARweek) By Aurea Calica - The furrows in his brow are gone, he notes with a broad smile, thanks to positive developments in the country that, to his mind, at least compensate for, if not outweigh, the negatives and the criticisms that are constant fare for the country's 15th president.
President Benigno Aquino III looks to 2011 with optimism and positive expectation, while acknowledging the myriad challenges ahead and the obstacles that will surely dot the "daang matuwid (straight path)" that he has promised to tread. He seeks to make the country a safe place to live, to visit and to invest in in 2011 and the coming years, to leave office in 2016 "with a country that is much better than what it was" when he came in as Chief Executive.
The Filipino people share his bright mood, with the latest Social Weather Stations survey showing that 93 percent of the people are looking forward to 2011 with hope.
The President spoke with STARweek two days before Christmas and shared his elation over the good prospects for the Philippines. He said there was much optimism and he was hoping for more businesses to come in to provide jobs for the people.
"The first priority has to be violent crimes," Mr. Aquino said of his agenda for 2011. The President said it is unacceptable that kidnapping, carjacking and other serious crimes persist while he was trying to cleanse the government, ridding it of graft and corruption, in order to attract more visitors and investments.
The President said the fight against violent crime would go with efforts to curb the illegal drug trade and pursue negotiations to finally achieve peace and development in Mindanao.
After a multiple-victim kidnapping incident in Valenzuela, Mr. Aquino said his instructions to the authorities were: "I want all the kidnappers to feel that this is a personal fight already, there should be no let up in efforts to apprehend them."
Mr. Aquino said many of the kidnapping syndicate leaders had been sent to jail but there were remnants of the groups still operating and some have banded together to continue their illegal activities.
[PHOTO - President Benigno Aquino III signs into law the 2011 National Budget during a ceremony at Malacañang, witnessed by (seated from left) Budget Secretary Florencio Abad, Sen. Franklin Drilon, Senate President Juan Ponce Enrile, House Speaker Feliciano Belmonte, Jr., Rep. Joseph Emilio Abaya, and House Deputy Speaker Lorenzo Tañada III, together with other members of the House of Representatives. WILLY PEREZ/STAR]
The police are getting their much needed support, according to Mr. Aquino, and he has coordinated with foreign officials like the Koreans so they could send their security experts and assist the country in going after criminals. He explained there was a special coordination with the Korean ambassador to Manila because it was discovered that Koreans were victimizing fellow Koreans in the country, particularly with respect to holdups of those who just arrived and were followed as they left the airport and were robbed along the way.
"We will be educated as to their crime syndicates, share intelligence information. We met with the community, all the organizations (of Koreans in the Philippines)," Mr. Aquino said.
The President disclosed that the Philippine National Police (PNP) would be reformed and its personnel would be adequately trained to end these violent crimes. It must be noted that the Aquino administration's first black eye was the Aug. 23 hostage incident which resulted in the deaths of eight Hong Kong tourists and the hostage taker.
Mr. Aquino conceded that the crisis highlighted the many things lacking in the police force, including training and equipment.
The President said the procurement system at the PNP would have to be improved to ensure good quality of firearms and other equipment that would be acquired.
"We will plan what and how to acquire what we need. There should not be different and changing directions, there must be focus. They already have a draft but I sent it back to them because many details were not there. They're working on it, I want them to move faster," Mr. Aquino said.
(Photo by MANNY MARCELO/STAR) Himself an expert firearms enthusiast, the President added it was time to have stricter accounting of firearms in the country. He said he was of the belief that these were all legally acquired initially but became illegal due to lapses.
He also vowed to boost the morale of those in the police and the military through a "promotion system that recognizes merit, not time and grade only."
"There will be a vetting process. There's the Napolcom (National Police Commission) for the PNP, there's a board of generals for the AFP (Armed Forces of the Philippines). Then I'll interview them also," Mr. Aquino said.
The President further said that the improvement of the country's intelligence service would be focused on enemies of the state both internal and external, and "not on political enemies."
Mindanao concern
Based on authorities' assessment, the President said the link between terrorists and some members of a "certain secessionist group" in the country seemed to be waning. He revealed that there was a point in time when the southern part of the Philippines was considered a safe haven for these Islamic terrorists, but that seems to no longer be the case.
"They are becoming more and more isolated. So we're hoping that the peace dialogue with that group will prosper and be finished by next year. Everybody who's involved really wants to do it as soon as possible, which will now isolate groups like the Abu Sayyaf, amongst others," the President said, obviously referring to the Moro Islamic Liberation Front (MILF).
There have been allegations that some members of the MILF were conniving with terrorist groups like the Abu Sayyaf in perpetrating kidnappings and bombings in Mindanao.
(PHOTO BY WILLY PEREZ/STAR)
"For the most part, we will seek to develop areas in Mindanao, especially ARMM (Autonomous Region in Muslim Mindanao)," Mr. Aquino averred.
"I've asked the COA (Commission on Audit) to conduct an audit on ARMM, to find out exactly where did everything go. For example, there's this road (supposedly funded and built), it doesn't exist; there's this building, it doesn't exist; there are X number of teachers, they never reported," the President said.
Mr. Aquino emphasized to the AFP and the PNP that COA officials must be given all the protection that they would need to conduct the audit.
"It's actually ongoing, there is no part of the country that the state cannot go to. I did impress upon the security officers and COA, I need this, identify the loopholes," Mr. Aquino said.
He pointed out he would back any amendments to the laws and processes to make sure that development would finally take place in the south.
Upbeat on investments
Mr. Aquino expressed belief that his promise of a clean government has put the Philippines back on the investment map. But despite his plans and the best of intentions, the President admitted he was warned by his economic managers that development might not be as fast as he would want it to be.
"We don't exist in a vacuum," Mr. Aquino said, noting that the local economy was also dependent on developments in other countries.
In his first six months in office, however, the President said he was more than grateful to have brought home $2.4 billion in investments from the US and $5.4 billion from Japan. The bulk of the 43,000 jobs that will be coming in through the American investments will be in the business process outsourcing industry.
Japanese firm Marubeni Corp. will be investing in energy to address the country's future needs while Itochu Corp. is venturing into bio-ethanol.
(PHOTO BY MANNY MARCELO/STAR)
"We produce only 25 percent of what we need to comply with the Biofuels Law (requiring fuel to have at least five percent bio-ethanol) so we import," the President said.
The Itochu venture will be set up in Isabela covering 15,000 hectares of land and will likely employ 11,000 farmers. A plant to process the bio-ethanol will also be set up.
Mr. Aquino said these were only some of the good news that made him more hopeful now than when he assumed office in June. The bullish stock market and moderate inflation were other indicators that the economy was doing okay, he said.
Mr. Aquino noted that the strength of the peso, while a positive, was primarily due to the weakness of the dollar and he said the government would let market forces determine the exchange rate.
"What is the ideal? I don't think we can say a certain level is where we want to have it... the value will be driven by market forces. You just want to cushion the spikes and dips," the President said.
Mr. Aquino also pointed out that during the launch of the Public-Private Partnership projects, 700 local and foreign entities and companies showed up when the economic team was only expecting 300 participants.
"They came all the way here, and they had to pay $1,800 to participate, that's no joke," he said.
There are investments in the freeport zones of Clark and Subic, he further boasted, and "hopefully we will be able to roll out the first of these projects in the first quarter (of 2011)."
Energized by bite-sized Hershey's chocolates from a bowl of assorted candies he had brought in, the President's optimism was quite obvious – and contagious – during the entire interview, as he shared his plans for Christmas – mostly family gatherings with his sisters and their families, with the Cojuangco and the Aquino clans – and despite the fact that he could no longer go shopping – "I wanted to get some personal gifts, at least for my sisters" – since he ends up spending all his time posing for photos.
His personal plan for the year was off limits, he said at the start of the interview, but – perhaps buoyed by the cheer and spirit of the season – he did not evade questions on the topic. But that, as they say, is another story altogether.
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Chief News Editor: Sol Jose Vanzi
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