GMA NO DESIRE TO ENGAGE NOY IN WORD WAR / NOY DOUBLE-TALKS GMA
MANILA, JUNE 30, 2011 (STAR) By Paolo Romero - Former President and now Pampanga Rep. Gloria Macapagal-Arroyo will not engage President Aquino in a word war after the two exchanged barbs last week over the current state of the nation, her spokeswoman said yesterday.
Former congresswoman Maite Defensor, Arroyo's spokesperson, said the former president would not comment on Aquino's statement that being tagged as the former leader's exact opposite was the best compliment he ever received.
"Former President Gloria Macapagal-Arroyo did not even say that President Aquino is her exact opposite. But learning what the President said, she will not even dignify it with a comment," Defensor said.
The latest exchange between the two began last week when Arroyo warned of "danger signs" in the country's economy due to what she described as lack of leadership in government.
She said she turned over to the Aquino administration an economy that had broken the boom-and-bust cycle in the face of a global recession.
Poor economic policies
She said the hard-fought gains are being eroded by poor economic policies and lack of leadership.
Former budget chief Joaquin Lagonera meanwhile scored Budget Secretary Florencio Abad for making erroneous claims on the country's fiscal position left by the previous administration.
Abad said when the new government took over in July 2010, less than 40 percent was left of the P1.541-trillion budget for 2010.
He also stressed the need to replenish the P2-billion calamity fund because the previous administration had already used up 70 percent of the fund.
Practicality
"As a practical matter, more than half of the budget is disbursed in the first half of a fiscal year because that is the only way to fund the actual cash outlays needed to start the second half," Lagonera said.
He said salaries for the bureaucracy for the entire year are disbursed in the first half, because of their priority status.
"On a cash basis, the outlays in the first half of 2010 were only slightly above 50 percent. This can be confirmed from the report of the Treasurer of the Philippines on the cash releases made during the first half of 2010."
He said the calamity fund spending is authorized not only in anticipation of future typhoons, but also for repair and rehabilitation of damage caused by previous ones.
"Nobody can foretell the future as to when, where, and how much damage will come from typhoons and other calamities," he said.
Lagonera said in 2010, the government still had to repair the damage left behind by typhoons "Ondoy," "Pepeng," and "Frank" the previous years.
FROM THE TRIBUNE
Noy double-talks GMA 06/30/2011 MALAYA BUSINESS INSIGHTS
The Aquino administration yesterday offered its hand of reconciliation to former President now Pampanga Rep. Gloria Arroyo and the political opposition while reassuring that the government will stop at nothing in its effort to dig and pursue more cases against them.
At a press briefing last Tuesday, Presidential Communication Operations Office Secretary Herminio Coloma said the Aquino administration is doing everything possible to rally the public, including members of the Arroyo
family and the political opposition, to unite behind President Aquino and his program of government.
Coloma said this call for unity and reconciliation is the central message of the Aquino administration's "Pilipinas Natin" campaign which will be launched today at the Philippine Sports Arena to mark the President's first year in office.
"Pilipinas Natin is both a call and a challenge. It is a call to take part in nation-building, a call for bayanihan but at the same time it is a challenge for solidarity. Because this will also test the maturity of each and every Filipino. Are we willing to work together?Are we mature enough to cross the lines that divide us?" Coloma said as he called on the critics of the Aquino administration to stop "staying in the corner and look and wait and see and criticize."
He added this call for unity includes Arroyo and the members of opposition who have criticized the Aquino government for its alleged incompetence and inefficiency.
And while asking the Arroyos and the opposition to stand in solidarity with the administration as it pursues the so-called Philippine Development Plan, Coloma, however, quickly clarified that the Aquino administration's call for unity and reconciliation does not preclude efforts to run after them in relation to alleged massive misuse of government funds.
"The important principle here is reconciliation with justice. The President or his administration has no other agenda, nor has the intention to pick a fight with anyone. Our engagement with the opposition as all in the spirit of democratic discourse," Coloma said.
"We cannot just sweep things under the rug," he added.
With the Pilipinas Natin campaign, Coloma said the Aquino administration wishes to mobilize the citizens anew to "become active participants in nation-building."
"Tomorrow's (June 30) event is about revisiting the vision and renewing the commitment. From the social contract with the Filipino people that was presented by the President when he launched his candidacy. The vision for the Philippines is a country with a reawaken sense of right and wrong through the living examples of our highest leaders. An organized and widely shared rapid expansion of our economy through a government dedicated to honing and mobilizing our people's skills and energies. As well as the responsible harnessing of our natural resources," Coloma said.
Members of the House minority bloc, however, continued their tirades against Aquino, cautioning that with the President's ineptitude and lack of leadership Filipinos should brace for the worst in the coming days.
In a press briefing, Zambales Rep. Ma. Milagros "Mitos" Magsaysay said contrary to Aquino's campaign promise of daang matuwid (straight path), the country, under his leadership trekked a baluktot na daan (crooked road) under Aquino's brand of governance.
"One year after Aquino assumed office, gross mismanagement and a turn for the worse for our country and our countrymen, is what we have all been witness to," Magsaysay in a prepared statement said. "Instead of a straight path, we have witnessed a crooked path of governance."
She noted that Aquino has yet to fulfill his 16 promises contained in his so-called "Social Contract with the Filipino People."
"Sixteen disparate promises — covering the wide areas of governance, justice and security, economy, environment and social issues — and yet, as we shall recount to you, today and in the coming weeks, the very indicators of the Aquino administration's dismal one year performance," Magsaysay said.
Quezon Rep. Danilo Suarez, who was also present during the press briefing, called on Aquino to accept bad news and even criticisms from the other end.
"The President should learn the experiences of the past administrations as well as learn from the history in order to focus on the most appropriate programs for the people," he said.
For his part, House Minority Leader and Albay Rep. Edcel Lagman said it would not be worth grading the Aquino administration as it had failed in almost aspects anyway.
"It is not advisable to grade the President on a scale of one to 10. A periodic report card with graded achievements and failures is for school kids and students, not for the nation's Chief Executive," he stressed.
"It would be better to send regular wake-up calls to the President on his performance versus his campaign promises and on the state of the economy and governance versus the current data on prime economic and social indicators. This way, the President could grade himself if he has sufficient discernment of crucial data and a serious commitment to his exalted position," he added. "Otherwise, no amount of faltering grades will jolt him to reality and action, and no diminishing marks from critics will convince him to abandon an offensive agenda of vindictiveness and a defensive aura of braggadocio."
Presidential spokesman Edwin Lacierda countered Lagman's accusations, accusing Lagman of "playing fast and free with the facts, making assertions that are obsolete, misleading, or patently false" in his opinions.
He said the lawmaker was merely embarking on another fishing expedition by raking up old numbers.
"Lagman has tried to characterize this administration's first year in office as, "365 Days of Sound and Fury" when it has been a year of solid, painstaking, and conscientious rebuilding of our gutted and shattered institutions. Such statements show the current lack of standing of Rep. Lagman whose career as Minority Floor leader can be characterized as a year of bluster and bluffing," concluded Lacierda in his statement.
Meanwhile, at least three party-list representatives revealed that more plunder cases are being readied against Arroyo.
"The current plunder case is just a harbinger of things to come," Gabriela party-list Rep. Emmi de Jesus said. "She (Arroyo) should wait, more plunder cases await her."
Bayan Muna party-list Rep. Neri Javier Colmenares said the alleged anomalies in the Philippine Charity Sweepstakes Office (PCSO) are also being considered as another plunder case that could be filed against the former president. Virgilio J. Bugaoisan, Aytch S. de la Cruz, Charlie V. Manalo and Gerry Baldo
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