1st YEAR: NOY DWELLS ON PAST TO HIGHLIGHT PRESENT: GLORIA ON HIS MIND
[Photo - Ulat sa Bayan. Thousands packed the Philsports Arena to hear President Aquino's speech where he enumerated his administration's efforts in his first year in office to undo the shortcomings of the past regime.]
MANILA, JULY 3, 2011 (MALAYA) BY REGINA BENGCO - ON his first year anniversary in office, President Aquino yesterday bashed the administration of his predecessor Gloria Arroyo for its "record-breaking" feat of miring the country in deeper debt.
The launching of the Philippine Development Plan, the country's roadmap for 2011-2016, and Aquino's call for unity, which Presidential Communications Operations Secretary Herminio Coloma Jr. said would take place during the celebration at the Philippine Sports Area in Pasig City, did not materialize.
What took place yesterday afternoon was a concert that included solo rap artist Gloc-9, speeches by a few local government officials, Aquino's main speech, and a pledge of commitment to the nation by the youth who packed the Philsports Arena.
Aquino said the government he inherited from Arroyo was characterized by excessive use of the "wang-wang" (siren from the vehicles of the presidential convoy) in order to avoid traffic, floods that came without warning from the weather bureau, and the Maguindanao massacre.
He said Filipinos persevered through the Arroyo years on the thought her administration would soon end. And the fantastic economic growth in the last months of the Arroyo administration, he said, showed the world's anticipation of its end.
Aquino said it felt like yesterday when the Filipino people called on him to "save the dying light of hope" and "fight for the straight path."
Back then, he said he had not printed a single campaign material and had no plans of running for president.
"Hindi ko po inambisyon na sagupain ang dambuhalang problema na ipapamana ni Ginang Arroyo, mga problemang pilit kong hinadlangan noong nasa Kamara de Representatantes tayo, at sa Senado pa lang ako," he said.
He said he saw, based on the experience of his mother, former president Corazon Aquino, the burden of the presidency, especially if one is inheriting a damaged system.
"Tinanong ko ang aking sarili: Kakayanin ko kayang kumpunihin ang lahat ng ito?" he said.
He said he could not ignore the calls of the ordinary and poor Filipinos for him to run for president.
"Narito po tayo ngayon, isang taon matapos markahan ang wakas ng pamahalaang bulag at bingi sa hinaing ng kanyang mamamayan. Ipinasa po sa atin ang isang tahanang lumulundo ang kisame at bitak-bitak ang mga pader. Kinahoy na nga po ang mga muwebles, ipinangutang pa ang pamalit. Ang masaklap niyan, alam kong mamanahin natin ang mga utang na iyon, sampu ng lahat ng dumi na ikinalat nila," he said.
Aquino said under the Arroyo administration, the debt of the National Food Authority rose from P12.9 billion in 1972-2000 to P18 billion in a span of just one year. He said when Arroyo stepped down, the NFA's debt was P177 billion.
"Isanlibong porsyento at mahigit pa ang itinaas ng utang ng NFA: record-breaking po talaga ang ginawa nilang pagbabaon sa atin sa utang, hindi ho ba?" he said.
"It is this administration that is asking us to recognize its achievements and stand on its shoulders. It is this administration that said nothing has changed and that the straight path would only lead us to a cliff," he said.
"Magpapaloko po pa ba tayo sa pagpupumilit nilang padudahin tayo, para sa pagkalito natin, magkaroon ng puwang na bumalik ang lumang sistema?" he asked.
He said he agrees with Arroyo that he is her complete opposite. "Finally, we agreed on something," he added.
Aquino said after one year under his presidency, 21,800 soldiers and policemen have been given housing units, two million households would have been enrolled under the conditional cash transfer by July 4, around 240,000 farmers have benefited from more than 2,000 kilometers of farm-to-market roads, and government imported only 660,000 metric tons of rice instead of over-importing.
He said P12 billion was saved from expenses, which was used to fund a fuel subsidy for the transport sector, the salaries of about 10,000 nurses deployed in farflung areas, and the purchase of more patrol boats
He said the Philippine National Construction Corp. under the Arroyo administration failed to remit a single centavo to government but its officials awarded themselves fat allowances.
He said the new PNCC officials submitted to him a five-page memorandum detailing the anomalies committed by their predecessors – ranging from the creation of absurd positions to unnecessary cellphone plans to allowances that reached P100,000 per month. He said he stopped all those practices which lowered monthly expenses from P22 million to P11 million.
At the Sweepstakes Office, he said the agency spent too much on advertisements but had no money to pay a P3-billion debt to government hospitals.
Aquino said he is aware that people are impatient about the fruits of his government's reforms and he cannot blame them because they persevered for a decade.
Aquino said the services that are due to the Filipinos are already being delivered, and are not going to the pockets of those who lord over people.
He said there are still those who are trying to negate his efforts but he knows that the people are on his side.
MANILA STANDARD EDITORIAL
Sheer rhetoric
His first year in office should not have been so much of a disappointment, if only he had known where to go. His predecessors seemed to know where they wanted to be. President Benigno Aquino III, by all indications, did not.
Consistent with her promise of promoting inter-sectoral unity, Gloria Arroyo's first executive order sought to strengthen the Indigenous Peoples' Rights Act of 1997; Joseph Estrada, true to his pro-poor platform, increased teachers' allowances through his first executive issuance; Fidel Ramos sought to address the power crisis in his first executive order by reducing the rate of import duty on imported electric generating sets; Mr. Aquino's mother, Cory, created the Presidential Commission on Good Government. Her creation withstood legal scrutiny; Mr. Aquino's Truth Commission could not.
When the President took to the podium Thursday, he conveniently forgot to mention how his administration had intended to "straighten the crooked" or "weed out the corrupt" with a team that had neither the legal acumen nor the due diligence to draft a proper presidential issuance. He eluded discussions on how his performance should be measured against his own campaign platform—his 16-point social contract on good governance, economy, education, health, justice, and principal reforms. He did not speak of his government's performance vis-a-vis the economic and social indicators on poverty, hunger, unemployment rate, and investor and consumer confidence.
Unlike his mythical rise to the leadership helm, Mr. Aquino's first year in office is one destined for obscurity.
The President spoke about how he pondered long and hard to heed the people's call, to "put an end to a government deaf and blind to the plight of its citizens," as well as to carry the "burden of cleaning up the mess [his] predecessor left behind."
A year has passed since, and Mr. Aquino still brags about his biggest achievement—how, because he has led by example, sirens no longer blare on our roads. But even that does not speak much of a President who has refused to see that buying a P4.5-million luxury sports car while his countrymen endure poverty hardly qualifies as "leading by example."
In truth, his speech was robbed of its eloquence even before delivery. The President's "first year report" was not wanting in style, drama, or delivery. It lacked, from exordium to summation, the substance that would have demarcated what was real from what was illusory, and what was fact from what was sheer rhetoric.
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Chief News Editor: Sol Jose Vanzi
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