MANILA STANDARD: THE PRESIDENT'S NEW CLOTHES
MANILA, SEPTEMBER 24, 2011 (STANDARD) WHILE President Benigno Aquino III basks in his New York minute, and while his drum beaters celebrate his "stardom" during an official visit to the United States, it might be opportune to conduct a brief fact check.
Fact No. 1. The Aquino administration continues to spend much less than it has planned on major infrastructure projects. While this might be passed off as a virtue, it also means jobs and economic activity that might have otherwise been created did not materialize. So while Mr. Aquino pats himself on the back for the P9.22-billion surplus in August, he ought to know that the "savings" come at a cost.
Fact No. 2. Standards continue to plummet in our educational system, yet the President seems unconcerned, slashing the budgets of state universities and colleges in the name of savings. This flies directly in the face of evidence that we need to invest much more in our schools and in our teachers, so that our students will have a fighting chance in a competitive world.
Fact No. 3. Instead of spending money on productive endeavors, Mr. Aquino is bent on giving away a P306 billion in cash handouts to poor families, for no work or service rendered. His own Education Secretary has admitted before Congress that the main condition in the Aquino administration's conditional cash transfer program—that the children of the recipients stay in school—has had absolutely no impact on the dropout rate in elementary schools. Even if they had the monthly stipends, the Education secretary said, most of the rural poor had no way of bringing their children to school.
Every student of basic economics understands the concept of limited resources and their wise allocation. The P306 billion that Mr. Aquino, an economics graduate from a reputable private university, wants to give away could easily solve the shortage of classrooms that plagues our school system and hire the teachers we need to improve standards. Why isn't this being done?
Fact No. 4. While Mr. Aquino boasts of his anti-corruption drive, his government has not filed a single case in the last 15 months against his much-maligned target, former President Gloria Arroyo. His major policy initiatives—the Truth Commission and the postponement of the elections in the Autonomous Region in Muslim Mindanao—have all run into constitutional challenges that his legal team seems incapable of addressing adequately. What achievements can Mr. Aquino honestly point to, after more than a year in office?
When we listen to Mr. Aquino speak of reforms as a major achievement of his administration, we recall the story of the emperor's new clothes and understand that words can indeed be used to hide nakedness—in this case, the sheer lack of solid accomplishments that is quickly becoming the hallmark of this government.
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Chief News Editor: Sol Jose Vanzi
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