noynoy aquino’s 2010 SONA speech – chopsuey that was put together

reading aquino’s SONA speech, i get the feeling it was put together into one from at least 4 different speeches. there really was no well defined direction, just bits and pieces of thoughts that could have been delivered separately but just put together by adding a paragraph or two just so it sounds connected as a whole.

it also felt like it went through a major rewrite somewhere very close to the actual delivery time. it felt like someone changed his mind about the content and decided on the last minute to remove large chunks of the speech.

there were a lot of reactions to the speech when aquino gave a “preview” to it sying it’s contents will “shock and awe” the nation with its newly found corruption in government.  we think when they got strong reactions against the :shock and awe” portion, they decided to remove large portions of the speech to tone it down.

it is a speech lacking in inspiration and rhetoric. perhaps it is aquino’s style to be just direct, factual and boring but this is his first SONA, i was expecting he will go for the historic with words and thoughts that takes flight and for us to pluck them down and remember them for always.

it did not help him that he was not very good at using the teleprompter. he was obviously reading the speech off it, almost word for word. And he was a bad reader with some of the words mis-pronounced and read incorrectly. i think he gets lost when he needs to go to the next paragraph.

we were not particularly impressed with the speech and that is next in this blog.

noynoy aquino 2010 SONA speech transcript – official english translation

State of the Nation Address
of His Excellency Benigno S. Aquino III
President of the Philippines to the Congress of the Philippines
Session Hall of the House of Representatives
July 26, 2010
[Batasan Pambansa Complex, Quezon City]

(ENGLISH TRANSLATION PROVIDED BY NOYNOY MEDIA BUREAU)

Speaker Feliciano Belmonte; Senate President Juan Ponce Enrile; Vice President Jejomar Binay, Chief Justice Renato Corona, Former Presidents Fidel Valdez Ramos and Joseph Ejercito Estrada; Members of the House of Representatives and the Senate; distinguished members of the diplomatic corps;

My beloved countrymen:

Our administration is facing a forked road. On one direction, decisions are made to protect the welfare of our people; to look after the interest of the majority; to have a firm grip on principles; and to be faithful to the public servant’s sworn oath to serve the country honestly.
This is the straight path.

On the other side, personal interest is the priority, and where one becomes a slave to political considerations to the detriment of our nation.

This is the crooked path.

For a long time, our country lost its way in the crooked path. As days go by (since I became President), the massive scope of the problems we have inherited becomes much clearer. I could almost feel the weight of my responsibilities.

In the first three weeks of our administration, we discovered many things, and I will report to you some of the problems we have uncovered, and the steps we are taking to solve them.
This report is merely a glimpse of our situation. It is not the entire picture of the crises we are facing. The reality was hidden from our people, who seem to have been deliberately obfuscated on the real state of our nation.

In the first six years of this year, government expenditure exceeded our revenues. Our deficit further increased to PhP196.7 billion. Our collection targets, which lack PhP23.8 billion, were not fully met, while we went beyond our spending by PhP45.1 billion.

Our budget for 2010 is PhP1.54 trillion. Of this, only PhP100 billion – or 6.5% of the total budget – can be used for the remaining six months of the current year. Roughly 1% of the total budget is left for each of the remaining month.

Where did the funds go?

A calamity fund worth PhP2 billion was reserved in preparation for anticipated calamities. Of this already miniscule amount, at a time when the rainy season has yet to set in, PhP1.4 billion or 70% was already spent.

The entire province of Pampanga received PhP108 million. Of this, PhP105 million went to only one district. On the other hand, the province of Pangasinan, which was severely affected by Typhoon Pepeng, received a mere PhP5 million, which had to be used to fix damages inflicted not even by Pepeng, but by a previous typhoon, Cosme.

The funds were released on election month, which was seven months after the typhoon. What will happen if a typhoon arrives tomorrow? The fund has been used up to repair damage from typhoons that hit us last year. Our future will pay for the greed of yesterday.

This is also what happened to the funds of the MWSS. Just recently, people lined up for water while the leadership of the MWSS rewarded itself even though the pensions of retired employees remain unpaid.

The entire payroll of the MWSS amounts to 51.4 million pesos annually. But this isn’t the full extent of what they receive: they receive additional allowances and benefits amounting to 81.1 million pesos. In short, they receive 211.5 million pesos annually. Twenty four percent of this is for normal salaries, and sixty six percent is added on.

The average worker receives up to 13th month pay plus a cash gift. In the MWSS, they receive the equivalent of over thirty months pay if you include all their additional bonuses and allowances.

What we discovered in the case of the salaries of their board of trustees is even more shocking. Let’s take a look at the allowances they receive:

president noynoy aquino’s 2010 SONA speech transcript – read it here, now posted

SONA Transcript (State of the Nation Address)
Benigno Simeon C. Aquino III
July 26, 2010

July 26, 2010
Batasan Pambansa Complex
Quezon City

Speaker Feliciano Belmonte; Senate President Juan Ponce Enrile; Vice President Jejomar Binay; Chief Justice Renato Corona; Former Presidents Fidel Valdez Ramos and Joseph Ejercito Estrada; members of the House of Representatives and the Senate; distinguished members of the diplomatic corps; my fellow workers in government;

Mga minamahal kong kababayan:

Sa bawat sandali po ng pamamahala ay nahaharap tayo sa isang sangandaan.

Sa isang banda po ay ang pagpili para sa ikabubuti ng taumbayan. Ang pagtanaw sa interes ng nakakarami; at pagkapit sa prinsipyo; at ang pagiging tapat sa sinumpaan nating tungkulin bilang lingkod-bayan. Ito po ang tuwid na daan.

Sa kabilang banda ay ang pag-una sa pansariling interes. Ang pagpapaalipin sa pulitikal na konsiderasyon, at pagsasakripisyo ng kapakanan ng taumbayan. Ito po ang baluktot na daan.

Matagal pong naligaw ang pamahalaan sa daang baluktot. Araw-araw po, lalong lumilinaw sa akin ang lawak ng problemang ating namana. Damang-dama ko ang bigat ng aking responsibilidad.

Sa unang tatlong linggo ng aming panunungkulan, marami po kaming natuklasan. Nais ko pong ipahayag sa inyo ang iilan lamang sa mga namana nating suliranin at ang ginagawa naming hakbang para lutasin ang mga ito.

Sulyap lamang po ito; hindi pa ito ang lahat ng problemang haharapin natin. Inilihim at sadyang iniligaw ang sambayanan sa totoong kalagayan ng ating bansa.

Sa unang anim na buwan ng taon, mas malaki ang ginastos ng gobyerno kaysa sa pumasok na kita. Lalong lumaki ang deficit natin, na umakyat na sa 196.7 billion pesos. Sa target na kuleksyon, kinapos tayo ng 23.8 billion pesos; ang tinataya namang gastos, nalagpasan lang natin ng 45.1 billion pesos.

Ang budget po sa 2010 ay 1.54 trillion pesos.

Nasa isandaang bilyong piso o anim at kalahating porsyento na lang ng kabuuan ang malaya nating magagamit para sa nalalabing anim na buwan ng taong ito.

Halos isang porsyento na lang po ng kabuuang budget ang natitira para sa bawat buwan.

Saan naman po dinala ang pera?

Naglaan ng dalawang bilyong piso na Calamity Fund bilang paghahanda para sa mga kalamidad na hindi pa nangyayari. Napakaliit na nga ng pondong ito, ngunit kapapasok pa lang natin sa panahon ng baha at bagyo, 1.4 billion pesos o sitenta porsyento (70%) na ang nagastos.

Sa kabuuan ng 108 million pesos para sa lalawigan ng Pampanga, 105 million pesos nito ay napunta sa iisang distrito lamang.

Samantala, ang lalawigan ng Pangasinan na sinalanta ng Pepeng ay nakatanggap ng limang milyong piso (P5M) lamang para sa pinsalang idinulot ng bagyong Cosme, na nangyari noong 2008 pa.

Ibinigay po ang pondo ng Pampanga sa buwan ng eleksyon, pitong buwan pagkatapos ng Ondoy at Pepeng. Paano kung bumagyo bukas? Inubos na ang pondo nito para sa bagyong nangyari noong isang taon pa. Pagbabayaran ng kinabukasan ang kasakiman ng nakaraan.

Ganyan din po ang nangyari sa pondo ng MWSS. Kamakailan lamang, pumipila ang mga tao para lang makakuha ng tubig. Sa kabila nito, minabuti pa ng liderato ng MWSS na magbigay ng gantimpala sa sarili kahit hindi pa nababayaran ang pensyon ng mga retiradong empleyado.

Noong 2009, ang buong payroll ng MWSS ay 51.4 million pesos. Pero hindi lang naman po ito ang sahod nila; may mga additional allowances at benefits pa sila na aabot sa 160.1 million pesos.

Sa madaling sabi, nakatanggap sila ng 211.5 million pesos noong nakaraang taon.

Beinte-kuwatro porsyento (24%) lang nito ang normal na sahod, at sitenta’y sais porsyento ang dagdag.

Ang karaniwang manggagawa hanggang 13th month pay plus cash gift lang ang nakukuha.

Sa MWSS, aabot sa katumbas ng mahigit sa tatlumpung buwan ang sahod kasama na ang lahat ng mga bonuses at allowances na nakuha nila.

Mas matindi po ang natuklasan natin sa pasahod ng kanilang Board of Trustees. Tingnan po natin ang mga allowances na tinatanggap nila:

Umupo ka lang sa Board of Trustees at Board Committee meeting, katorse mil na. Aabot ng nobenta’y otso mil ito kada buwan. May grocery incentive pa sila na otsenta mil kada taon.

Hindi lang iyon: may mid-year bonus, productivity bonus, anniversary bonus, year-end bonus, at Financial Assistance. May Christmas bonus na, may Additional Christmas Package pa. Kada isa sa mga ito, nobenta’y otso mil.

Sa suma total po, aabot ang lahat ng dalawa’t kalahating milyong piso kada taon sa bawat miyembro ng Board maliban sa pakotse, technical assistance, at pautang. Uulitin ko po. Lahat ng ito ay ibinibigay nila sa kanilang mga sarili habang hindi pa nababayaran ang mga pensyon ng kanilang mga retirees.

President Noynoy Aquino’s 2010 SONA poll – was it good or bad? rate it here



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• read english traanscript here:
  

  noynoy aquino 2010 SONA speech transcript – official english translation

• read filipino transcriot here:
  

  president noynoy aquino’s 2010 SONA speech transcript – read it here, now posted

watch live streaming of noynoy aquino’s 2010 SONA

go to this link: http://www.abs-cbnnews.com/anc-live-events

1/3 of aquino’s SONA will be absent during speech

sorry folks, but close to one third of aquino’s speech in today’s  SONA will be absent – gloria macapagal arroyo will not be attending the  first SONA speech of president noynoy aquino. arroyo’s political party spokesperson has announced arroyo will be in hong kong to join her husband for a medical check-up.

there are four arroyos in the house of representative and since 1/4 of them will be absent, i wonder if the 3/4 of the arroyos will attend the SONA?

if  3/4 of the arroyos attend, then the 1/4 that has gone to hong kong can be briefed of the contents of the speech of president aquino.

Aquino’s speech to focus solutions to corruption, poverty – Palace
By Christian V. Esguerra
Philippine Daily Inquirer
First Posted 16:55:00 07/25/2010

MANILA, Philippines – Former President Gloria Arroyo may have her reasons for skipping the first State of the Nation Address (SONA) of her successor, but Malacañang made it clear on Sunday that the speech would not be devoted solely to bashing the past administration.

President Benigno Aquino III’s spokesperson, Edwin Lacierda, said only “less than a third” of the SONA would tackle problems inherited from the nine years of Arroyo’s regime, with the rest of the speech to focus on solutions to corruption and poverty.

“For those concerned whether the ills of the past administration will be a major factor, let me state that only less than a third of the speech (will be devoted to them),” Lacierda said in his weekly Palace media briefing aired over Radyo ng Bayan.

“He will spell out the realities that he inherited from the Arroyo administration and then move on to his solutions, move on to the budget, move on to other things which he believes will wipe out corruption and alleviate poverty.”

Arroyo will skip SONA, says party spokesman
By Leila B. Salaverria
Philippine Daily Inquirer
First Posted 17:06:00 07/24/2010

MANILA, Philippines—The “star” of President Aquino’s first state-of-the-nation address won’t be there to hear all about the alleged anomalies in her administration.

Former President and now Pampanga Representative Gloria Macapagal-Arroyo is flying to Hong Kong on Monday to join her husband, Jose Miguel Arroyo, for a medical checkup on his aortic aneurysm, according to Lakas Kampi spokesperson Raul Lambino.

“The former president and now congresswoman GMA will be accompanying her husband on his appointment with Drs. Kwok Ching Kwong and Lau Chu Pak for a consultation on the reduction of the recurrence of his aortic aneurysm,” Lambino said in a phone interview.

“She won’t be able to make it [to the SONA],” he added.

noynoy aquino – President of Get-Arroyo or President Of The Philippines?

we heard from noynoy aquino himself, his first SONA (State of the Nation Address) will shock us. the shock according to him will come from his expose of newly uncovered anomalies committed by his predecessor, gloria macapagal arroyo.

when i first read that, i shook my head and my hand involuntarily went up to my head to scratch it and my involuntarily thought the fertilizer scam, the macapagal highway and the NBN-ZTE deal. these went on a horizontal scroll in my mind with a headline flashing at the top that said “These scandals are not the most shocking yet?”

aquino seem to be on a relentless pursuit of  gloria macapagal arroyo, errr graft and corruption in national government. he did get elected to the presidency on huge anti-corruption platform so we are not really surprised why aquino is doing what he has been doing.  it is an election promise and i guess much unlike previous politicians before him, we should not blame him for relentlessly pursuing GMA, errr corruption in national government.

now i am wondering – noynoy does look good when he is wearing his “President  of Get-Arroyo” hat but when will we see much of his “President Of The Philippines” hat? we hope we will see that during the SONA or at least even a little over half of the time spent on the SONA  would have him wearing his “President Of The Philippines” hat.

when we see him on that hat, i bet he will even look much better. let’s hope his “President Of The Philippines” hat is much bigger and prettier than the other hat.

rate president noynoy aquino’s 1st SONA here

we will be putting up a poll in this blog for readers to rate president noynoy aquino’s 1st SONA. come back here on monday.

kiko pangilinan’s withdrawal from senate presidency bid an excellent tactical move

there are news reports saying senator kiko pangilinan is withdrawing his bid for the senate presidency and the LP is joining forces with others to preserve the unity in the senate.

we think that is a very wise and simply an excellent move for the LP. the LP must have decided on this move as they must have confirmed they do not have the votes to win the seat in the senate.

withdrawing pangilinan’s bid for the senate presidency saves the LP from being a “loser” in the senate. now that they have withdrawn, the LP has now become the kingmaker at the senate, the swing vote not only for the senate presidency seat but for legislative matters.

being part of the majority, it puts the LP as part of the power base in the senate. it has a voice and can influence the majority versus putting them in the minority had they pursued pangilinan’s losing bid. down the line, the LP has leverage as the lower house appears to be theirs with belmonte seemingly assured of a win as speaker of the house.

also, being in the majority puts the LP within shooting distance of a chance to move up to the senate presidency, as perhaps next in line if down the road, months from now there is a need to look for a new senate president. we have previously seen changes occur in the senate presidency mid term.

on the whole, this withdrawal of pangilinan’s bid is really an excellent tactical move. we congratulate the LP!

Pangilinan quits Senate chief race

By Maila Ager
INQUIRER.net
First Posted 08:50:00 07/25/2010

MANILA, Philippines—On the eve of the opening of the 15th Congress on Monday, Senator Francis ”Kiko” Pangilinan announced that he is withdrawing from the Senate presidency race, saying that pursuing his bid would only keep the chamber “fragmented and disunited.”

“Much as I would like to go down fighting, I realize that to continue with my bid would keep the Senate fragmented and disunited. The disunity must now end. I believe i can help make it happen by voluntarily stepping aside,” Pangilinan said in a statement on Sunday.

“After prayer and reflection, consulting my family and our Senate allies, I have decided to withdraw from the race in order to pave the way for the senators to choose another from our ranks who can unite us,” he said.

CBCP pushes for traditional methods of contraception in congress & aquino

the church can do whatever it wants on the pulpit, it can advocate for traditional methods of contraception but it should just let congress decide on its what is best for the country. the legislative and president aquino is responsible for all filipinos of all faiths, not just catholics and should do what it what is best for the many.

the church can also run its own lectures on morals if it wants to and it can be in tandem with the sex education that is being planned. there is no stopping the church to insert its own agenda and teachings in religion classes being taught in the schools. but they should just leave the sex education curriculum alone.

CBCP makes another push for natural family planning
By Dona Pazzibugan
Philippine Daily Inquirer
First Posted 20:07:00 07/24/2010

MANILA, Philippines—Two days before the 15th Congress opens, the Catholic Church hierarchy flexed its political influence and asked President Benigno Aquino III to reject a revived reproductive health bill and to put a stop to sex education in schools beginning fifth grade.

In a lengthy pastoral statement issued Saturday, the Catholic Bishops’ Conference of the Philippines reminded Mr Aquino of his mother, the late president Corazon Aquino’s “moral legacy” as it called on him to reject any proposal promoting artificial contraceptives.

The Catholic Church advocates “natural family planning programs.”

Through its president, Bishop Nereo Odchimar of Tandag, Surigao del Sur, the CBCP invoked “moral and religious truths” and served notice that it would oppose the proposed “Reproductive Health and Population and Development Act of 2010” that was re-filed by Rep. Edcel Lagman as House Bill 96.

The Catholic Church succeeded during the last Congress to block the passage of the bill, which proponents say would strengthen programs to promote maternal and child health and responsible parenthood.

“With the utmost concern and urgency we express our strong objection to the fundamental aspects of House Bill 96. The basis of our moral objection is once again the central religious truth of the divine origin and divine image of the human person, of one’s being and life,” said the CBCP.

noynoy aquino’s 1st SONA: something from the past, something for the future

we understand what SONA stands for – State Of The Nation and from the looks of itr president aquino also understands what it means. when you talk of the state of the nation, you know you will get to know where the country stands at the moment. that is what literally “state of the nation” stands for.

but we are hoping, contrary to pronouncements of aquino, he will not take that literally. we are hoping that aquino will talk more about the future of the country, the state of the nation during aquino’s administration. we like to hear his strategies and plans both for correcting what he found wrong and what he will do on his own for the country.

aquino in many ways was elected for the country’s desire for change for the better. that also means not only from what was done but for what he will be doing for the country.

we will all be listening on monday,

—-

• read english traanscript here:
  

  noynoy aquino 2010 SONA speech transcript – official english translation

• read filipino transcriot here:
  

  president noynoy aquino’s 2010 SONA speech transcript – read it here, now posted

how should citizens respond to noynoy aquino’s “no wang wang” policy- give way to noynoy aquino’s convoy

we think aquino should use the wang wang and the bus lane to go to places around the city. we think as president of this country, he deserves the courtesy and the honor.

but if noynoy aquino continues to follow his no wang wang policy, we should applaud him and admire him for his humility. let us return this grand and honorable gesture by doing this – LET US GIVE WAY TO NOYNOY AQUINO’s convoy.

when we see his entourage at the back of our vehicle, let us give way, move our car to the curb and stop our car and allow noynoy aquino, the president of the country to pass. that is a small gesture that we can do to return to aquino’s humility and desire for rerspect for each other.

aquino has enforced the no wang wang policy to show that he, the president of the country respects others. by giving way, it is our way to return the respect and honor the position of aquino as president of the country.