president noynoy aquino’s miscommunication on the rh billl during SONA 2012 – is he anti-children? #rhbill

yes, president aquino in his 2012 SONA did mention the rh bill but phrased it as “responsible parenthood”  (read more om this one from here: http://wp.me/pnw03-1Bm)

this was what aquino said in his SONA:

aquino:

Matibay po ang pananalig natin kay Secretary Luistro: Bago matapos ang susunod na taon, ubos na ang minana nating 66,800 na kakulangan sa silid-aralan. [Applause] Ulitin ko po, next year pa po ‘yan; 40,000 pa lang this year. Ang minana po nating 2,573,212 na backlog sa upuan, tuluyan na rin nating matutugunan bago matapos ang 2012. [Applause] Sa taon din pong ito, masisimot na rin ang 61.7 million na backlog sa textbook upang maabot na, sa wakas, ang one is to one ratio ng aklat sa mag-aaral. [Applause]

Sana nga po, ngayong paubos na ang backlog sa edukasyon, sikapin nating huwag uling magka-backlog dahil sa dami ng estudyante. Sa tingin ko po, Responsible Parenthood ang sagot dito. [Applause]

—

english:

I have great faith in Secretary Luistro: Before the next year ends, we will have built the 66,800 classrooms needed to fill up the shortage we inherited. The 2,573,212 backlog in chairs that we were bequeathed will be addressed before 2012 ends. This year, too, will see the eradication of the backlog of 61.7 million textbooks—and we will finally achieve the one-to-one ratio of books to students.

We are ending the backlogs in the education sector, but the potential for shortages remains as our student population continues to increase. Perhaps Responsible Parenthood can help address this.

aquino mentioned in his SONA within the context of the potential risk of an increasing number of the student population overwhelming or negating the education department’s efforts at filling up the backlog needs of students. the education sector has been plagued for decades of a lack of schools, classrooms, chairs and even books. aquino in this SONA said the education secretary is now on an aggressive move to erase the backlog. aquino was warning that population growth, the number of new entrants or children into the education system need to be kept at a lower growth rate, otherwise the education agency will not be able to erase the backlog.

this is population control. and one can argue it is being anti-children.

population control is not necessarily a bad thing. reducing birth rates is population control. families deciding to have less number of children or the married couple agreeing to a specific number of children is population control on a family level. we all do it, why shouldn’t the state encourage it?

population control becomes bad when the state dictates on its citizens to a certain number of children couples will have , or when citizens are forced into it like the way china does it which has a 1 child policy per family.

the rh bill has no such provision. number of children a couple will have is left to the couple’s discretion. the state in the rhbill will simply provide couples the means and information on how the couple can achieve their desired family size.

but there is the risk of interpreting aquino’s statement on the rh bill within the context he said it as being “anti-children”, that aquino does not want couples to have too many children that will have the effect of overwhelming the state’s efforts on the zero backlog on education.

the rh bill is not anti-children. in fact the rh bill is from the perspective of the parents, the married couple not children. the rh bill empowers the woman, the couple and the family into giving them the tools, education and service to enable them to successfully meet their desired number of children and age spacing of their children.

rh bill advocates knew what aquino meant. to a large extent the anti rh bill groups also knew what the president meant. they know it so well that they have reacted badly to the mention of the rh bill in the SONA. in fact CBCP has already launched an attack on aquino one day after the SONA.

malacanang apparently also knew what aquino said, actually what aquino failed to say and that is the reason why they felt compelled to clarify what aquino said during the SONA.

PNoy backing same RH Bill in Congress

By Willard Cheng, ABS-CBN News

Posted at 07/24/2012 4:07 PM | Updated as of 07/24/2012 10:48 PM

MANILA, Philippines – Malacañang said President Aquino was referring to the same consolidated bill on reproductive health (RH) now pending in Congress when he made a pitch for the passage of the responsible parenthood bill in his State of the Nation Address (SONA).

Deputy Presidential spokesperson Abigail Valte said the draft bill submitted by the Palace has been consolidated with the version being pushed by advocates of reproductive health in Congress.

It has the title “An Act Providing for a Comprehensive Policy on Responsible Parenthood, Reproductive Health, and Population and Development, and for other purposes.”

The Palace, however, prefers to use the shorthand “Responsible Parenthood bill” in referring to it.

The measure was included in the list of the administration’s priority bills during the meeting of the LEDAC.

“Ang punto po ‘non, ang dulo po ‘non, na-consolidate na po ‘yung anim na pending (bills) in Congress sponsored by Representatives (Edcel) Lagman, (Janette) Garin, (Arlene) Bag-Ao, (Walden) Bello, (Rodolfo) Biazon, (Augusto) Syjuco, (Luz) Ilagan, and (Emmi) De Jesus… into House Bill 4244. Ang title po nito, ‘An Act Providing for a Comprehensive Policy on Responsible Parenthood, Reproductive Health, and Population and Development, and for other purposes.’ So ‘yun na po ‘yon. It has been consolidated with the pending bills,” Valte said.

“The bill submitted by the Palace took into consideration the dialogues that our officials had with members of the Church and also with members of pro-RH advocacy groups. So ‘yun na po ‘yung dulo niya. It’s House Bill 4244.” She added.

The Palace reiterated the President’s position on responsible parenthood. Valte said:

“First, the President is against abortion. This is a reiteration of the President’s position that he has, time and again, enunciated even from the campaign when he was running for president.

“Second, the President is in favor of giving couples the right to choose how best to manage their families so that in the end their welfare and that of their children are best served…

“Thirdly, the President is of the position that the state must respect each individual’s right to follow his or his conscience and religious convictions on matters and issues pertaining to the unity of the family and the sacredness of human life from conception to natural death.

“Fourth, in a situation where couples especially the poor and the disadvantaged ones are in no position to make an informed judgment, the state has the responsibility to so provide.

“And, lastly, in the range of options and information provided to couples, natural family planning and modern methods shall be presented as equally available.”

Asked if the President’s mention of the bill serves an endorsement for its passage, Valte said, “The members of Congress are free certainly to have their own interpretation of what was said by the President. But the President did mention Responsible Parenthood and that refers to the version that the Palace submitted during the LEDAC and to the one that was consolidated.”

Valte said there are no discussions yet if the Palace wants to certify the bill as “urgent.”

this incident demonstrates the importance of good communication and specificity specially on speeches of national importance by the president of the country.

 

 

“aquino : nothing is impossible” – PDI’s report on SONA 2012

we think PDI’s article on aquino’s 2012 SONA is an excellent report on it.

Aquino: Nothing is impossible

SONA is President’s narration of changes

By Christine O. Avendaño, Norman Bordadora
Philippine Daily Inquirer

The Philippines has achieved change, and the Filipinos themselves have made it happen.

President Benigno Aquino faced a joint session of Congress Monday to deliver his third State of the Nation Address (Sona). He did not claim credit for the improvements in national life in the past year. All credit he gave to the Filipinos. He thanked them for the achievements.

He said that in the 25 months that he has been President, he learned that “nothing is impossible because if the Filipino people see that they are the only Bosses of their government, they will carry, they will guide you, they themselves will lead you to meaningful change.”

“Nothing is impossible to a united nation,” Mr. Aquino said. “It was change we dreamed of, and change we achieved.”

Toward the end of his one-hour-and-a-half-long speech, he said: “Isn’t it a great time to be Filipino?”

And the benefits of change, he said, are now par for the course: Roads are straight and level, and properly paved; relief goods are ready even before a storm arrives, rescue services are always on standby, and people are no longer left to fend for themselves; sirens only blare from police cars, ambulances, and fire trucks—not from the vehicles of government officials.

“Reforms were established as we cut wasteful spending, held offenders accountable for their actions, and showed the world that the Philippines is now open for business under new management,” the President said.

He reported eight credit rating upgrades, 44 stock market record highs, and a first-quarter 2012 gross domestic product growth rate of 6.4 percent, “much higher than projected, the highest growth in the Southeast Asian region, and second only to China in the whole of Asia.”

On his social, health, education, employment and infrastructure programs, Mr. Aquino reported achievements and announced progress on plans:

• The conditional cash transfer program for the poorest poor has been extended to 3.1 million households as of February from 760,357 when he took office in June 2010.

For next year, the program will cover 3.8 million households, five times bigger than the program he inherited from the Arroyo administration.

Under the program, the beneficiaries get P1,400 a month on the condition that pregnant women get regular prenatal checkups, mothers bring their children to clinics for immunization and parents keep their children

TO MY BOSSES: “This is not my SONA. This is the SONA of the Filipino nation. You are the wellspring of change. It’s possible. It is a great time to be Filipino.”

in school.

According to the Department of Social Welfare and Development, the President said, 1,672,977 mothers are now getting regular checkups; 1,672, 814 children have been vaccinated against diarrhea, polio, measles and other diseases; and 4.57 million children no longer miss classes because of poverty.

• Eighty-five percent of all Filipinos have been enrolled in PhilHealth, compared to 62 percent in 2010. This means 23.31 percent more Filipinos have gained access to health insurance in the past two years.

Better news: 5.2 million poorest households will benefit from PhilHealth programs, including treatment for such diseases as breast cancer, prostate cancer and acute leukemia.

“The process,” Mr. Aquino said, “is this: Go to any government hospital, show your PhilHealth card, get treatment, and you will go home without shelling out a single centavo.”

• By year-end, the government will have built the 66,800 classrooms needed to solve the classroom shortage in public schools, acquired the 2,573,212 chairs needed to solve the furniture shortage, and done away with the 61.7-million-book shortage to achieve the 1:1 textbook-to-student ratio.

“We are ending the backlogs in the education sector, but the potential for shortages remains as our student population continues to increase,” Mr. Aquino said. Then he suggested a solution: “Perhaps the responsible parenthood bill can help address this.”

That drew the loudest of the 100 bursts of applause that interrupted Mr. Aquino’s speech.

• A proposed 43.61-percent increase in the budget of state universities and colleges next year.

• A steady decline in the unemployment rate from 8 percent in 2010 to 7.2 percent in 2011 to 6.9 percent this year.

• The completion by 2016 of airports in Panglao, Bohol; Daraga, Albay; Laguindingan, Misamis Oriental; and the upgrading of the international airports in Mactan, Cebu; Tacloban, Leyte; and Puerto Princesa, Palawan.

• Full repair of the flaws of Terminal 3 of the Ninoy Aquino International Airport before the next Sona in July next year.

• Completion by 2015 of the extension of the Light Rail Transit Line 1 to Cavite, which would ease traffic in Las Piñas, Parañaque and Cavite, and the addition of two elevated expressways that will connect the North Luzon and South Luzon expressways, and reduce travel time between Clark in Pampanga and Calamba in Laguna to 1 hour and 40 minutes.

• Drawing 2.1 million tourists in the past two years, compared to 1.3 million during the nine years of the Arroyo administration. The goal for this year: 4.6 million tourists.

• Reduction of rice imports from 1.3 million metric tons in 2010 to 500,000 metric tons this year. Weather permitting, the Philippines may start exporting rice next year.

Military modernization

Turning to national defense, the President said the government allocated P28 billion for the modernization of the military. “This will soon match the P33 billion set aside for the program in the past 15 years,” Mr. Aquino said.

president noynoy aquino’s SONA 2012 (july 23, 2012) – read full transcript here

Benigno S. Aquino III
Third State of the Nation Address
July 23, 2012

State of the Nation Address
of
His Excellency Benigno S. Aquino III
President of the Philippines
To the Congress of the Philippines

[Delivered at the Session Hall of the House of Representatives, Batasan Pambansa Complex, Quezon City, on July 23, 2012]

Maraming salamat po. Maupo po tayong lahat

Senate President Juan Ponce Enrile; Speaker Feliciano Belmonte; Bise Presidente Jejomar Binay; mga dating Pangulong Fidel Valdez Ramos at Joseph Ejercito Estrada; ang ating mga kagalang-galang na mahistrado ng Korte Suprema; mga kagalang-galang na kagawad ng kalipunang diplomatiko; mga kagalang-galang na miyembro ng Kamara de Representante at ng Senado; mga pinuno ng pamahalaang lokal; mga miyembro ng ating Gabinete; mga unipormadong kasapi ng militar at kapulisan; mga kapwa kong nagseserbisyo sa taumbayan; at siyempre sa akin pong mga boss, magandang hapon po.

Ito po ang aking ikatlong SONA, at parang kailan lang nang nagsimula tayong mangarap. Parang kailan lang nang sabay-sabay tayong nagpasyang tahakin ang tuwid na daan. Parang kailan lang nang sinimulan nating iwaksi ang wang-wang, hindi lamang sa kalsada kundi sa sistemang panlipunan.

Dalawang taon na ang nakalipas mula nang sinabi ninyo, “Sawa na kami sa korupsyon; sawa na kami sa kahirapan.” Oras na upang ibalik ang isang pamahalaang tunay na kakampi ng taumbayan.

Gaya ng marami sa inyo, namulat ako sa panggigipit ng makapangyarihan. Labindalawang-taong gulang po ako nang idineklara ang Batas Militar. Bumaliktad ang aming mundo: Pitong taon at pitong buwang ipiniit ang aking ama; tatlong taong napilitang mangibang-bansa ang aking pamilya; naging saksi ako sa pagdurusa ng marami dahil sa diktadurya. Dito napanday ang aking prinsipyo: Kung may inaagrabyado’t ninanakawan ng karapatan, siya ang kakampihan ko. Kung may abusadong mapang-api, siya ang lalabanan ko. Kung may makita akong mali sa sistema, tungkulin kong itama ito. [Applause]

Matagal nang tapos ang Batas Militar. Tinanong tayo noon: “Kung hindi tayo, sino pa?” at “Kung hindi ngayon, kailan pa?” Ang nagkakaisang tugon natin: tayo at ngayon na. Ang demokrasyang ninakaw gamit ang paniniil at karahasan, nabawi natin sa mapayapang paraan; matagumpay nating pinag-alab ang liwanag mula sa pinakamadilim na kabanata ng ating kasaysayan.

Ngunit huwag po nating kalimutan ang pinag-ugatan ng Batas Militar: Kinasangkapan ng diktador ang Saligang Batas upang manatili sa kapangyarihan. At hanggang ngayon, tuloy pa rin ang banggaan sa pagitan ng gusto ng sistemang parehas, laban sa mga nagnanais magpatuloy ng panlalamang.

Mula sa unang araw ng ating panunungkulan, walang ibang sumalubong sa atin kundi ang mga bangungot ng nawalang dekada.

Nariyan po ang kaso ng North Rail. Pagkamahal-mahal na nga nito, matapos ulitin ang negosasyon, nagmahal pa lalo. Sa kabila nito, binawasan ang benepisyo. Ang labingsiyam na trainsets naging tatlo, at sa mga estasyon, mula lima, naging dalawa. Ang masaklap po, pinapabayaran na sa atin ang utang nito, now na.

Nariyan ang walang pakundangang bonus sa ilang GOCC, sa kabila ng pagkalugi ng kanilang mga ahensya. Nariyan ang isang bilyong pisong pinasingaw ng PAGCOR para sa kape. Nariyan ang sistemang pamamahala sa PNP na isinantabi ang pangangailangan sa armas ng 45 porsiyento ng kapulisan, para lang kumita mula sa lumang helicopter na binili sa presyong brand new.

Wala na ngang iniwang panggastos, patung-patong at sabay-sabay pa ang mga utang na kailangang bayaran na. Mahaba ang iniwang listahan na tungkulin nating punuan: Ang 66,800 na backlog sa classrooms, na nagkakahalaga ng tinatayang 53.44 billion pesos; ang 2,573,212 na backlog sa mga upuan, na nagkakahalaga naman ng 2.31 billion pesos. Nang dumating tayo, may halos tatlumpu’t anim na milyong Pilipinong hindi pa miyembro ng PhilHealth. Ang kailangan para makasali sila: maaaring umabot sa 42 billion pesos. Idagdag pa po natin sa lahat ng iyan ang 103 billion pesos na kailangan para sa modernisasyon ng Hukbong Sandatahan. Sa harap ng lahat ng ito, ang iniwan sa ating pondo na malaya nating magagamit: 6.5 percent ng kabuuang budget para sa natitirang anim na buwan ng 2010. Para po tayong boksingerong isinabak sa laban nang nakagapos na nga ang mga kamay at paa, nakapiring pa ang mga mata, at kakampi pa ng kalaban ang referee at ang mga judge.

Kaya nga sa unang tatlong buwan ng aming panunungkulan, inaabangan namin ang pagdating ng Linggo para maidulog sa Panginoon ang mga bangungot na humaharap sa amin. Inasahan naming mangangailangan ng ‘di bababa sa dalawang taon bago magkaroon ng makabuluhang pagbabago. Bibigyan kaya tayo ng sapat na pag-unawa ng taumbayan?

president noynoy aquino’s July 25, 2011 SONA video

“utak wang-wang” is a winner

coming from the first SONA of aquino where he hit the home run on the use of “wang-wang” which caught everyone’s imagination and yes attention. he made use of that to go into a new term – “utak wang-wang”. this is a winner.

utak wang-wang very much defines what is very wrong in philippine governance. we often hear it from others who say corruption is a way of life in the philippines, that it is endemic. it is this that aquino wants to correct or do – to remove corruption from the minds of filipinos and most specially filipino government officials.

in many ways, corruption is like the use of wang-wang (siren) in the streets by government officials. its use is rooted in the thinking, or in the utak of the government officials that they can abuse power. from abuse of power comes the thinking that they can commit acts of corruption. in fact to many of them, the thinking is that they are entitled to corruption. it is these things in the minds of government official that aquino want to take action against – to remove that kind of thinking.

SWS poll : aquino gets “good” rating on net satisfaction rating, 2QTR 2011

http://www.bworldonline.com/content.php?section=TopStory&title=Aquino-administration-maintains-%E2%80%98good%E2%80%99-rating&id=35260

Aquino administration maintains ‘good’ rating

FILIPINOS CONTINUE to hold a favorable view of the Aquino administration’s performance, with the Social Weather Stations (SWS) reporting a satisfaction rating well above those of previous governments and favorable scores in all but one issue.

 June’s “good” net rating of +45 (62% satisfied, 17% dissatisfied and 19% ambivalent), while down a point from March and substantially lower than the record “very good” +64 hit in September and November last year, is still higher than all other scores recorded since 1986, the SWS said.

The best previous rating, it noted, was the “good” +36 notched by the Estrada administration in November 1998.

Respondents said they were also satisfied with the Aquino government’s performance regarding 17 specific issues, with record highs hit in terms of helping migrant Filipinos and pursuing tax evaders. The sole failing mark — although up from March — involved the resolution of the Maguindanao massacre.

Malacañang claimed that the lower scores were “statistically insignificant” and passed the blame regarding the almost two-year-old massacre onto the justice system. A Palace official claimed they were “as unhappy as the people in the manner and pace of the trial”.

wawam is on Twitter! live blogging for Noynoy Aquino’s July 25, 2011 SONA

wawam and the 2010Presidentiables blog will go live on twitter during the president aquino’s 2nd SONA. read the tweets in this blog or follow wawam on twitter.

President Noynoy Aquino’s July 25, 2011 SONA – transcript, poll and comments

State of the Nation Address

of

His Excellency Benigno S. Aquino III

President of the Philippines

To the Congress of the Philippines

[Delivered at the Session Hall of the House of Representatives, Batasan Pambansa Complex, Quezon City on July 25, 2011]

[Please check against delivery]

Senate President Juan Ponce Enrile; Speaker Feliciano Belmonte; Bise Presidente Jejomar Binay; mga dating Pangulong Fidel Valdez Ramos at Joseph Ejercito Estrada; Chief Justice Renato Corona at ang ating mga kagalang-galang na mahistrado ng Korte Suprema; mga kagalang-galang na kasapi ng diplomatic corps; mga butihing miyembro ng Kamara de Representante at ng Senado; mga Local Government officials; mga miyembro ng ating Gabinete; mga unipormadong kasapi ng militar at kapulisan; mga kapwa ko nagseserbisyo sa taumbayan;

At sa mga minamahal kong kababayan, ang aking butihing mga boss:

Humarap po ako sa inyo noong aking inagurasyon at sinabing: Walang wang-wang sa ating administrasyon. At ngayon, patuloy nating itinitigil ito. Naging hudyat at sagisag po ito ng pagbabago, hindi lamang sa kalsada, kundi pati na rin sa kaisipan sa lipunan.

Sa matagal na panahon, naging simbolo ng pang-aabuso ang wang-wang. Dati, kung makapag-counterflow ang mga opisyal ng pamahalaan, para bang oras lang nila ang mahalaga. Imbes na maglingkod-bayan, para bang sila ang naging hari ng bayan.  Kung maka-asta ang kanilang mga padrino’t alipores, akala mo’y kung sinong maharlika kung humawi ng kalsada; walang pakialam sa mga napipilitang tumabi at napag-iiwanan. Ang mga dapat naglilingkod ang siya pang nang-aapi. Ang panlalamang matapos mangakong maglingkod—iyan po ang utak wang-wang.

Wala silang karapatang gawin ito. Ayon sa batas, tanging ang Presidente, Bise Presidente, Senate President, House Speaker, Chief Justice, at pulis, bumbero, at ambulansya lang ang awtorisadong gumamit ng wangwang para sa kanilang mga opisyal na lakad. Kung sa trapiko nga ay di masunod ang batas, paano pa kaya sa mga bagay na mas malaki ang makukuha, tulad ng sa mga proyektong pinopondohan ng kaban ng bayan?

Kayo po ba gusto ninyong makulong ang lahat ng tiwali? Ako rin. Gusto ba ninyong matanggal ang wang-wang, hindi lamang sa kalsada, kundi sa kaisipang nagdulot ng baluktot na sistema na pagkatagal-tagal na nating pinagtiisan? Ako rin. Gusto po ba ninyong mabigyan ng patas na pagkakataon ang lahat na umasenso? Ako rin.

Narito po ang halimbawa ng resulta ng ating kampanya kontra wang-wang sa sistema. Nitong taong ito, taumbayan na mismo ang nagsabi, nabawasan ang nagugutom sa kanila. Mula 20.5% na self-rated hunger noong Marso, bumaba na ito sa 15.1% nitong Hunyo, katumbas ng isang milyong pamilyang Pilipinong nagugutom dati, pero ngayon ay nakakakain na nang tama kada araw.

president noynoy aquino’s SONA.2, july 25, 2011 – defining or redefining the presidency?

read the pilipino and english transcript of the SONA July 2011 speech here: http://bit.ly/qhL2Fm

watch the video of the SONA here :  http://bit.ly/pEzP7c

presidentiable noynoy aquyino defined his campaign through these 5 words : “kung walang corrupt, walang mahirap” . and these 5 words got presidentiable noynoy elected. the people believed him and because we have been having years of gloria macapagal arroyo and we have always suspected her of corruption. arroyo was one of the country’s most unpopular president, if not the most unpopular with back to back to back negative performance ratings through the years in performance as president.

noynoy aquino, promising no more corruption and removing it to lead us to progress got him elected.

from the presidential elections, aquino carried that through his first year in office, time and again exposing the newly discovered corruption cases committed by arroyo and government officials under her.

it may not have been intentional on his part, but that is how aquino has defined his first year in office.

on his second year of office, we could be seeing another definition of his administration or he will redefine it.

read the speech here:

read the pilipino and english transcript of the SONA July 2011 speech here: http://bit.ly/qhL2Fm

aquino in his second SONA, has redefined his administration as single mindedly pursuing those who  he said continue to have the “utak wang-wang”.

Kayo po ba gusto ninyong makulong ang lahat ng tiwali? Ako rin. Gusto ba ninyong matanggal ang wang-wang, hindi lamang sa kalsada, kundi sa kaisipang nagdulot ng baluktot na sistema na pagkatagal-tagal na nating pinagtiisan? Ako rin. Gusto po ba ninyong mabigyan ng patas na pagkakataon ang lahat na umasenso? Ako rin.

aquino believes corruption or it’s removal from the fiber of philippine culture in governance needs to be his priority and something he he should succeed in.

we see the value and importance in aquino’s obsession to remove the utak wang-wang in philippine government. the recent weeks have shown us how top government officials during the arroyo administration wantonly and blatantly stole, misused or misappropriated billions upon billions of pesos meant for the people and the service of the people.

May mga nagsasabing pinepersonal ko raw ang paghahabol sa mga tiwali. Totoo po: Personal talaga sa akin ang paggawa ng tama, at ang pagpapanagot sa mga gumagawa ng mali—sino man sila. At hindi lamang dapat ako ang namemersonal sa usaping ito. Personal dapat ito sa ating lahat, dahil bawat Pilipino ay biktima nito.

corruption to aquino is a personal thing and he says it should to be to the rest of us. we should not be forgiving and just let things go because corruption was committed in the past. it is not a matter of let by-gones be by-gones. corruption affects each of us.

aquino did not redefine his presidency. what he did was to restate what he had said during his first SONA and what he said during the presidentiables campaign. in his second SONA, aquino has confirmed with us his obsession with corruption or  its removal  from government.

that is both a good thing and a bad thing.

it is a good thing as we all know philippine history on governance is full of stories of corruption, small to multi-billion types of corruption. the recent string of revelations on corruption during the arroyo admin has shown to us how rampant it was and how much it had cost the country and taxpayers. government officials under the arroyo admin took billions of pesos from whatever source they could lay their hands on.

we have heard of allegations of corruption at the AFP, department of agriculture, the PCSO, PAGCOR, DPWH and of course the BIR and the bureau of customs. aside from officers of these government agencies stealing money, we have also heard of money being used for the election of arroyo and the children of some of the government officials.

corruption being everywhere and in big numbers, making it as a priority or even as an obsession is a good thing.

it is a bad thing as fighting corruption or even removing it is a very lofty goal and it’s impact on the daily lives of pinoys are hard to imagine.

when aquino says he wants to remove utak wang-wang, how do we measure his success at it? do we measure it in terms of the number of times he mentions it in his speeches? or the number of corruption cases revealed by officers of government to the press? or do we measure it in terms of number of cases filed with the ombudsman? what about conviction or the number of people put to jail?

of course the true measure of success in his drive to remove utak wang-wang from governance is if it actually stops and all funds meant for the people are actually spent for the people.  that sounds easy enough but if we are to use as basis arroyo’s admin, we are finding out corruption committed during her term after her term, not during.

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.