PRESIDENT Benigno Aquino III blasted Monday his predecessor’s administration for what he called misguided policies and a “revolting” way of pursuing projects that nearly depleted public coffers.
“The country was misled and kept in the dark about the true conditions of our country,” Aquino said in his first State of the Nation Address (Sona).
In the first six months of 2010, former President Gloria Macapagal Arroyo’s administration spent more than it earned, pushing the budget deficit to P196.7 billion, Aquino said.
He said his government was left with only 6.5 percent of this year’s budget of P1.54 trillion, because money was spent on “useless” projects “which went to chosen beneficiaries only.”
Aquino said 60 percent of calamity funds earmarked for rehabilitation of typhoon-stricken areas has been spent, although the rainy season has just begun.
Of P108 million in calamity funds for the province of Pampanga alone, Aquino said, P105 million went to one district—apparently alluding to the district Arroyo now represents in the House of Representatives.
Arroyo wasn’t around to hear the Sona, but was in Hong Kong to accompany her husband for a medical check-up.
“The funds were released on election month, which was seven months after the typhoon. What will happen if a typhoon arrives tomorrow? Our future will pay for the greed of yesterday,” Aquino said.
(An official English translation of the president’s Sona, which he delivered entirely in Filipino, was made available on www.gov.ph.)
President Aquino criticized fat bonuses granted to officers and “midnight appointees” of the Metropolitan Waterworks and Sewerage System; “unstudied” public works projects funded by the motor vehicle users’ charge; and the excessive importation of rice by the National Food Authority (NFA), which now has P177 billion in debts.
He said the wasted funds could have paid for the entire judiciary’s budget this year, all conditional cash transfers for next year and “all the classrooms our country needs.”
“This way of doing things is revolting…You have heard how the public coffers were squandered…That is why, starting now, we will stop the wasteful use of government funds. We will eradicate projects that are wrong.”
Aquino said he will sign this week an order creating a “truth commission” to investigate alleged wrongdoing committed under the Arroyo administration.
He also called on Congress to allow the swift confirmation of his Cabinet appointees, so that “competent Filipinos will be encouraged to help our country by becoming public servants.”
Requests
In terms of laws, the administration will push for:
l a fiscal responsibility bill to limit spending only for appropriations that have identified a source of funding;
l passage of the national land use bill;
l an anti-trust law that will give small and medium enterprises a better chance to compete and that will dismantle monopolies or cartels;
l a whistleblower’s protection bill “to eradicate the prevalent culture of fear and silence that has hounded our system;” and
l the re-codification of laws.
Outside the House of Representatives, police formed a cordon to stop about 6,000 protesters from getting close.
The demonstrators demanded land for peasants, jobs and an end to human rights violations. They urged Aquino to jail Arroyo for alleged corruption, as well as soldiers accused of killing activists.
Former presidents Fidel Ramos and Joseph Estrada expressed satisfaction with the nearly 30-minute Sona, but called on people to have realistic expectations.
“After six years, ano ang maasahan natin (what can we expect) especially for ordinary Filipinos? This is just the State of the Nation Address, it’s only good for 30-40 minutes. We will see the short-term, medium-term and long-term promises coming up of the government,” said Ramos.
Vice President Jejomar Binay was all praises.
“Our President gave the true state of the nation in a manner that is simple, direct and truthful,” Binay said.
Aquino, towards the end of his Sona, urged all Filipinos “to closely watch the leaders you have elected” and to help find solutions instead of merely airing “never-ending complaints.”
“We have always known that the key to growth is putting the interest of others beyond one’s own. One thing is clear: how can we move forward if we keep putting others down?” (AP/With Sunnex)