President Aquino Is Credible in His SONA

President Aquino increases his believability as a reforming leader in his first State of the Nation Address in Congress last Monday. He first revealed the near depletion of the country's treasury this year due to fiscal mismanagement of the past administration of Gloria Arroyo. He added that the calamity funds are almost empty, and this puts the country, which lies in the path of typhoons, in jeopardy. This is just the middle of the year and most of the typhoons and tropical storms are still to come in the late period. Aquino frankly enumerated in his first SONA the suspicious government contracts that are losing propositions to the Filipino people. He also lambasted the atrocious benefits and bonuses that the members of the board of trustees of a government corporation, MWSS, enjoy while the pension benefits of its workers languished.

Aquino also exposed the rotting rice in NFA warehouses. Instead of the hungry getting fed, these cavans of rice, which could be six months to two years in continued storage, remain undelivered and unprocessed. This is due to over-importation of rice, which caused the government rice agency to get indebted in the billions of pesos. Furthermore, Aquino mentioned the shady flood-control contracts of the DPWH, 19 in all, which were approved and about to be funded during the waning days of the Arroyo administration. With the initiative of the incoming DPWH secretary, these shady deals were held and remained under study. Aquino wanted to convince the Filipino people that the government that he inherited remained enmeshed in shady projects and contracts that threatened the financial stability of the country and continue to enrich a corrupt class of people which will he will now fight and stop.

Then, he told his audience the steps that the new administration is doing and plans to do to provide wide-ranging reforms for the Filipino people. Among these are the following: a) continue fight against corruption in government by tightening the enforcement of tax laws and prosecuting blue-collar criminals; b) the Executive Order calling for the formal creation of the Truth Commission which will investigate and put a closure to the high profile corruption cases during the Arroyo administration will be signed; c) government-privater sector partnership to fund programs and projects, especially in the field of infrastructure; d) continued construction of ports and highways to hasten the economic recovery of the country. Aquino made special mention of a proposed built to operate (BOT) project to connect Metro-Manila and Cagayan Valley through an expressway that will pass through the stretch of Central Luzon and Cagayan Valley provinces.

In the end, Aquino told the audience and the Filipino people that to dream of a better life will be more achievable in his Presidency and that he will see to it, with the cooperation and support of all, that this human aspiration to seek fulfillment of a dream will be possible.

The First SONA of President Aquino

While this post is being written, it is still early Monday in the Philippines. The activities in and around Congress have not begun and the rallies that are supposed to greet the State of the Nation Address of President Aquino and the tight security that the Philippine National Police plans to put around the area have not taken place. However, the excitement and expectations of a meaty SONA are already felt in Philippine society, including the media. It is said the speech of President Aquino to the legislators in both houses and to the nation in general will mostly be in Pilipino, interspersed perhaps by a few paragraphs and sentences here and there in English. In short, the intention is there to make the speech completely communicated clearly to everyone, most especially to the majority of Filipinos who voted him into power due to his powerful campaign slogan of "Kung Walang Corrupt, Walang Mahirap".
Much of the next six years in the Aquino administration is believed encapsulized in the first SONA. While he will talk about a depleted treasury caused by profligate spending by the Arroyo administration, President Aquino promises to replace the shock that the audience will feel about details of a depleting budget, including a measly sum left to tackle calamity and disasters from incoming typhoons the rest of the year, with his vision and goals of his Presidency. This is supposed to guide the legislators on the kind of laws and support that he expects from the halls of Congress.
President Aquino is expected to reveal for the first time the core of his program of reforms to improve the conditions of the country and eventually propel it to the zenith of prosperity and progress. Because he always pledges his sincerity to everything that he says and does to the Filipino people, it should be the climax of the day to hear him say the visions of his leadership to the Filipino people as well as the expected invitation that he will lay down to the entire citizenry of the Philippines to support him and help him produce a better Philippines. In a way, the President is most likely ready to appeal once more to the majority if not all of the Filipino population to reveal their better nature to help each other and volunteer in whatever they can to attain the success of the visions that he will speak of for the entire nation.
It is much like, and this is just a guess, a rephrasing of the call of US President John F. Kennedy to the American people in his inaugural speech: "Ask not what your country can do for you; ask what you can do for your country."
What ever transpires in the halls of Congress and around it this Monday, it is hoped it will be for a much improved country and a more patriotic citizenry.

Sincerity Begets Sincerity

President Aquino found out that Filipinos will respond to their government about their needs and aspirations if their leaders are sincere and serious and honest. These are the qualities that the voters in the May 10 automated polls saw in the electoral campaign of the Liberal Party standard bearer Noynoy Aquino, so they voted him into power. Now, thanks to modern technology in communicating and the availability of social networking websites such as Facebook, Multiply and Twitter, President Aquino is getting a lot of feedback from concerned citizens. He recently told the press that he receives all kinds of text from various sectors of society and this is quite a revelation. Here is a President who is in charge of the fate and destiny of the country, and he finds time to listen to simple folks about their problems and concerns. He has no qualms about the veracity or authenticity of the feedback. All he is after is the immediate response that he receives from the people. This is a healthy sign that his budding Presidency is being received openly by the entire nation.
Thus, when he designed a communication setup in the Palace with the appointment of three capable media practitioners, President Aquino has in mind the Magsaysay-style of linking with the masses. And this style aims to go to any extent possible to reach out to the people. While telegrams during Magsaysay's time was one of the more popular instruments to air to their leaders the concerns of the people, the focus of Malacanang at this time is to hear the people and respond to the feedback that they receive, through an integrated use of Internet, print and broadcast media. President Aquino will leave no stone unturned in order to listen to the people and respond to their needs. He is willing to listen, even implement good suggestions and recommendations that he hears from concerned sectors of society.
Since he has shown sincerity in dealing with the people, President Aquino stands to reap from this act. The people will look up to him in high regard because he aims to be a role model in being an incorruptible leader of a developing country. He said in his election campaign that he will not steal from the people. "Kung walang corrupt, walang mahirap". Now he has added the instrument of mass communications - sincere and serious - to reach out to the people and convince them that he means business. Sincerity begets sincerity. The people will be more involved in helping the government attain the goals of fighting corruption and reducing poverty. From all these actions will come a prosperous country that is finally liberated from doubts, half-heartedness and complacency.

Early Days of the Aquino Presidency

President Benigno Aquino III, who wants to be called P.Noy by the media and his people, has assumed power and is now busy performing the duties and responsibilities as leader of the country. His Cabinet people are almost complete, except maybe the post of the DILG (Department of the Interior and Local Governments). Right now, pending the final selection of who'll take over the post, Aquino has decided to temporarily head the agency. Otherwise, the various agencies and departments of the government are now in full operation and functioning on target to implement the campaign promises of Aquino to the people.
During his inaugural address, he is quoted: "Walang wang-wang, walang counterflow, walang tong!" It is a pledge to the Filipino people. Thus, the campaign to fully ban the use of sirens and blinkers by unauthorized individuals is in full effect. The PNP has given recognition to this desire of P.Noy to stop the illegal practice of using blinkers and sirens in traffic stops. Although there is law about this, dating back as early as 1973, it has not been completely enforced due to a culture of "palakasan" which is endemic in the socio-political life of Filipinos. Now, this practice is being challenged, no less than the President of the country.
Looking back, President Aquino made a declaration during his speech to the nation at his presidential inauguration that he will be a role model to the nation in its attempt to be great again. In effect, the call for nationalism and patriotism in words and in practice has been launched by the son of Cory and Benigno Aquino. The Filipino people are witnessing the renewal of effort to improve their lives by re-doing the pledges and promises that have been made in the past. They now blaze a trail of greatness and prosperity --- one final time.
There maybe parallel efforts of this kind in other countries wanting to develop and improve their lands and their people, but the patriotic effort now getting refurnished in the Philippines is entirely unique and totally Filipino, and it started when President Benigno Aquino III gained political power as the head of the country.