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He made a final appeal. The gains of Daang Matuwid must be nurtured and sustained, he said,
citing among others the need to pursue the AFP modernization, to ensure those helped by the 4Ps
don't slide back to poverty; and the full cycle of disaster management is completed following the
"build back better" approach.
rice imports to as much as P176.8-B in July 2010; millions misspent for "coffee" at state gaming
agency PAGCOR; the P18-billion dredging project at Laguna Lake, which he called money spent to
"play with mud."
He then cited the Maguindanao massacre of November 2009, which happened, he said, because of
the culture of impunity then.
"Can we blame our people for leaving because they had lost hope?" he asked.
Not easy decision
He said it was not an easy decision for him to make when a public campaign prevailed on him to
seek higher office beyond the Senate, when his mother died in 2009, but duty compelled him to
heed it.
Harping on the success of his administration's anti-corruption campaign, Aquino pointed to "the
detention of three senators and the hospital arrest of the former president," referring to Senators
Jose "Jinggoy" Estrada, Ramon "Bong" Revilla Jr. and Juan Ponce Enrile, who are being tried on
plunder and graft charges over the pork barrel scam, and Pampanga Representative Gloria
Macapagal-Arroyo.
Aquino compared practically each of his administration's accomplishments to what he called the
failures of his predecessor.
He said government-owned and controlled corporations under the past administration managed to
hand out only P84.18 billion in dividends over nine-and-a half years even as executives awarded
themselves lavish benefits and incentives even when the firms were bleeding.
Under his watch, he said, GOCC dividends had almost doubled to P131.8 billion.
He also cited tax revenues, which he said breached the P1-trillion mark for the first time in 2012 and
are projected to reach P1.5 trillion this year as he lauded Internal Revenue Commissioner Kim
Henares for improving the tax payment system and not sparing tax evaders, more than 300 of whom
are now facing charges.
This, he said, has improved investor confidence in the country and improved the economy.
'Rising star'
When he became president, Aquino said all he wanted to do was stamp out corruption.
"But who among you imagined that our global competitiveness rankings would also rise?" he asked,
noting that the country has been referred to as "Asia's rising tiger," "Asia's rising star," "Asia's bright
spot" and has been declared investment grade by leading credit ratings agencies.
In 2014, he said, net foreign direct investments reached P6.2 billion, "the highest in our history," and
"even domestic investment numbers are lively."
From 2003 to 2010, he said, domestic investments totaled only P1.24 trillion. From the third quarter
of 2010 to 2014, he said, these had reached P2.09 trillion.
He also pointed to a rejuvenated manufacturing sector, which achieved 8 percent annual growth
from 2010-2014, from 3 percent from 2001-2009.
If the country's main attraction for investors used to be low wages, he said, "now it is high-teceh
manufacturing."
"All these are the result of reforms under 'daang matuwid' (the straight path)," he said.
Job creation
Aquino also boasted that his administration's creation of jobs had cushioned the impact of the
declining number of overseas Filipino workers, which had gone down from 9.51 million to 9.07
million in December 2014.
He said it was likely that the 400,000 former OFWs "returned to the country and found jobs."
The unemployment rate, he said, had declined to 6.8 percent last year, "the lowest in a decade."
And, he added, the jobs created under his watch are "permanent, not street sweepers employed
only during survey periods."
He also said industrial strife had plunged under his administration, from the 109 strikes during the
Arroyo administration to only 15 in the past five years, with only one strike in 2013, the lowest in the
history of the Department of Labor and Employment.
Aquino also said that instead of "no vacancy" signs, classified ads are now full of "for immediate
hiring" notices with employers competing to give prospective workers incentives, which he credited
to his administration's addressing the jobs-skills mismatch.
Inclusive growth
He also trumpeted the achievements of the Pantawid Pamilyang Pilipino Program, or 4Ps, his
administration's cornerstone thrust to achieve "inclusive growth," saying its coverage had broadened
to 4.4 million beneficiary-families, way beyond the 786,523 achieved by the previous administration.
Under the 4Ps, he said, 333,673 students finished high school, 14,469 of them with honors, with two
of them enrolling in civil engineering, a quota course at the University of the Philippines.
Aquino also said the number of out-of-school youth has been reduced from 2.9 million when he
began his term to 1.2 million in 2013, partly because of the alternative learning system, which has
benefited street children and indigenous people.
He also touted the K-12 education reform, which he said is necessary to ensure students "are ripe to
forge their future."
Before K-12, he said, the Philippines was one of only three countries that still adhered to the 10-year
education cycle, which had led to "the qualifications of our workers being questioned" and even saw
some demoted.
He added that his administration has been steadily addressing the lack of classrooms and teachers,
quoting Education Secretary Armin Luistro as saying the number of new classrooms and teachers "is
more than the 20 years before" his term began.
Chides 'manhid' at palpak' critique
Without naming Vice President Jejomar Binay, whom he greeted earlier, Mr. Aquino also chided him
for tagging his administration as "manhid and palpak [numb and incompetent]" in an earlier speech.
The President cited the enhancements in the state health insurance program PhilHealth, and said
this best disproved the accusation of insensitivity and ineptness.
The President then stopped speaking momentarily to give way to a short video of a man needing a
costly heart operation, which was shouldered by PhilHealth where his wife is a member.
In yet another video footage, a provincial governor said they received P400 million to expand their
PhilHealth services as result of the passage of the Sin Tax Law.
In a word, he pointed out the sequential wisdom of his administration's moves: it had licked
corruption; levelled the playing field and boosted the environment for business; and then expanded
vital services using tax proceeds from business's higher profits.
He then encapsulated it by calling citizens by the name he loved best, "Boss". He said: "Justice,
trust, economic growth and opportunity and progress - Boss, ito po ang diwa ng 'kung walang
corrupt, walang mahirap.'"
Chides private partners of MRT
Coming to the defense of DOTC Sec. Joseph Emilio Abaya, he reminded the public that while the
government was drawing flak over the MRT3 mess, people forget there is an "MRTC" or a private
corporation that co-owns the light train system, but which has not moved to improve it, beyond
superficial repainting work.
When public anger over the dilapidated trains rose, Aquino said the private entities in MRTC finally
passed on the burden to the government, only to take it back later --albeit with a plan that will saddle
people with much costlier services to build in the improvements.
When the government took over anew, it was met by a temporary retraining order, he said. "Trabaho
ng pribado pinasa sa atin, ang solusyon naman natin, hinarang nila [The job of the private sector
was tossed to us; but when we gave solutions, they blocked it]."
He then cited the DOTC plans to overhaul the MRT in the last year of his administration, with the
arrival of new trains from China and three new trains to be delivered each month; new rails and
signalling system, and an automatic fare collection system.
The power supply for trains is due for an upgrade by 2016, he said.
He stressed he had "no blinders" as critics charge, in dealing with allies, and then publicly addressed
Secretary Abaya. He asked Abaya to be patient if people rake him over the coals over the MRT3
mess, while forgetting the key reforms he oversaw in the air and sea transportation sectors.
He credited Abaya with getting the country's aviation sector taken out of a blacklist in the US and
Europe; and with laying down reforms in the maritime sector, resulting, he said, in fewer sea
accidents.
Military, police upgrade
Aquino cited as well the plans to upgrade the Armed Forces and the National Police, noting the huge
challenge posed by both external and internal threats.
He ticked off the big-ticket procurement projects for military and police hardware. But beyond this,
he said the combat pay and allowances of uniformed men were improved; and housing units built
for them--with 8,100 more units expected to be built by the end of his term.
He ticked off the vital projects built during his term and which had been needed since decades ago mostly bridges and roads that linked towns and villages to markets and cities.
'Confidence in the future'
Aquino said Filipinos have found a renewed confidence in the future because of his administration's
reforms, citing a recent survey that showed eight of 10 respondents believing "we will reach the level
of developed countries."
He also cited a Gallup poll of citizens of more than 140 countries that showed the Philippines with
"the highest job optimism in the Asia-Pacific and second in the world."
He said even the newly employed are confident enough to invest in new cars and condominium
units, recalling that it took him 20 years to save up for a secondhand car.
He also recalled that two firms voiced interest in setting up research and development facilities in the
country and asked "if we could provide enough masteral and Phd holders in civil engineering," to
which, he said, the Department of Science and Technology replied, "Kayang-kaya (We can)."
And, he added, when he suggested that they could hire returning OFWs even at wages lower than
they used to earn abroad for the chance to be with their families, the firms said they would match
their salaries.
Aquino also said there was a time he felt world leaders engaged the Philippines only as an obligation
but "now, we are receiving invitations for state visits left and right," often accompanied by praise.
Final SONA awaited
The final SONA had been the subject of much speculation for many people wishing to hear how he
would frame the past five years since he assumed the presidency under unique circumstances: in
the glow of his parents' democratic legacy, his campaign boosted by overwhelming sympathy from a
nation grieving over the death of his mother, former President Corazon Aquino, from cancer.
People also wanted to hear what priorities he would lay down for the last final year of his term, given
competing agenda, besides the 2016 national budget.
He arrived at the Batasan complex at 3:35 pm and proceeded to the reception area, where he was
met by Speaker Feliciano Belmonte and Senate President Franklin Drilon.
At 3:58 pm, he entered the main hall, and was wildly applauded and greeted with a standing ovation.
Drilon and Belmonte declared the joint session of the 16th Congress open at exactly 4pm.
This was followed by the singing of the national anthem and ecumenical prayers.
Speaker Belmonte introduced the President. WITH REPORTS BY LIRA DALANGIN-FERNANDEZ
AND ERNIE REYES, INTERAKSYON.COM