‘We can dream again’ - Noynoy.

‘We can dream again’ - INQUIRER.net, Philippine News for Filipinos

The state of the nation (SONA) address of Pres. Noynoy Aquino gives us hope. He stressed the following points in re: governance, justice, and accountability, as reported in Philippine media. Read the link to the Philippine Daily Inquirer above.


1. “If the answer to justice is accountability, the answer to the dearth in funds is a new and creative approach to our long-standing problems,” he said, according to an official English translation of the SONA. “I am heartened because many have already expressed renewed interest and confidence in the Philippines.”

2. He vowed to open peace talks with the National Democratic Front, Communist Party of the Philippines and its military wing, the New People’s Army, and said he was open to an immediate ceasefire. “It is difficult to begin discussions in earnest if the smell of gun powder still hangs in the air. I call on everyone concerned not to waste a good opportunity to rally behind our common aspiration for peace,” Mr. Aquino said. “Our foundation for growth is peace. We will continue to be shackled by poverty if the crossfire persists.”

3. He also said that he was hopeful that peace talks could resume with the Moro Islamic Liberation Front, the main separatist force in Mindanao.

4. “Creating jobs is foremost on our agenda, and the creation of jobs will come from the growth of our industries,” he said. This will come, he added, if processes are streamlined to make them predictable, reliable and efficient for those who want to invest, the President said. “We make sure that the build-operate-transfer projects will undergo quick and efficient processes. With the help of all government agencies concerned and the people, a process that used to take as short as a year and as long as a decade will now take six months,” Mr. Aquino said. He also promised to expand the Philippine Health Insurance Corp. (PhilHealth) coverage and implement the national household targeting system that would identify the families that most urgently need assistance. He said that an estimated P9 billion was needed to provide the needs of 5 million destitute Filipinos.

5. To put a stop to the wasteful use of funds, the government would eradicate “wrong projects” and adopt a “zero-based” approach to crafting the national budget, the President said. “What used to be the norm was every year, the budget merely gets reenacted without plugging the holes,” he said. “Next month we will be submitting a budget that accurately identifies the problem and gives much attention on the right solution.”


Note: I shall await the issuance of the promised executive order that will create a truth commission to investigate the anomalies and crimes of the repulsive 9-year old regime of ex-Pres. Gloria Arroyo, who conveniently absented herself during the SONA event yesterday and went to Hongkong with her controversial husband Mike Arroyo allegedly to see a Chinese doctor. Her first major act as a congressperson was to intentionally absent herself from the joint SONA session of congress which formally opens the new congress.