Wednesday, July 24, 2013

IN PASSING: WhatAquino omitted in his address

What has been omitted in Aquino SONA?
By Belarmino Dabalos Saguing, Rome,Italy, 24.07.2013 1830 ICT



1.   Mining – the core of issues involving the country’s rich natural resources and economic activity. More than a year after pro- and anti-mining advocates clashed in a mining forum and after the release of Executive Order No. 79, the mining industry is still in limbo and the government still has to deliver on its promise to introduce amendments to Republic Act No. 7942 (Philippine Mining Act of 1995).  At the core is the issue of revenue sharing.  At present, all the government gets from mining operations is 2 percent excise tax in addition to income and other regular taxes. The government wants more but the mining industry warns it could drive investors away. Mining has become a thorny issue between pro- and anti-mining groups and the Aquino government remained a mere fence sitter.


2.   Human rights group are also alarmed over the lack of interest the Aquino government in addressing the continuing culture of impunity and violence in the country.  Even international observers like Human Rigths Watch, a New York basec observer, said they were disappointed that the president did not take “the opportunity to communicate to the military and the police that they will be held accountable for human rights violations” in his SONA.  Aside from a brief mention of slain radio commentator and environmental activist Gerry Ortega, the president largely kept silent on political and media killings. Human Rights Watch fears the president’s omission could embolden abusive state forces and officials to escalatethe  attacks against critics and activists.


3.   Freedom of Press advocates were again disappointed. Four years after he promised to push for the passage of the Freedom of Information (FOI) bill, Aquino has seemed forgotten the long cherished legislative measure that media freedom advocates have been campaigning for since Day 1 of his presidency.


4.   And while he dedicated four paragraphs of his speech to the GRP-MILF peace negotiations, The president was silent on the much older and more resilient than the Moro rebellion – the communist insurgency.  His government has virtually shut the door for peace talks with the National Democratic Front (NDF), the political umbrella of the Communist Party of the Philippines (CPP) and its armed group, the New People’s Army (NPA). Connected with his silence on political killings, many fear an escalation of violence and armed confrontation between the CPP-NPA and government forces in the remaining years of the Aquino presidency.


Even before his SONA, the Mindanao spokesperson of the NDF already warned of the “lies” of the president.  NDF-Mindanao spokesperson Jorge Madlos likewise belittled Aquino’s economic accomplishments saying ‘rapid economic growth’ is due to “the reality of the intensified crisis and the sharp decline of the people’s standard and quality of living as a result the Aquino regime’s insistence to pursue the neoliberal policies of liberalization, deregulation, privatization and denationalization.”


Madlos also cited the ‘jobless growth’ of the economy.  Inspite of the 6.8 GDP increase in 2012, more workers – 11.88 million – are unemployed or effectively underemployed according to think tank IBON.   The number of unemployed even increased by 48,000 to reach 4.4 million in 2012, IBON added.


5.   Prosecution of plunderers - Aquino has two more SONAs to come before the end of his term in 2016 but he has yet to prove that the economic growth translates to more jobs and more food on the table.  Before his ‘tuwid na daan’ (straight path) slogan becomes another empty rhetoric, he still has to see to it that the big grafters in government are tried convicted.  And to begin with the former president Gloria Macapagal Arroyo and many others, who is facing plunder raps.


5.   Last but not the least, OFws was left out completely -  In its three years in office, the Aquino administration has recorded the biggest number of OFW (overseas Filipino worker) deployment since the labor export policy was implemented in the 1970s.  In May, DOLE Sec. Rosalinda Baldoz announced that OFWs are opting to return to the country because “more industrial sectors are catching up in terms of labor package and training”. 


The Aquino government attributes a “reverse migration” in the offing to the 7.8 percent GDP growth in the first quarter of 2013 – the highest in Aquino’s term. However, independent think-tank IBON Foundation ascribes the growth to election-spending during the first two quarters of 2012, and other factors that belie any claims of the Aquino government of sustainable, comprehensive and inclusive growth.



And despite the hype of sustained economic growth under his administration, the Movement for Good Governance, a coalition of citizens and organizations, can only give the Aquino administration an overall 5.77 accomplishment rating (scale of 10) for 2012 – good, but just about average. Good vote is equal to mediocrity when you occupy the highest office in the land.


Not being tainted with corruption is not enough to leave behind a legacy.



Aquino needs to do something more tangible in the area of social justice and resolving the inequities of the Philippine society. The clock is ticking like a bomb. He has to do something more tangible than the ‘Matuwid na daan’ rhetoric  before everything explode in his face.



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