CONTROVERSIES OF ARROYO AND PNOY

GLORIA MACAPAGAL ARROYO

1. PCSO funds for admin candidates campaign
In October 2001, Roberto Rivero, former consultant of the
Philippine Charity Sweepstakes (PCSO), claimed that the first
gentleman used almost $5 million of PCSO funds to finance the
campaign of some senatorial candidates and to bribe radio
commentators. President Arroyo asked the Office of the
Ombudsman to investigate her husband. The PCSO denied
Riveros accusations. When asked by the Ombudsman for
evidence, Sen. Panfilo Lacson, who exposed this, was unable to
present any.Years later, in May 2007, another former PCSO senior
executive, Cirilo Avila, said the funds were made to appear as
payment for ad placements but were really used as People Power
Coalition (PPC) campaign funds. Avila narrated that the PPC
requested the funds and manager Ver Angelo took it up with the
board. The request was approved.
2. Nani Perezs extortionFour days after assuming office,
Arroyo awarded a $470-million contract to Argentine firm
Industrias Metalurgicas Pescarmona Sociedad Anonima (IMPSA)
to rehabilitate a power plant in Laguna. A few months later,
former Manila Representative Mark Jimenez, the man who
brokered the deal, accused Justice Secretary Hernando Perez of
extorting $2 million in exchange for a justice department opinion
that favors the deal.Jimenez told Senator Lacson that the entire
amount was actually $14 million: Perez received $2 million, the
National Power Corporation boys got $1 million, Malacaang

BENIGNO AQUINO III

The biggest controversies during the Aquino administration
which adversely affected the Presidents popularity were:
1. Manila hostage crisis
The administrations first major debacle came just two months
into Aquino's presidency. In August 2010, eight Hong Kong
tourists were killed by a disgruntled former police officer
Rolando Mendoza, after a bungled rescue attempt supervised by
Aquino himself. The incident also strained ties between the
Philippines and Hong Kong.
2. PNoys Porsche
Aquinos popularity ratings continued to slide in the following
months, after reports came out that he had bought himself a thirdhand Porsche. After drawing flak for supposedly violating his
governments austerity policy, the President eventually sold the
German high-performance car.
3. Corona impeachment
Although his ratings gradually recovered in 2011, Aquino once
again saw his ratings slowly decline during the first months of
2012, during then Chief Justice Renato Coronas impeachment
trial. A complaint, backed by the presidents allies in the House
of Representative, triggered the impeachment. After Corona was
convicted, Aquinos ratings once again recovered dramatically.
4. Yolanda aftermath
In November 2013, Typhoon Yolandathe strongest cyclone to

was given $4, and $7 million went to Jimenez.In April 2008, the
office of the Ombudsman, headed by Merceditas Gutierrez, filed
graft charges against Perez, his wife Rosario, Ernest Escaler, and
Ramon Antonio Arceo Jr.
But the graft and robbery charges were junked by the
Sandiganbayan in November 2008 as the Ombudsman failed to
expedite the complaints, making Perez immune from the charges,
indirectly acquitting Perez. Perezs pending case with the
Sandiganbayan is on his falsification of public documents.In May
2009, Perez filed his third petition asking the Sandiganbayan to
dismiss the charges of unethical practices filed against him for
allegedly not declaring $1.7 million in his 2001 Statement of
Assets and Liabilities and Net Worth (SALN) saying that Arroyo
herself approved his SALN when she assumed office. Perez was
then a member of her cabinet.
3. The garbage contract
The Jancom controversy involved a $360-million (P18 billion)
incineration project in which the Jancom Environment Corp.
(JEC) would burn 3,000 tons of Metro Manila garbage a day for a
tipping fee of $10 per ton. During his term, President Ramos did
not approve the contract and President Estrada likewise debunked
it because JEC raised the tipping fee from $10 to $59 per ton.
Despite the passage of the Clean Air Act and the Ecological Solid
Waste Management Act (both banned the use of incarcerators) ,
the Supreme Court declared the contract valid in April 2002 in a
decision penned by Justice Jose Melo. Still, Arroyo said the deal
had many flaws. Arroyo passed the decision to the Manila
Metropolitan and Development Authority (MMDA) to decide
whether the deal is disadvantageous to the government or not.

ever hit landcut a swath of devastation across the central

Philippines and left 6,300 people dead. The disaster also wreaked
havoc on Aquinos ratings, after his government was heavily
criticized, even by international news organizations, for its slow
response to the calamity.
5. Pork Barrel Scam
The Aquino government also had to weather major political
storms. In July 2013, the pork barrel scamperhaps the biggest
scandal involving public funds in recent yearswas exposed,
leading to the detention of three senators and several other
lawmakers on plunder and graft cases. Aquino was initially
reluctant to abolish the graft-ridden priority development
assistance fund, but eventually ended up doing so. Still, his
ratings took a hit due to this scandal.
5. DAP controversy
A year later, another controversy involving government funds
further diminished Aquinos popularity: the disbursement
acceleration program (DAP). The administration was accused of
ilegally tapping government savings to fund senators' pet projects,
allegedly in exchange for a Corona conviction. The president
actively defended the DAP, which he characterized as an
economic stimulus program. In the end, certain aspects of the
DAP were declared unconstitutional by the Supreme Court.
6. Mamasapano encounter
With just over a year to go before he relinquishes the presidency,
President Aquino faced his biggest controversy: the botched
January 25 Mamasapano operation. Forty-four police
commandos, 18 Moro Islamic Liberation Front (MILF) fighters,
and at least five civilians died during an anti-terror mission in

Although negotiations had started between the MMDA and

Jancom, Arroyo called off the deal in April 2002.
4. Mismanaged funds
Issues on mismanaged funds by the Philippine Amusement and
Gaming Corporation (PAGCOR) and the GSIS caught the public
eye in 2002. PAGCOR had been experiencing negative cash flows
that bloated to P850 million in 2003. A Pagcor manager gave
three reasons behind the financial difficulties: onerous contracts,
profligate spending, and massive, mindless donations.
GSIS president and general manager Winston Garcia ordered its
units to stop the processing of claims and loan applications
because of financial difficulty. The Kapisanan ng Manggagawa
attributed the financial problems to the following: Garcias cash
advances amounting to P3.4 million, the establishment of district
offices worth P4 million each, and the appointment of outside
legal counsel for P200,000 a month.
Garcia allegedly used GSIS money to purchase Juan Lunas
Parisian Life painting. Likewise, Garcia was said to earn
P540,000 a month and appointed some 130 vice-presidents who
earn P70,000 a month. There were allegations that GSIS
contributed at least P100 million to the campaign funds of Pres.
Arroyo. Garcia was retained in his post despite appeals from
GSIS employees.
In 2004, before the Senate committee on government corporations
and public enterprises, Garcia dismissed the charges and said
GSIS is the countrys top performing government-owned and
controlled corporation. He did not comment on the Juan Luna
paintings.
5. FG as OFW envoy

Maguindanao. Aquino was primarily blamed for letting his close

pal, resigned police chief Alan Purisima, play an active role in the
bungled mission despite his suspension over graft charges.

PNOYS LISTS OF ACCOMPLISHMNETS

Aquino boasts the Expanded Conditional Cash Transfer program
which has started this June with a budget of 12.3 billion.
According to him, the poverty incidence went down to 24.9% in
the first quarter of 2013. Last year, the Philippines received high
investment grade status from Moody's, Fitch, at SandP. Aquino
takes pride in the holding of the World Economic Forum in
Manila recently. PNoy said that the budget for infrastructure has
more than double. A total of 12,184 km national roads were done.
He cites DPWH Sec. Singson for cutting corruption in
infrastructure projects. "Bawal ang tongpats, bawal ang bukol."
Major infrastructures such as Metro Manila Skyway Stage 3,
Ternate-Nasugbu Road, Basilan Circumferential Road and
Aluling Bridge are some of the ongoing and newly-built
infrastructure projects of DPWH.
When he talked about the Bohol and Cebu calamity, he said that
P3.583 billion were released for the rehabilitation efforts. After

In December, President Arroyo designated Mike Arroyo as an

OFW envoy so he could represent her in the countries she could
not visit. However, critics assailed Arroyos announcement when
they learned that his activities as OFW envoy would be funded by
a proposed overseas workers legal assistance fund. They feared
that the Arroyo couple would use the funds for her 2004
campaign. While the President did not recall her husbands
designation, the First Gentleman voluntarily resigned.
6. Naias Terminal 3
In 2002, Transportation Secretary Pantaleon Alvarez obtained
overpriced subcontracts for public works projects related to the
terminal. Among these is Wintrack Builders Inc., owned by
Alvarez, which bagged a site-development project.
Piatco was also accused of paying huge sums of money to
Alfonso S. Liongson, PR consultant and said to be an associate of
the First Gentleman, for permits or supplementary agreements to
the contract. In 2003, Arroyo revoked Piatcos build-operatetransfer contract and the government took over the airport in
2004. After almost a decade, the airport was partially opened in
2008.
7. Oakwood mutiny
Defense Secretary Angelo Reyes alleged involvement in selling
arms and ammunitions to guerilla and bandit groups moved 300
young officers and enlisted men of the AFP to rebel against the
government in July. Reyes was forced to resign a few weeks later.
The rebel soldiers were detained.The 321 armed soldiers
apologized for the failed rebellion. In 2004, 133 of the soldiers
were freed. Capt. Nicanor Faeldon, one of the alleged leaders,
escaped in December 2005. Four other leaders escaped after

the super-typhoon Yolanda, efforts of the government include

power restoration, road and airport repairs that were done
immediately according to him. He thanked the Task Foce Yolanda
for their prompt response. A total of 221,897 received jobs after
the said typhoon.
Aquino also said that AFP modernization will continue as the
government is targeting to acquire more aircraft and radar system.
The PNP now also have 1:1 police to pistol ratio.
"The state is taking care of the needs of the police. And they are
matching this support with efficient and upright service," Aquino
said.
More promises to track
Here are the some of the action items of the Aquino government
for the next months or year:
Laguna Lakeshore Expressway Dike bidding by end of 2014
Open alternative roads to EDSA
Opening of the Palawan Busuanga Airport
Push Bangsamoro Basic Law
Ensure enough supply of power to meet the growing energy
demand
2.606 trillion for 2015 National Budget

Faeldon did. Faeldon was captured in 2007 but escaped again a

few months after.Reyes, since then, has held other Cabinet posts:
environment secretary and energy secretary.
8. The super-rich general
In December, Maj. Gen. Carlos F. Garcias son was apprehended
by US Customs officials at the San Francisco airport for carrying
$100,000 in undeclared cash. AFP Chief of Staff Narciso Abaya
asked Garcia to explain and transferred him to another position.
Later in the year, US Customs and the Federal Bureau of
Investigation transmitted to the office of Ombudsman Simeon
Marcelo a list of the amounts that General Garcia had brought
into the US from 1993 to 2003, which was estimated at P71
million.
In October 2004, Garcia was charged with violating Articles of
War 95 (conduct unbecoming of an officer and gentleman) and 96
(acts prejudicial to good order and military discipline) for failing
to declare all his assets in his Statement of Assets, Liabilities and
Net Worth and for possessing a US green card. In April 2006, the
military court sentenced Garcia to a two-year confinement
without pay and allowance and dishonorable discharge. Garcia
also faced graft charges in the same court.
In February 2009, Garcias sons, Juan Pablo and Ian Carl were
indicted in the US with one count of conspiracy to commit bulk
cash smuggling, failing to file a report of monetary instruments,
and making false statements to a US government agency. The
sons were placed in US custody until proven innocent. On the
same month, Garcia was found guilty of misdeclaring his assets
and liabilities in 2000. He was acquitted from two other perjury
cases.

On June 2009, the Sandiganbayan acquitted Garcia of the last

perjury case, saying there was no proof that the retired general
lied in his 1997 SALN. However, the retired general is still facing
plunder and forfeiture cases in the Sandiganbayan and is still
being detained in Camp Crame.
9. Hello, Garci
More than a year after the election, a recording of a telephone
conversation between President Arroyo and election
commissioner Virgilio Garci Garcillano was released to the
public. In this conversation, Arroyo directed him to make sure she
wins by one million votes. After weeks of ducking the issue,
Arroyo apologized for a lapse in judgment in talking with an
election commissioner but explained that she merely wanted to
protect her votes.
10. Juetengate
In Senate hearings on jueteng that began in May 2005, jueteng
operators and bagmen said the Presidents husband, Mike, her son
Mikey, and her brother-in-law Ignacio or Iggy were among those
who received monthly payoffs from gambling lords. The payoffs
ranged from P500,000 to P1 million. One of the key witnesses,
businesswoman Sandra Cam, testified that in December 2004,
she personally delivered the cash to Mikey and Iggy at the House
of Representatives; the money came from retired Chief Supt.
Restituto Mosqueda, former police director for Bicol and alleged
protector of jueteng operations in Luzon.Richard Garcia and
Demosthenes Abraham Riva also told a Senate hearing that the
three Arroyos had been receiving payola from jueteng operations
in Bicol. Michaelangelo Zuce, an aide of former commissioner

Virgilio Garcillano and a former staff member of presidential

adviser on political affairs Joey Rufino, directly linked the
President to jueteng by saying that before the 2004 elections, the
President distributed money to several election officials in her
house in La Vista, Quezon City, in the presence of Bong Pinedas
wife, Lilia Pineda. Garcia and Riva retracted their statements a
few months later and said they were merely coached by Sen.
Panfilo Lacson. Zuces testimony failed to take off after one
witness did not corroborate Zuces claim. Former Isabela Gov.
Faustino Dy Jr. who was also said to have been present at the La
Vista meeting, flew to the US and refused to come to Manila to
testify.
11.
Mega-anomaly
in
Comelec
According to Solicitor General Alfredo Benipayo, the botched
P1.3 billion poll modernization project of Comelec was
overpriced by P500 million. Comelec ignored its own bidding
rules and changed these to suit one favored bidder: MegaPacific
Corp.
The SC deemed the process flawed and declared the contract null
and void. The Office of the Ombudsman committee created by
Ombudsman
Merceditas
Gutierrez
initially
indicted
Commissioner Resurreccion Borra but cleared him a few months
later. Abalos and company were ruled to be not liable for the
voided contract.
12. Lozanos complaints
Oliver Lozano filled an impeachment complaint against President
Arroyo during the height of the Hello, Garci scandal. Congress
declared the complaint to be technically deficient. Oliver Lozano

filed another impeachment complaint against President Arroyo on

2006. Like the first one, his second complaint was defeated due to
insufficiency in substance.
For the third time, Lozano filed his impeachment complaint
against the President on 2007. Like the second version, this
impeachment rap was dismissed for insufficiency in substance.
Critics say Lozanos impeachment complaints were moves to
hinder the submission of a solid complaint against the President.
Weeks after former Arroyo ally Jose De Venecia filed his
impeachment complaint in 2008, Lozano took his fourth try with
a four-page impeachment complaint penned with his daughter,
Atty Evangeline Lozano, and another lawyer, Elly Pamatong.
13. Fallout from ZTE
The scandal was exposed in August 2007, a few months after
Transport Secretary Leandro Mendoza and ZTE Corp Vice
President Yu Yong signed a $329.5 million contact for a national
broadband network deal in April. President Arroyo and the First
Gentlemen were said to have visited China for the contractsigning.
Rep. Carlos Padilla (Nueva Vizcaya) said that Comelec
chairperson Benjamin Abalos also joined the President in China
to broker the deal. Abalos denied brokering the deal but admitted
going to China four times. In September 2007, the son of Speaker
Jose de Venecia Jr testified that he was with Abalos in China and
that Abalos demanded money from ZTE officials.
The following day, the Supreme Court promulgated a TRO
stopping the deal between the Philippines and China and gave
ZTE 15 days to comment.
NEDA chair Romulo Neri testified in the Senate hearings and

said Abalos tried to bribe him with P200 million but he refused to
answer some senators questions, citing executive privilege.
Abalos resigned as Comelec chair in October 2007 as President
Arroyo cancelled the deal in a trip to China.
Jun Lozada, former chief executive officer of Philippine Forest
Corporation and NEDA consultant, testified in February 2008 that
Abalos and the First Gentlemen were to receive kickbacks once
the deal was signed. Speaker Jose de Venecia was unseated and
got dragged into the deal when his son said he was also in China.
On July 2008, the SC dismissed three petitions that question the
constitutionality of the deal and declared it moot and academic.
Money from Malacaang
Pampanga Gov. Eddie Panlilio revealed that he was given a paper
bag containing P500,000 in a Malacaang meeting in October
2007. The money was allegedly for community projects. The bags
were handed out by a female Malacaang staff. Panlilio said he
accepted the money because because no conditions were attached;
he did not consider it a bribe. Various versions of the source of
the money came out as other local officials present in the meeting
admitted receiving either P500,000 or P200,000.
Other officials who confirmed receiving money were Governors
Joselito Mendoza, Leo Campos, and Representatives Rachel
Arenas, Antonio Cuenco, Bienvenido Abante, Mauricio
Domogan, Tomas Dumpit Jr, and some others who refused to be
named. The named 9 officials were charged by the Office of the
Ombudsman for allegedly receiving bribes. Due to numerous
versions on the source of the money, Sen. Miguel Zubiri said
during the Senate Blue Ribbon Committee hearing that the money
has no direct link to the Palace.

Glorietta 2 and Batasan bombings

After the string of controversies hounding the Arroyo
administration, bombing incidents happened in Glorietta 2 and the
House of Representatives. The police, in a speedy investigation,
found that the bombing of Batasan was initially intended for
Basilan Rep. Wahab Akbar.
The Glorietta 2 bombing, on the other hand, resulted from gas
leakage. Rumors spread that the bombings were perpetrated by
the government to divert the publics attention away from the
Arroyo scandals.
The Batasan bombing happened the day before Pampanga Gov.
Ed Panlilio was set to testify on the bribery of local officials in
the Senate and a day before the House justice committee was to
hear the impeachment case.
The Glorietta 2 bombing happened during the height of the
bribery case which took place in Malacaang.
Manila Pen siege
Antonio Trillanes IV, together with Brig. Gen. Danilo Lim and 25
other Magdalo officers walked out of their trial and marched on
the streets of Makati City. Former Vice-President Teofisto
Guingona and some soldiers from the AFP joined the march that
ended in Peninsula Manila Hotel. After several hours, the group
surrendered to the government forces after a military assault.
They were arrested and several journalists were detained.
C-5 insertion
Senators Panfilo Lacson and Jamby Madrigal spilled the beans on
Senate president Manny Villar when they exposed his double
insertion of a P200 million C-5 project in the 2008 budget. After a
few months, Villar resigned as Senate president when he learned

about the planned ouster led by Lacson. Enrile became Senate

president.
In May 2009, although Villar was out of the country, the Senate
ethics committee deliberated on the alleged C-5 insertion and
declared the ethics complaint filed by Madrigal as sufficient in
substance.
Meralco and the tainted court
What started out as a tug-of-war between the Lopezes and GSIS
over control of Meralco ended up tainting the reputation of the
Court of Appeals. The scandal started when Justice Jose Sabio Jr
told the media that he was offered a P10 million bribe by an
alleged Meralco emissary, businessman Francis Borja.
The Supreme Court conducted a public investigation on the CA
justices. Lapses in the justices decisions and CA procedures were
unearthed. The verdict: Justice Vicente Roxas was dismissed,
Sabio and Justice Bienvenido Reyes were suspended, and Justice
Myrna Vidal was reprimanded.
Impeachment: Joeys complaint
Joey de Venecia, son of former House Speaker Jose De Venecia,
filed an impeachment complaint against President Arroyo,
particularly because of the overpriced NBN-ZTE broadband deal.
The complaint was found sufficient in form but was dismissed
after House representatives voted 42-8, ruling the complaint as
insufficient
in
substance.

LISTS OF ACCOMPLISHMENTS OF ARROYO AND

PNOY

1.7%. The government continues to formulate programs which

would eventually increase production of agricultural supplies to
ensure availability of supply.

President Gloria Macapagal Arroyo served as Secretary of the

Department of Social Welfare and Development from July 1998 Creation of Jobs
to October 2000, or a total of 27 months.
Included in the 10-Point Reform Agenda of President Gloria
In her more than two years at the Department, she established the Macapagal-Arroyo, the government is putting its best efforts to
give the people with jobs and open up employment to strengthen
AHON Programs - Ahon Bayan, Ahon Bata and the Ahon the economy. Alongside with the government's Medium Term
Pamilya - which are all aimed at improving the lives of the poor Development Plan for 2004- 2010, employment and generation of
and the disadvantaged through strengthening linkages with jobs are one of the government's top priority.
various stakeholders. The Quick Reaction Team was also started
during her term.
Education Reform
In line with her obligation to significantly decrease poverty
Self- Employment Assistance Kaunlaran (SEA-K)
nationwide, President Gloria Macapagal Arroyo has stressed the
The SEA-K project is a community-based micro-financing project need for an active partnership between the government and
which builds abilities of people's organizations to self-administer various sectors to sustain efforts concerning various aspects of the
a socialized credit system. Project components are social schooling system. These are lessening the textbook backlog;
preparation, capital assistance, savings mobilization and access to constructing more school buildings; restoring English as medium
other social services. For this project, 2,184 SEA-K Associations of instruction; implementing the Basic Education Curriculum or
were extended capital support benefiting 61,879 families. Each BEC ; improving teacher welfare; sparing public school teachers
family-beneficiary was given P5,000.00 capital assistance for its from the vagaries of politics; mainstreaming distance learning;
chosen livelihood project.
and launching the internet-based education program.
Ginintuang Masaganang Ani
Fighting poverty by building prosperity for the most number of
the Filipino people has been the major concern of President
Gloria Macapagal-Arroyo since the start of her term in office.
Through Republic Act 8435, otherwise known as the Agriculture
and Fisheries Modernization Act (AFMA), the strengthening of
the agriculture and fishery sectors by modernization and greater
participation of small farm holders was implemented which in

Housing
Housing efforts under the Macapagal Arroyo administration plan
to provide the bottom 40 percent of households with affordable
socialized housing. The private sector shall be organized to
innovate and produce decent housing at lower costs, while the
government shall be tasked to improve the efficiency of the
housing market. The President has enjoined the support of
Congress to enact bills addressing the high price of urban lands

turn had resulted to revived food security and food selfsufficiency programs of the government. Effective program
implementation and policy execution in 2005 increased the
agricultural sector's production during the first three quarters by
Land Distribution
In recognition and support of the Comprehensive Agrarian
Reform Program (CARP) as a strategic program to fight poverty
and push rural development, the Macapagal Arroyo
administration has speed up land distribution and delivery of
support services to the farmer-beneficiaries. The same shall apply
to the distribution of public lands. The Department of Agrarian
Reform (DAR) and Department of Environment and Natural
Resources (DENR) are the lead agencies for land distribution,
agricultural lands to be distributed by DAR, while public lands to
be distributed by DENR.

for housing. By putting into place a sustainable housing

financing, the private sector, especially the banks, is called to
participate in the housing market. The housing program shall also
provide security of tenure for the informal sector, consisting of
poor and low salaried workers from government and the private
sector. Assistance will be extended in the form of consultations
for resettlement, housing and livelihood training to affected poor
families who are in danger areas.
Strong Republic Nautical Highway
The Strong Republic Nautical Highway is one of President Gloria
Macapagal Arroyo's major legacies to the nation. Covering 17
cities, towns and islands that will reduce by 17 hours the travel
time using the common land and sea routes, the "highways of the
sea" or the "moving bridges concept" is something that could
transform not just business and agriculture in our island
provinces, but also domestic tourism. The nautical highway will
provide the backbone for the development of tourism and
agricultural industries, by enhancing the accessibility of unique
tourist destinations west of the Philippines. It would minimize the
handling expenses and time travel for goods, resulting in reduced
prices for consumers. There will be less need for loading the
goods on and off barges, as cargo trucks themselves can get on
the ro-ro. The leading beneficiaries would be our island
provinces.

Presyong Tama, Gamot Pampamilya Gamot na Mura at Abot

Kaya
The Presyong Tama, Gamot Pampamilya is the government's
actual response to address the heavy burden of high medicine
prices on the Filipino consumers. President Gloria MacapagalArroyo has directed the instant accomplishment of this program
that will improve public access to quality healthcare. The program
involves the importation of widely recognized, off-patent branded
medicines which are usually prescribed for the most common KALAHI
ailments and diseases. These medicines shall be made available to The Kapit-Bisig Laban sa Kahirapan (KALAHI) program is an
Filipino consumers at very affordable prices.
anti- poverty plan of the administration of President Gloria
Macapagal-Arroyo. The project will help the government in

E-Procurement
The Electronic Procurement System or EPS is one initiative of
government to improve and modernize government's procurement
services. It involves the creation and operation of a central portal
for government procurement, bidding and supplier information
requirements, and the increasing use of the portal among
government agencies. The EPS is expected to attain transparency
in public procurement activities. The resulting improved
competition will encourage the attainment of the best quality
products at the lowest possible prices and consequently generate
substantial savings in public spending. Some P80 million in
newspaper advertisements and P600 million out of the P17 billion
government procurement budget are expected to be saved.
Acquisition time by government agencies shall also be shortened
by two (2) weeks, and eventually, deliveries can be done "just in
time".

strengthening the capability of local government units (LGUs) to

design, implement, and manage development activities. Such
activities may include basic infrastructure like new or
rehabilitated roads and bridges, barangay schools and clinics, and
water supply and sanitation facilities. Communities will prioritize
their development needs, design activities, seek technical
expertise and make informed choices on how resources are used
for sustainable poverty reduction. More than 5,300 poor
barangays in 193 municipalities in 40 of the poorest provinces in
the Philippines are probable to benefit from this project. These
will be mostly in rural areas, where most poor Filipinos live.