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MANILA - (UPDATE 3 - 6:29 p.m.) President Benigno S.

Aquino III used his last State of the Nation


Address to outline the priority legislation he wants Congress to pass until the end of his term, blame
much of his problems on the legacy of his predecessor, and thank his Cabinet for their good work in
helping him fulfill the promises of Daang Matuwid the past five years.
Addressing the joint session of the 16th Congress, the President said on top of his list, as expected,
is passage of the Bangsamoro Basic Law (BBL) pending in Congress, which he hoped would finally
bring peace to the South.
Speaking in Filipino in a speech lasting two hours and 13 minutes and punctuated with a dozen short
video clips, he challenged BBL critics to provide good alternatives to the bill now the subject of
heated debate in Congress; otherwise, he said, they will simply guarantee the country cannot have
peaceful, good change.
He asked Congress, as well, to pass the rationalization of fiscal incentives bill in order to end the
grant of haphazard, fragmented incentives for business; and noted the urgency of enacting a unified
pension reform law.
He hoped lawmakers will pass swiftly the 2016 budget, so that progress won't be derailed in the last
part of his administration
His declaration he will push passage of an anti-dynasty law drew much applause.
FOI not on priority list
A glaring omission in his list of priority measures is the Freedom of Information (FOI) bill.
Aquino thanked Congress for the passage of legislation that allowed sweeping reforms to be put in
place, such as the Competition Law; the sin tax reform and amendments to the Cabotage law; and
the reproductive health law.
He thanked Congress for all the "substantive bills" they passed, underscoring how a responsible
Congress can truly go a long way in helping push reform and progress.
He spent over 20 minutes thanking all those who helped and inspired him, starting with God and hos
parents, then his Cabinet members past and present; the security officers; his sisters and their
families; and even his stylist and housekeeper Yoly. The camera caught her seated in the gallery,
eyes misting.
He also thanked all those who helped and volunteered in dealing with the spate of disasters; and the
children who "clung to me and showed me they trusted me," giving him hope to continue despite the
challenges and the brickbats.
"Even if I have felt like a punching bag, I have not flinched because I know you are behind me," he
said. "Tunay nga akong hindi nag-iisa (I am truly not alone)."
"It has been an honor to lead you," he added.

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.

2016 polls referendum for Daang Matuwid


He cited his Liberal Party mates' wish, for their reforms to be pursued beyond the 2016 elections;
"Should we allow everything we worked for, to be erased by just one elections?"
He said the next election will be a referendum of Daang Matuwid, and the cameras focused on VP
Binay, Sec. Mar Roxas and Sen. Grace Poe, all presumptive candidates for president in 2016. All
three were seen beaming widely at his remarks.
He said he can face anyone and say he did his best following his best lights and judgment, then
quoted Timothy 4: 7: "I have fought the good fight, I have finished the race, I have kept the faith."
He says there's an ominous darkness in the distance, but also the light of hope from the gains thus
far achieved.
Blames Arroyo, again
Earlier, the President began his SONA with a repeat of his litany of instances of misrule by his
predecessor, former President now Pampanga Rep. Gloria Arroyo, before trumpeting what he
described as solid achievements achieved under his administration anchored on Daang Matuwid.
Noting last Friday's inauguration of the Muntinlupa-Cavite Expressway (MCX) that was the first
public-private partnership approved in his term, he said it had not always been easy for government
to court investors because the previous regime had grossly mismanaged the country.
"We've gone far, indeed," he said, speaking in Filipino, but it was not always that way: People had
become numb to the lies, cheating, and stealing that characterized the past government, with data
touting services being mostly fudged.
The claim of uninterrupted growth was a disguise for the real sector that made this possible, he said:
the remittances from people who had lost hope in the Philippines, or "people voting with their feet."
He then listed anomalies that made the headlines in the Arroyo administration: the P700-million
fertilizer scam in 2004; the NBN-ZTE scandal; the "Hello Garci" electoral fraud; the attempts to
change the Charter, and the misuse of executive privilege to block congressional hearings.
He recalled the resort to a "state of emergency to avoid checks and balances" and the midnight
appointments of people to cover up for shenanigans.
In a dig at the past administration's human rights record, he assailed the "calibrated, preemptive
response" used against dissenters.
He cited other alleged anomalies he came upon when he assumed the presidency in 2010: bloated

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

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