Philippinen: A year after the euphoria: President Aquino asserts himself

Manila, 25.08.2011

Bericht aus aktuellem Anlass N 36/2011

Jules Maaten / Pauline Sanchez Aktuelle Informationen zur Projektarbeit der Stiftung fr die Freiheit finden Sie unter www.freiheit.org

One year after Benigno Noynoy Aquinos landslide victory in the presidential elections, 62 % of the Philippine population are supportive of their liberal president. Employment is going up, the fiscal deficit is going down, the military is getting under control, and corruption has become a dirty word. With regard to foreign affairs, the administration demonstrates determination to stand up to the Chinese aggressions in the South China Sea. Aquino is asserting himself, and has seized initiative.
In this first year in government, President Aquino and his Liberal Party (LP) were working on the difficult transition from a small opposition party to being the main party in government. A shift in attitude - thats how political analysts describe Aquinos performance after one year in office. His obsession with fighting corruption is echoed in his second State of the Nation Address (SONA) on July 25th 2011, where he firmly articulated: plagued by corruption scandals, and that leads people to shifting their mindset from tolerating corruption to being angry about it. House-cleaning Levelling the uneven playing field that was caused by President Aquinos predecessor, President Gloria Macapagal-Arroyo - this has been the goal of the Aquino administration since his presidential campaign. Nine and a half years in power, the Arroyo regime could have significantly propelled development in the daily lives of Filipinos. But instead of recollecting excellent leadership, most Filipinos can only summon up numerous allegations of graft and corruption involving the previous president. The Arroyo administration was littered with cases such as the 2004 and 2007 election fraud and expensive, controversial and probably fraudulent infrastructure pro-

Some of my critics say that I take this campaign against corruption too personal. And its true: doing whats right is personal. Making people accountable - whoever they may be - is personal. It should be personal for all of us, because we have all been victimized by corruption.
The Philippines, for the first time in over a decade, have a government that has not been

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jects such as the Manila Airport Terminal 3 and the North Luzon Railway Project.

partiality and inaction in favour of the ruling administration. She was accused of deliberately disregarding high-profile corruption cases (known as Fertilizer Fund Scam, Euro Generals Scandal, Mega-Pacific Deal, NBN-ZTE Deal, among others), all of which allegedly involved the Arroyos, who were accused of having profited monetarily from the projects. Aquinos action plan - impeachment. Constitutionally, the only way to discharge an Ombudsman is through impeachment. Gutierrez was subjected to impeachment for betrayal of publics trust and culpable violation of the Constitution. The Liberals in the House of Representatives took the lead. On March 22nd 2011, after a long debate an overwhelming 212 congressmen voted yes to impeach Ombudsman Merceditas Gutierrez, while only 46 voted against it and 4 abstained. Out of those who voted in favour of the impeachment, 75 belong to the Liberal Party. This was not only an important victory for Aquino; it also demonstrated the LPs ability to create an important parliamentary majority. Few days before the impeachment trial started in the Senate, Gutierrez resigned. While Arroyo was able to get away with all her alleged plundering then, the nation carefully watches the performance of the new ombudsman Conchita Carpio-Morales, appointed by President Aquino. An open and rationalised budget The culture of government is already changing. The Ministry of Budget and Management headed by Secretary Florencio Butch Abad, a former President of the Liberal Party, has undergone reforms to enhance transparency and accountability in the allocation of funds, towards ensuring a government that is efficient, effective and free from corruption. One of these liberal reforms is the so-called ZeroBased Budgeting (ZBB). The ministry has been steadfast in implementing this strategy that is targeted towards eliminating redundancies in

Prsident Benigno Aquino, Quelle: Friedrich-NaumennStiftung fr die Freiheit (FNF)

Most Filipinos had stopped trusting the government during Arroyos term.

There can be no reconciliation without justice

This was the resounding statement that the newly sworn in President, Benigno Simeon Aquino III, articulated as part of his inaugural speech on June 30, 2010. This statement has become a symbol of hope for the Filipinos who had long been plagued by a myriad of cases of corrupt and dishonest government activities during the past administration. A major obstacle in criminal prosecution against corrupt officials was former Ombudsman Merceditas Gutierrez. The Ombudsman is usually appointed by the President for a sevenyear term, assigned to investigate and prosecute cases filed against public officials and state employees. Gutierrez was appointed by President Gloria Arroyo in December 2005. Holding this position for nearly six years, her term in office was characterized by corruption,

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the allocation of funds in order to prioritize key projects.

We do not wish to increase tensions with anyone, but we must let the world know that we are ready to protect what is ours," President Aquino stated as he resolutely asserted the nations stand on protecting the disputed Spratly islands in the West Philippine Sea (also know as the South China Sea). Recently, China made claims on large parts of this resourcerich area, provoking conflict with the Philippines, Vietnam and Malaysia. There were a number of incidents, where Chinese forces intruded into Philippine territory. Two Chinese patrol boats threatened a Filipino oil exploration ship into leaving the Reed Bank. Two military planes were deployed during the March 2 incident, but the Chinese boats left by the time the aircraft reached the Reed Bank, about 90 miles (150 kilometres) from the Philippine coast. Chinese officials have said there were no intrusions because the waters belonged to China.The Philippine government is now considering file the dispute in the South China Sea to the UN International Tribunal for the Law of the Sea to ensure that all involved

Florencio Barsana Butch Abad, Quelle: FNF

The ZBB is opposed to the traditional practice of incremental budgeting which relies on automatic increases or augmenting the previous budget. In terms of revenue collection, a study by the DBS Bank of Singapore assesses that the Philippine government is expected to maintain a trend of higher revenue collection and lower spending following a P61-million budget surplus posted in the first four months of 2011. The Bureau of Internal Revenue collected P88.16 billion in May, 11.5% more than the P79.05 billion posted in the same month in 2010. Coupled with the exercise of prudence in management expenses, Budget Minister Abad said that the Aquino administration had kept the deficit within target for 2010, because of improved and more stringent revenue collection in the latter part of the year. This is a first step in dealing with the problem of mass tax evasion. Protecting the West Philippine Sea

nations approach the dispute with calm and forbearance."

Improving the economy The economy is finally improving self-rated hunger has gone down from 20.5% in March to 15.1% this Juneequivalent to a million Filipino families who used to go hungry, but who now say they eat properly every day. The unemployment rate has gone down nearly a percentage point to 7.2%, while one million and four hundred thousand jobs were created. The Philippines credit ratings were upgraded four times in the past year. Infrastructure is another area of concern that needs to be addressed by the government. An expensive and fragmented transport system, problematic contracts - these are current issues faced by the Ministry of Transportation and Communication. After the resignation of former minister De Jesus, President Aquino approached former Senator Manuel (Mar) Roxas III from the Liberal Party to address

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these problems. As minister at the Ministry of Trade and Industry, Roxas brought in innovations such as launching the Make IT (Information Technology) Philippines, which harnessed the potential of the Philippines as a global eservices hub. He also pioneered the establishment of high-technology industry centers and business process outsourcing (BPO) market in the country, particularly call center operations, hence providing jobs and incomes to Filipinos. Among the most pressing issues that Mar Roxas needs to solve is the aforementioned probably fraudulent airport contract for Ninoy Aquino Airport Terminal 3 that hinders its full operation. He also finds on his plate the improvement of the countrys train system to offer better transport alternatives for Filipinos travelling to far provinces and the roll-on roll-off system (RORO), that could aid merchants transport their goods to more areas efficiently. All three will undoubtedly reap social and economic gains if resolved. Promises and peace The administration is steadily proceeding with fulfilling election promises. For some critics, the pace is too slow, and they expect the president to deliver more. At the same time, the administration has another five years left in office. In one area, Aquino delivered within barely a week after addressing the nation with his second speech. Unannounced, he flew to Tokyo on 5th August for a meeting with chairman Al Haj Murad Ibrahim of the Moro Islamic Liberation Front (MILF) the armed resistance on the island of Mindanao. The encounter, the first of this kind since Noynoys mother President Cory Aquino had a similar meeting in 1987, was a bold move to bring new movement into the peace negotiations. Aquinos efforts seem to have paid off, with most Mindanao leaders expressing new hope for an end to the decadesold war that has claimed tens of thousands of lives, and giving a serious boost to the presidents credibility.

Mar Roxas, Quelle: FNF

A day after the Tokyo meeting the MILF stated, that they were no longer seeking the creation of an independent state. Initiatives on reproductive health and on freedom of information are under way. Summarizing, the battle for good governance has just begun. But with the Presidents commitment to leading the country along what he calls the straight path, the Aquino administration has remarkably gained credibility. With his consequent approach in improving the lives of ordinary people, Benigno Noynoy Aquino has inspired a major part of the population by trying to overcome the traditional negative attitude towards government activities. As the President said: Isnt it great to be a Filipino

living in these times?

Impressum Friedrich-Naumann-Stiftung fr die Freiheit Bereich Internationale Politik Referat fr Querschnittsaufgaben Karl-Marx-Strae 2 D-14482 Potsdam

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