President Aquino asks Congress to pass anti-dynasty bill in final SONA

Pres. Benigno S. Aquino III during his speech in his final SONA inside the Congress’ Plenary Hall.(INQUIRER)

‘BOSS, I DID  MY BEST’

The Philippines is no longer the sick man of Asia,  said President Benigno Aquino, who listed the gains of his administration in his third and last State of the Nation Address (SONA) yesterday.

His speech in Filipino lasted almost two hours, punctuated with video testimonials of beneficiaries of government programs.

It included a touching roll call of gratitude for members of his Cabinet, other officials, a priest advisor, his family, his security detail, even his hair stylist and a female household manager.

“What was once the sick man of Asia now brims with vitality,” the President said.

Aquino cited the economic gains under his term, when the economy grew by an average of 6.2 percent from 2010, the year he rose to power, to last year.

If the economy expands to 6.8 percent this year, Aquino said the six-year average under his presidency would be the highest in nearly six decades.

Aquino paused a few times, coughing and apologizing for feeling under the weather.

Calling Filipinos his “boss,” Aquino reviewed projects and policy changes he implemented in infrastructure, the economy, education, health, housing and cash transfers for the poor.

At one point Aquino compared his role to “a punching bag” covered with duct tape, an acknowledgement of criticisms he gets from all quarters.

“I never said I was perfect but I did my best,” he said.

ANTI-DYNASTY LAW
In a surprise turnaround, Aquino told Congress it was time to pass an anti-dynasty law.

Aquino himself belongs to an entrenched and wealthy landowning clan in Tarlac province.

Anti-dynasty bills have not had any luck in Congress, which is dominated by millionaires who have carried the family names of dominant political clans to public office for generations.

Aquino said he now backs long-unsuccessful attempts to craft a law that would restrict the number of members of influential families who can run for public office.

“I was opposed to depriving a person of the right to run for office just because of his family name,” Aquino said.

“But I thought there’s also something wrong with giving a corrupt family or individual a chance to wallow in power for life.”

Aquino personally endorsed the bill before lawmakers, some of whom belong to political clans.

The President said his fear of having a greedy leader is the very reason why he thumbed down the proposal to extend the term of Philippine presidents.

The 1987 Constitution prohibits political dynasties but requires an enabling law to enforce it. No anti-dynasty law has ever been passed by Congress.

Among the country’s most notable political clans are the Binays, the Marcoses, and the Cayetanos, all of whom were present during the SONA.

Aquino had earlier said that the anti-dynasty law is not a priority measure of the administration. He however expressed willingness to support the bill if it is “doable”.

MAR ROXAS
Many were expecting Aquino to endorse a candidate for next year’s presidential elections – Secretary Mar Roxas – but he spoke in general terms instead of the need to support his reforms and for voters to choose someone to continue them.

In his roll call of thanks, he singled out Roxas as an asset of public service “in or out of government”, saying Roxas proved the saying: “You can’t put a good man down.” Cheers in the hall broke out when Aquino addressed him.

“Will everything that we have invested, everything that we have labored for, vanish in just one election?” Aquino said.

“In this perspective, the next elections would seve as a referendum for the `straight path,”’ a phrase he coined for all his reforms.

As Aquino referred to the 2016 elections, the TV camera of Malacañang zoomed in on three potential contenders and flashed them together on screen: Vice President Jejomar Binay, Sen. Grace Poe and Secretary Roxas.

FIRST WORLD
President Aquino said his administration will continue pursuing good governance reforms to transform the Philippines from developing into First World country.

He called the Philippines “Asia’s Rising Tiger”, “Asia’s Rising Star”, and “Asia’s Bright Spot” considering its rapidly expanding economy and improving global competitiveness rankings.

Aquino cited the result of a recent Social Weather Stations (SWS) survey that said eight of 10 Filipinos believed that the Philippines would become one of the developed countries in the world in the future.

“When we secured our first positive credit rating action, some said it was pure luck. Now that we have had eight, can it still just be luck? When the Philippine Stock Exchange Index first broke 4,000, many wondered if that was sustainable. But now, with so many record highs, we are having trouble keeping score: For the record, we have had 44, and the index hovers near or above 5,000.

In the first quarter of 2012, our GDP grew by 6.4 percent, much higher than projected, the highest growth in the Southeast Asian region, and the second only to China in the whole of Asia.”

He cited the fact that in the past “we were the debtors; now, we are the creditors, clearly no laughing matter.”

Most of the big infrastructure projects as cited by Aquino are in Luzon.

The Aquino administration’s two big ticket infrastructure projects in Cebu are set to be completed only after his term.

These are the P10.6-billion Cebu Bus Rapid Transit (BRT) project and the P17.5-billion Mactan Cebu International Airport Terminal 2 (T2).

The BRT project is  expected to be completed in 2017, while the Mactan airport T2, which is under the public-private partnership scheme, is set to be completed in 2018.

Cebu City Mayor Michael Rama was in the gallery listening to the speech. He attended President Aquino’s last SONA, even if he has already left the Liberal Party to ally himself with Vice President Jejomar Binay’s United Nationalist Alliance.

“I have never lost my confidence in our President, even with our political affiliations,” Rama said.

Cebu Gov. Hilario Davide III, chairman of the Liberal Party in Cebu, praised the president’s speech.

“Very factual, straightforward and inspiring. Clearly and unquestionably he has done great things for the country in his five years in office and good governance is the key to all of these.”

“He makes us feel proud to be Filipinos.  I’m proud of my President.”/With  inquirer, AP, Office of the President