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Thank you.
Ladies and gentleman, good afternoon. Before I begin my report to the
nation, please join me first in a moment of prayer for President Aquino.
Thank you, Speaker Nograles.
Senate President Enrile, Speaker Nograles, Senators, Representatives,
Vice President De Castro, former President Ramos, Chief Justice Puno,
Ambassadors, friends:
The past twelve months have been a year for the history books. Financial
meltdown in the West spread throughout the world. Tens of millions lost
their jobs; billions across the globe have been hurt -- the poor always
harder than the rich. No one was spared.
It has affected us already. But the story of the Philippines in 2008 is
that the country weathered a succession of global crises in fuel, in
food, then in finance, and finally the economy in a global recession,
never losing focus and with economic fundamentals intact.
A few days ago Moody’s upgraded our credit rating, citing the resilience
of our economy. The state of our nation is a strong economy.
Good news for our people, bad news for our critics.
I did not become President to be popular. To work, to lead, to protect
and preserve our country, our people, that is why I became President.
When my father left the Presidency, we were second to Japan. I want our
Republic to be ready for the first world in 20 years.
Towards that vision, we made key reforms. Our economic plan centers on
putting people first. Higit sa lahat, ang layunin ng ating patakaran ay
tulungan ang masisipag na karaniwang Pilipino. New tax revenues were put
in place to help pay for better healthcare, more roads, a strong
education system. Housing policies were designed to lift up our poorest
citizens so they can live and raise a family with dignity. Ang ating mga
puhunan sa agrikultura ay naglalayong kilalanin ang ating mga magsasaka
bilang backbone ng ating bansa, at bigyan sila ng mga modernong
kagamitan to feed our nation and feed their own family.
Had we listened to the critics of those policies, had we not braced
ourselves for the crisis that came, had we taken the easy road much
preferred by politicians eyeing elections, this country would be flat on
its back. It would take twice the effort just to get it back again on
its feet -- to where we are now because we took the responsibility and
paid the political price of doing the right thing. For standing with me
and doing the right thing -- thank you, Congress.
The strong, bitter and unpopular revenue measures of the past few years
have spared our country the worst of the global financial shocks. They
gave us the resources to stimulate the economy. Nabigyan nila ang
pinakamalaking pagtaas ng IRA ng mga LGU na 40 billion pesos itong taon,
imparting strength throughout the country and at every level of
government. Compared to the past, we have built more and better
infrastructure, including those started by others but left unfinished.
The Subic-Clark-Tarlac Expressway is a prime example of building better
roads. It creates wealth as the flagship of the Subic-Clark Corridor.
We have built airports of international standard, upgraded domestic
airports, built seaportsand the Roll-on/Roll-off System. I ask Congress
for a Philippine Transport Security Law.
Some say that after this SONA, it will be all politics. Sorry, but
there’s more work.
Sa telecommunications naman, inatasan ko ang Telecommunications
Commission na kumilos na tungkol sa mga sumbong na dropped calls at mga
nawawalang load sa cellphone. We need to amend the Commonwealth-era
Public Service Law. And we need to do it now.
Kung noong nakaraan, lumakas ang electronics, today, we are creating
wealth by developing the BPO and tourism sectors as additional engines
of growth. Electronics and other manufactured exports rise and fall in
accordance with the state of the world economy. But BPO remains
resilient. With earnings of six billion dollars and employment of
600,000, the BPO phenomenon speaks eloquently of our competitiveness and
productivity. Let us have a Department of ICT.
In the last four years tourism almost doubled. It is now a five
billion-dollar industry.
Our reforms gave us the resources to protect our people, our financial
system and our economy from the worst of shocks that the best in the
west failed to anticipate. They gave us the resources to extend welfare
support and enhance spending power. For helping me raise government
salaries through Joint Resolution No. 4 -- thank you, Congress.
Cash handouts give the most immediate relief and produce the widest
stimulating effect. Nakikinabang ang 700,000 na pinakamahihirap na
pamilya sa programang Pantawid Pamilya.
We prioritize projects with the same stimulus effects plus long-term
contributions to progress.
Sa pagpapamahagi ng milyun-milyong ektaryang lupa, 700,000 na katutubo
at mahigit isang milyong benepisyaryo ng CARP ay taas-noong may-ari na
ng sariling lupa. Hinihiling ko sa Kongreso na ipasa agad ang
pagpapalawig ng CARP, at dapat ma-condone ang 42 billion pesos na land
reform liabilities dahil 18.0 percent lamang ang nabayaran mula 1972.
Napapanahon because it will unfreeze the rural property market. Ang
mahal kong ama ang nag-emancipate ng mga magsasaka. Iemancipate naman
natin ngayon ang titulo.
Nakinabang ang pitong milyong entrepreneur sa 165 billion pesos in
microfinance loans.
Nakinabang ang sandaan libo sa emergency employment ng ating economic
resiliency plan. Kasama natin ngayon ang isa sa kanila, si Gigi Gabiola.
Dating household service worker sa Dubai, ngayon siya ay nagtatrabaho sa
DOLE. Good luck! Gigi.
Nakinabang ang isang milyong pamilya sa programang pabahay at palupa,
mula Pag-IBIG, NHA, community mortgage programs, certificates of lot
award, at saka yung inyong Loan Condonation and Restructuring Act.
Salamat.
Our average inflation is the lowest since 1966. Last June, it dropped to
1.5 percent. Paano? Proper policies lowered interest rates, which
lowered costs to business and consumers.
Dahil sa ating mga reporma, nakaya nating ibenta ang bigas NFA sa P18.25
per kilo kahit tumaas ang presyo sa labas mula P17.50 hanggang P30 dahil
sa kakulangan sa supply sa mundo. Habang, sa unang pagkakataon, naitaas
ang pamimili ng palay sa mga magsasaka -- 17 pesos mula sa 11 pesos.
Dahil sa ating mga reporma, nakaya nating mamuhunan sa pagkain --
anticipating an unexpected global food crisis. Nakagawa tayo ng
libu-libong kilometro ng farm-to-market roads, at kasama ng pribadong
sektor, natubigan ang dalawang milyong ektarya. Mga Badjao gaya ni
Tarnati Dannawi ay tinuruan ng modernong mariculture. Umabot na sa
180,000 pesos ang kinita niya mula noong nakaraang taon.
Congratulations, Tarnati! We will help more fisherfolk shift to fish
farming with a budget of one billion pesos.
Dahil dumarami na naman daw ang pamilyang nagugutom, mamumuhunan tayo ng
panibago sa ating hunger mitigation program na sa nakaraan ay
napatunayang mabisa. Tulungan niyo ako dito, Kongreso.
Mula pa noong 2001, nanawagan na tayo ng mas murang gamut. Nagbebenta
tayo ng gamut
na kalahating presyo sa libu-libong Botika ng Bayan at Botika ng
Barangay sa maraming dako ng bansa. Our efforts prodded the
pharmaceutical companies to come up with low-cost generics and brands
like RiteMed. I supported the tough version of the House of the Cheaper
Medicine Law, I supported it over the weak version of my critics. The
result: the drug companies volunteered to bring down drug prices,
slashing by half the prices of 16 drugs. Thank you, Congressmen Cua,
Alvarez, Biron, Locsin.
Pursuant to law, we are placing other drugs under a maximum retail
price. To those who want to be President, this advice: If you really
want something done, just do it. Do it hard, do it well. Don’t
pussyfoot. Don't pander. And don’t say bad words in public.
Sa health insurance, sakop na ng 86.0 percent ang ating populasyon.
Sa Rent Control Law ng 2005 hanggang 2008, di pwedeng lumampas ng 10.0
percent ang pagtaas ng upa taun-taon. Ayon sa kapipirma nating batas may
isang taong moratorium, tapos hanggang 7.0 percent lamang ang maaaring
pagtaas. Salamat, Kongreso.
Noong isang taon, nabiyayaan ng tig-500 pesos ang mahigit pitong milyong
tahanan bilang Pantawid Kuryente sa mga small electricity users. Yung
presyo ng kuryente, ang EPIRA natin ang pangmatagalang sagot. EPIRA
dismantled monopoly. Ngunit minana natin ang power purchase agreements,
kaya hindi pa natin makakamtan yung buong intended effect. Pero happy na
rin tayo, dahil isang taon na lamang yan. And the next generation will
benefit from low prices from our EPIRA. Thank you.
Samantala, umabot na sa halos lahat ng barangay ang elektrisidad. We
increased indigenous energy from 48.0 percent to 58.0 percent. Nakatipid
tayo ng dollars tapos malaki pa ang na-reduce na oil consumption. The
huge reduction in fossil fuel is the biggest proof of energy
independence and environmental responsibility. Further reduction will
come with the implementation of the Renewable Energy Act and the
Biofuels Act. Again, thank you.
The next generation will also benefit from our lower public debt to GDP
ratio. It declined from 78.0 percent in 2000 to 55.0 percent in 2008. We
cut in half the debt of government corporations from 15.0 percent to
7.0%. Likewise foreign debt from 73.0 percent to 32.0 percent. Kung
meron man tayong malaking kaaway na tinalo, walang iba kung hind ang
utang, yung foreign debt. Those in the past conjured the demon of
foreign debt. We exorcised it.
The market grows economies. A free market, not a free-for-all.
To that end, we improved our banking system to complement its inherent
conservatism. The Bangko Sentral has been prudent. Thank you, Governor
Tetangco, for being so effective. The BSP will be even more effective if
Congress will amend its Charter.
We worked on the Special Purpose Vehicle Act, reducing non-performing
loans from 18.0 percent to 4.0 percent and improving loan-deposit
ratios.
Our new Securitization Law did not encourage the recklessness that
brought down giant banks and insurance companies elsewhere and laid
their economies to waste. In fact, it monitors and regulates the
new-fangled financial schemes. Thank you, Congress.
We will work to increase tax effort through improved collections and new
sin taxes to further our capacity to reduce poverty and pursue growth.
Revenue enhancement must come from the Department of Finance plugging
leaks and catching tax and customs cheats. I call on taxpaying citizens
and taxpaying businesses -- help the BIR and Customs spot those cheats.
Taxes should come from alcohol and tobacco, and not from books. Tax
hazards to lungs and livers, do not tax minds. Ang kita mula sa buwis sa
alak at sigarilyo ay dapat gamitin sa kalusugan at edukasyon. Pondohan
ang Philhealth premiums ng pinakamahihirap. Pondohan ang mas maraming
classrooms at computers.
Pardon my partiality for the teaching profession. I was a teacher.
Kaya namuhunan tayo ng malaki sa edukasyon at skills training. Ang
magandang edukasyon ay susi sa mas magandang buhay, the great equalizer
that allows every young Filipino a chance to realize their dreams.
Nagtayo tayo ng 95,000 na silid-aralan, nagdagdag ng 60,000 na guro,
naglaan ng 1.5 billion pesos para sa teacher training, especially for
100,000 English teachers.
Isa sa pinakamahirap sa Millennium Development Goals ay yung ‘Education
para sa Lahat’ pagdating ng 2015. Ibig sabihin, lahat ng nasa tamang
edad ay dapat nasa primary school. Halos walang bansang makakatupad nito.
Ngunit nagsisikap pa rin tayo. Nagtayo tayo ng mga paaralan sa higit
sanlibong barangay na dati walang eskwelahan upang makatipid ng gastos
sa pamasahe ang mga bata. Tinanggal natin ang miscellaneous fees para sa
primary school. Hindi na kailangan ang uniporme sa mga estudyante sa
public school. In private high schools, we financed half of the
students.
We have provided college and post-graduate education for over 600,000
scholars. One of them, Mylene Amerol-Macumbal, finished Accounting at
MSU-IIT, then she went to law school, and placed second in the last bar
exam -- the first Muslim woman bar topnotcher. Congratulations!
In technical education and skills training, we have invested three times
that of three previous administrations combined. Narito si Jennifer
Silbor, isa sa sampung milyong trainee. Natuto siya ng medical
transcription. Now, as an independent contractor and lecturer for
transcriptions in Davao, kumikita siya ng 18,000 pesos bawat buwan. Good
job, Jennifer!
The Presidential Task Force on Education headed by Jesuit educator
Father Bienvenido Nebres has come out with the Main Education Highway
towards a Knowledge-Based Economy. It envisions seamless education from
basic to vocational school or college.
It seeks to mainstream early childhood development in basic education.
Our children are our most cherished possession. In their early years we
must make sure they get a healthy start in life. They must receive the
right food for a healthy body, the right education for a bright and
inquiring mind, and the equal opportunity for a meaningful job.
For college admission, the Task Force recommends mandatory Scholastic
Aptitude Tests. It also recomends that higher private education
institutions and state universities and colleges should be harmonized,
and also that CHED should oversee local universities and colleges. For
professions seeking international recognition -- engineering,
architecture, accountancy, pharmacy and physical therapy -- the Task
Force recommends radical reform: 10 years of basic education, two years
of pre-university before three years of university.
Our educational system should make the Filipino fit not just for
whatever jobs happen to be on offer today, but also for whatever
economic challenge life will throw in their way.
Sa hirap at ginhawa, pinapatatag ang ating bansa ng ating overseas
Filipinos. Iyong padala nilang 16 billion dollars noong isang taon ay
record. Itong taon, mas mataas pa.
I know that this is not a sacrifice joyfully borne. This is work where
it can be found in faraway places, among strangers with different
cultures. It is lonely work, it is hard work. Kaya nagsisikap tayong
lumikha dito sa atin ng mga trabahong maganda ang sahod, so that
overseas work will just be a career choice, not the only option for a
hardworking Filipino.
Meanwhile, we should make their sacrifices worthwhile. Dapat gumawa tayo
ng mas epektibong proteksyon at pagpapalawak ng halaga ng kanilang
pinagsikapang sweldo. That means stronger consumer protection for
overseas Filipinos investing in property and products back home. Para sa
kanila, pinapakilos natin ang Investors Protection Task Force.
Hindi ako nag-aatubiling bisitahin ang ating taong-bayan at kanilang mga
host sa buong mundo mula Hapon hanggang Brazil, mula Europa at Middle
East hanggang sa American Midwest, nakikinig sa kanilang mga problema at
pangangailangan, inaalam kung paano sila matulungan ng ating pamahalaan
-- by working out better policies on migrant labor, or by saving lives
and restoring liberty.
Pagpunta ko sa Saudi, pinatawad ni Haring Abdullah ang pitong daang OFW
na nasa preso. Pinuno nila ang isang buong eroplano at umuwi kasama ko.
Mula sa ating State Visit sa Espanya, it has become our biggest European
donor. At si Haring Juan Carlos ay nakikipag-usap sa ibang mga bansa
para sa ating mga namomoblemang OFW. Ganoon din si Sheikh Khalifa, ang
Prime Minister ng Bahrain.
Pagpunta ko sa Kuwait, Emir Al-Sabah commuted death sentences. We thank
all our leaders, all the world leaders who have shown compassion for our
overseas Filipino workers. Maraming salamat
Our vigorous international engagement has helped bring in foreign
investment. Net foreign direct investments multiplied 15 times during
our administration. Kasama ng ating mga OFW, they more than doubled our
foreign exchange reserves. Pinalakas ang ating piso, naiwasan ang
lubhang pagtaas ng presyo. They upgraded our credit because while the
reserves of our peers have shrunk this past years, our reserves grew by
three billion dollars.
Our international engagement has also corrected historical injustice.
The day we visited Washington, Senator Daniel Inouye successfully
sponsored benefits for our veterans as part of American’s stimulus
package.
I have accepted the invitation of President Obama to be the first
Southeast Asian leader to meet him at the White House, later this week.
That he sought out the Philippines testifies to our strong and deep
ties. High on our agenda will be peace and security issues. Terrorism:
how to meet it, how to end it, how to address its roots in injustice and
prejudice. And first and always how to protect lives.
We will discuss nuclear non-proliferation. The Philippines will chair
the review of the Nuclear Weapons Non-proliferation Treaty in New York
in May 2010. The success of the talks will be a major diplomatic
achievement for us.
There is a range of other issues we will discuss, including the global
challenge of climate change, especially the threat to countries with
long coastlines. And there is the global recession, its worse impact on
poor people, and the options that can spare them from the worst.
In 2008 up to the first quarter of 2009 we stood among only a few
economies in Asia-Pacific that did not shrink. Compare this to 2001,
when some of my current critics were driven out by people power. Asia
was then surging but our country was on the brink of bankruptcy.
Since then, our economy has posted uninterrupted growth for 33 quarters;
more than doubled its size from 76 billion dollars to a 186 billion
dollars. The average GDP growth from 2001 to the first quarter of 2009
is the highest in 43 years.
Bumaba ang bilang ng mga nagsasabing mahirap sila sa 47.0 percent mula
59.0 percent. Maski lumaki ang ating populasyon, nabawasan ng dalawang
milyon ang bilang ng mahihirap. GNP per capita rose from a Third World
967 dollars to 2,000 dollars. Lumikha tayo ng walong milyong trabaho, an
average of a million a year, much, much more than at any other time.
In sum: First, we have a strong economy in a strong fiscal position to
withstand political shocks; second, we built new and modern
infrastructure and completed unfinished ones: third, the economy is more
fair to the poor than ever before; fourth, we are building a sound base
for the next generation; fifth, international authorities have taken
notice that we are safer from environmental degradation and man-made
disasters.
As a country in the path of typhoons and in the Pacific Rim of Fire, we
must be prepared as the latest technology permits to anticipate natural
calamities when that is possible; to extend immediate and effective
relief when it is not; the mapping of flood-and-landslide-prone areas is
almost complete. Early warning, forecasting and monitoring systems have
been improved, with weather-tracking facilities in Subic, Tagaytay,
Mactan, Mindanao, Pampanga.
We have worked on flood control infrastructure like those for Pinatubo,
Agno, Laoag, and Abucay, which will pump the run off waters from Quezon
City and Tondo flooding Sampaloc. This will help relieve hundreds of
hectares in this old city of its age-old woe.
Patuloy naman yung sa CAMANAVA, dagdag sa Pinatubo, Iloilo, Pasig-
Marikina, Bicol River Basin, at saka river basin ng Mindanao.
The victims of typhoon Frank in Panay should receive their long-overdue
assistance package. I ask Congress to pass the SNITS Law.
Namana natin ang pinakamatagal na rebelyon ng Komunista sa buong mundo.
Si Leah de la Cruz isa sa labindalawang libong rebel returnee. Sixteen
pa lang siya nang sumali sa NPA. Naging kasapi sa Regional White Area
Committee, napromote sa Leyte Party Committee Secretary. Nahuli noong
2006. She is now involved in an LGU-supported andicraft livelihood
training of former rebels. We love you, Leah!
There is now a good prospect for peace talks with both the Communist
Party of the Philippines and the MILF, with whom we are now on
ceasefire.
We inherited an age-old conflict in Mindanao, exacerbated by a
politically popular but near-sighted policy of massive retaliation. This
only provoked the other side to continue the war.
In these two internal conflicts, ang tanong ay hindi, “Sino ang mananalo?”
kung hindi, “Bakit pa ba kailangang mag-laban ang kapwa Pilipino tungkol
sa mga isyu na alam naman nating lahat na di malulutas sa dahas at
mareresolba lang sa paraang demokratiko?”
There is nothing more that I would wish for than peace in Mindanao. It
will be a blessing for all its people, Muslim, Christian and Lumads. It
will show other religiously divided communities that there can be common
ground on which to live together in peace, harmony and cooperation that
respects each other’s religious beliefs.
At sa lahat ng dako ng bansa, kailangan nating protektahan ang ating mga
mamamayan kontra sa krimen -- in their homes, in their neighborhoods, in
their communities. How shall crime be fought? With the five pillars of
the justice system, including crime fighters. We call on Congress to
fund more policemen on the streets.
Real government is about looking beyond the vested to the national
interest, setting up the necessary conditions to enable the next more
enabled and more empowered generation to achieve a country as prosperous
a people as content as ours deserve to be.
The noisiest critics of constitutional reform tirelessly and shamelessly
attempted Cha-Cha when they thought they could take advantage of a shift
in the form of government. Now that they feel they cannot benefit from
it, they oppose it.
As the seeds of fundamental political reform are planted, let us address
the highest exercise of democracy -- voting! In 2001, I said we would
finance fully automated elections. We got it, thanks to Congress.
At the end of this speech I shall step down from this stage, but not
from the Presidency. My term does not end until next year. Until then, I
will fight for the ordinary Filipino. The nation comes first. There is
much to do as head of state to the very last day.
A year is a long time. Patuloy ang pamumuhunan sa tinatawag na three E’s
ng ekonomiya, environment at edukasyon. There are many perils that we
must still guard against.
A man-made calamity is already upon us, global in scale. As I said
earlier, so far we have been spared its worst effects but we cannot be
complacent. We only know that we have generated more resources on which
to draw, and thereby created options we could take. Thank God we did not
let our critics stop us.
As the campaign unfolds and the candidates take to the airwaves, I ask
them to talk more about how they will build up the nation rather than
tear down their opponents. Give the electorate real choices and not just
sweet talk. Meanwhile, I will keep a steady hand on the tiller, keeping
the ship of state away from the shallows some prefer, and steering it
straight on the course we set in 2001.
Ang ating taong-bayan ay masipag at maka-Diyos. These qualities are
epitomized in someone like Manny Pacquiao. Manny trained tirelessly, by
the book, with iron discipline, with the certain knowledge that he had
to fight himself, his weaknesses first, before he could beat his
opponent. That was the way to clinch his victories and his ultimate
title: ang pinakadakilang boksingero sa kasaysayan. Mabuhay ka, Manny!
However much a President wishes it, a national problem cannot be knocked
out with a single punch. A President must work with the problem as much
as against it, turn it into a solution if she can.
There isn’t a day I do not work at my job or a waking moment when I do
not think through a work-related problem. Even my critics cannot
begrudge the long hours I put in. Our people deserve a government that
works just as hard as they do.
A President must be on the job 24/7, ready for any contingency, any
crisis, anywhere, anytime.
Everything right can be undone by even a single wrong. Every step
forward must be taken in the teeth of political pressures and economic
constraints that could push you two steps back if you flinch and falter.
I have not flinched, I have not faltered. Hindi ako umaatras sa hamon.
And I have never done any of the things that scared my worst critics so
much. They are frightened by their own shadows.
In the face of attempted coups, I issued emergency proclamations just in
case. But I was able to resolve these military crises with the ordinary
powers of my office. My critics call it dictatorship. I call it
determination. We know it as strong government.
But I never declared martial law, though they are running scared as if I
did. In truth, what they are really afraid of is their weakness in the
face of this self-imagined threat.
I say to them: Do not tell us what we all know, that democracy can be
threatened. Tell us what you will do when it is attacked.
I know what to do: As I have shown, I will defend democracy with arms
when it is threatened by violence; with firmness when it is weakened by
division; with law and order when it is subverted by anarchy; and
always, I will try to sustain it by wise policies of economic progress,
so that a democracy means not just an empty liberty but a full life for
all.
I have never expressed the desire to extend myself beyond my term. Many
of those who accuse me of it tried to cling like nails to their posts.
I am accused of misgovernance. Many of those who accuse me of it left me
the problem of their misgovernance to solve. And we did it.
I am falsely accused, without proof, of using my position for personal
profit. Many who accuse me of it have lifestyles and spending habits
that make them walking proofs of that crime.
We can read their frustrations. They had the chance to serve this good
country and they blew it by serving themselves.
Those who live in glass houses should cast no stones. Those who should
be in
jail should not threaten it, especially if they have been there.
Our administration, with the highest average rate of growth, recording
multiple increases in investments, with the largest job creation in
history, and which gets a credit upgrade at the height of a world
recession, must be doing something right, even if some of those cocooned
in corporate privilege refuse to recognize it.
Governance however is not about looking back and getting even. It is
about looking forward and giving more to the people who gave us the
greatest, hardest gift of all: the care of a country.
From Bonifacio at Balintawak to Cory Aquino at EDSA and up to today, we
have struggled to bring power to the people, and this country to the
eminence it deserves.
Today the Philippines is weathering well the storm that is raging around
the world. It is growing stronger with the challenge. When the weather
clears, as it will, there is no telling how much farther forward it can
go. Believe in it. I believe.
We can and we must march forward with hope, optimism and determination.
We must come together, work together and walk together toward the
future.
Bagamat malaking hamon ang nasa ating harapan, nasa kamay natin ang
malaking kakayahan. Halina’t pagtulungan nating tiyakin ang
karapat-dapat na kinabukasan ng ating Inang Bayan.
And to the people of our good country, for allowing me to serve as your
President, maraming salamat.
Mabuhay ang Pilipinas! |
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