PIA Dispatch - Friday, July 16, 2010

P-Noy prepares for 1st SONA

President Benigno S. Aquino III is currently preparing for his first State of the Nation Address (SONA) to be delivered at the opening of the 15th Congress at the Batasang Pambansa on July 27.

“President Aquino himself has begun his preparations for the State of the National Address, indicating to his Cabinet members the structure and tone of his address,” Presidential Spokesperson Edwin Lacierda said today in a statement. 

During the first Cabinet meeting on June 30, the President instructed all members of his official family to undertake a survey of their departments and to propose specific policy directions for the future, said Lacierda.

“This week, the Presidential Management Staff (PMS) began receiving the initial departmental reports, which are expected to be completed and submitted today,” he said.

Lacierda said next week’s Cabinet meeting will further discuss the findings of the various departments and the initial draft of the SONA. 

The SONA is a presidential tradition, wherein the Chief Executive gives both houses of Congress and the people an annual report on the status of the nation including the government’s short and long-term plans.


P-Noy vows full support to PNP 

SUBIC, Zambales -- President Benigno S. Aquino III today assured the Philippine National Police (PNP) of his full support, prodding its leaders to submit as soon as possible the service and command requirements needed to improve the functions of the agency.

It was the same commitment the President conveyed last week to the Armed Forces of the Philippines (AFP), the other half of the country’s uniformed service, as he embarked early on initiatives to determine the status and needs of the men in uniform. 

“Tell us what you want and we will give it,” said the President, echoing the message he gave to military leaders last Monday during his first command conference with the AFP in Camp Aguinaldo. 

Today he was with the PNP top brass as he addressed the launch of the Philippine National Police Training Service School for Values and Leadership at east Ilanan Forest, Corridor Highway at the Subic Bay Freeport Zone. 

In his speech, the President recalled that he was ambushed and hit by bullets during one of the seven coup attempts during the presidency of his mother Corazon Aquino. “I saw then the importance of keeping the peace and security of the country, through vigilant peace keepers, to sustain the economy and so that the citizenry can do what they have to do without apprehensions and anxiety,” he said. 

“The police can’t provide us the security we need from them, if they are not taken care of,” the President said, adding that the memory of the ambush episode keeps coming back to him whenever he talks to a soldier, a cop or anyone sworn to their task of keeping peace.

“The importance of police in our society is very clear to me. We can not progress as a society if our police force is weak and helpless in protecting the people,” he stressed. 
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The President cited the need for continuing studies and training programs to address the skills requirements of the police force in performing their tasks. 

He asked the police to set an example by being the first to uphold the law: “We said during the campaign kung walang corrupt, walang mahirap and this includes upholding the rights of every human being.” 

“What happens on the streets directly influences the stability of our economy,” he said. “Sa madaling sabi, habang ginagampanan ninyo ang inyong tungkulin bilang mga pulis, mas lalo tayong nakakasiguro na may ihahain ang bawat pamilyang Pilipino sa kanilang mga hapag.” 

“Habang nakakasiguro po ang ating mamamayan sa tibay ng loob at katapatan ng ating kapulisan, payapa nilang magagawa ang kanilang mga gawain. Makakapag-aral ang kabataan, makakapagtrabaho ang mga empleyado, at tatakbo nang maayos ang mga negosyo,” the President said. 

“You and I are in the business of saving lives: from violence, from poverty, from injustice. Our means may be different, but the goal is the same: to achieve our dream of a more peaceful and abundant nation at a much faster pace,” he said. “There is no reason for us to work independently of each other and to slow the other one down. The only way forward for this administration is to work as one.”


P-Noy notes spread of casinos, vows review of policy

Subic Freeport Zone, Zambales -- President Benigno S. Aquino III today said he has ordered an evaluation of the proliferation of licensed casinos in the country, even in areas that have no tourists.

“You’re all witness to a proliferation of so many gaming establishments, and some of them I don’t agree with,” the President said to reporters here following the inauguration of the Philippine National Police Training Service School for Values and Leadership. 

He cited a proposal to put up a casino in his home province of Tarlac: ”There are zero tourists in that particular area (of Tarlac), yet there exists these gaming facilities that should really target the tourism industry.” 

The President said one has to just look around to know there is a surfeit of casinos in the country. As another example he cited Cavite, which is host to a number of such gaming facilities in addition to the one already existing in Tagaytay City, the latter being a favorite tourist destination. He said there were also proposals to put up more casinos in Clark, Angeles City in Pampanga, and Subic.

The President revealed that the Philippine Amusement and Gaming Corp. (Pagcor) itself, which has the exclusive authority to grant casino franchises to private operators, was also undergoing rigid scrutiny. He earlier said Pagcor has not been making money for the government. “(We want to know) what is really being remitted by these gaming centers to the government coffers,” he stressed.

While President Aquino did not rule out the possibility that the livelihood of its employees might be affected, he stressed that the projected reforms would be for the common good.

The President also hinted that the evaluation was being done with an eye on maximizing benefits for the government in case Pagcor is ultimately privatized, using as analogy the sale of a used car that will command a low price if not in A-one condition.

“In the same token, if at some point in time we can do away with having government as the operator and regulator (of the casinos), that will be a good direction,” he said. 

“We are still in the process of finding out what the problems are to be able to fix it,” President Aquino said. He declined however, to give specific time frame, saying it depends on the gravity of the problem and the amount of efforts to solve it. 


Palace unmoved by Neri’s refusal to cooperate with Truth Commission

There are many ways of skinning a cat.

That’s how an unperturbed President Benigno S. Aquino III today took the refusal of former Social Security System Chairman Romulo Neri to cooperate with the Truth Commission being formed to look into questionable deals made by the past administration.

“I’ll leave it up to the good offices of Justice Hilario Davide to be able to work out procedures whereby he will ferret out the truth,” the President told reporters after attending the inauguration of the Philippine National Police Training Service School for Values and Leadership in Subic Bay Freeport Zone, Zambales.

“As an American saying goes, there are many ways to skin a cat, and Justice Davide, with his vast experience, will be able to come up with the systems and procedures that will get us to the truth itself,” the President added.

Neri was today arraigned of graft charges before Sandiganbayan in connection with the controversial NBN-ZTE deal. He reportedly communicated through his lawyer his position that the forthcoming probe by the Truth Commission on the same controversy will be irrelevant after his arraignment. He pleaded not guilty.

The former NEDA chief has been implicated in the multi-million dollar NBN-ZTE deal along with former Comelec chairman Benjamin Abalos, who allegedly brokered the deal for the Arroyo administration.