Aquino urges LP partymates to support his administration
President Benigno S. Aquino III called on his party-mates at the Liberal Party to continue to support him in his efforts to move the country forward, propel the economy, and improve the lives of the Filipino people.
In his keynote address at the 65th Founding Anniversary of the Liberal Party on Wednesday at the Club Filipino in San Juan City, the Chief Executive speaking in Pilipino, said that the Liberal Party’s vision and duty to give the people a government committed to freedom, democracy, and to the improvement of the people’s quality of life, especially the poor and the disadvantaged, is now the biggest challenge his administration faces as well as that of the party.
“I am asking for your support not only as the President but as a party-mate…I consider myself your brother,” the President said.
With the new leadership coming from the Liberal Party, the President noted that the people can now dream of a better life and this, he stressed, is his biggest challenge - to make this dream a reality.
“This is not an easy task. This is the challenge that we all face,” he said.
He added that with the help of the Liberal Party, this dream can now be realized saying that a Liberal Party member does not make empty promises and that the welfare of the majority is his foremost concern.
The President further said that changes and reforms can be implemented if there is integrity in the leadership, and “if there is integrity, the trust of the people and the whole world can be regained.”
“If there is national integrity, investments will pour in and there will be economic progress, the President said.
The President stressed that the country is now on the path to progress and development as there are many interested investors to do business in the country. He cited Coca-cola, Pfizer, Hewlett-Packard, Nestle Hanjin and IBM as among those companies expanding their businesses in the country.
He also said that as President, he has to make difficult decisions such as the fare hike in the LRT and MRT, which he said, is necessary so that funds saved will be used to enhance basic social services that will benefit more people and not only those in Metro Manila.
“Lahat po ito—ang pag-akit sa mga investor, ang pagpapakita ng tibay ng loob sa harap ng mahihirap na desisyon—ay nasa ilalim ng mas malawak na agenda natin para sa makatarungan at pantay-pantay na lipunan. Sa administrasyong Liberal, walang laglagan, walang maiiwan, mahirap o mayaman, nasa poder o karaniwang mamamayan,” he said.
The President also asked his partymates in Congress to support his administration’s legislative agenda adding that he presided over a full cabinet meeting on Monday to finalize the priority measures he will ask Congress to approve.
He also asked the local government officials to continue supporting him specifically in the implementation of programs and projects in the grassroots.
“Iyan po ang ibig sabihin ng pagka-Liberal, mula pa ng panahon ng mga nagtaguyod nito, hanggang sa henerasyon ng aking ama, hanggang sa araw ng aking panunumpa, hanggang sa ngayong taumbayan na mismo ang nagpakita ng pakikiisa sa atin pong agenda. Iyan po ang kinakatawan ng lideratong inihalal natin ngayon (This is what makes a Liberal Party member, since the party’s inception up to the present). (PCOO)
Aquino to study reimposition of death penalty
President Benigno S. Aquino III on Wednesday said he will study the re-imposition of death penalty in the wake of calls from various groups following several heinous crime cases recently.
In an interview at the 65th Founding Anniversary of the Liberal Party at Club Filipino in San Juan City, the President expressed concern over the reimplementation of the capital punishment, saying that in the present judicial system, suspects who do not have the ability to secure the services of competent lawyers are prone to be wrongly convicted.
“I will have to study that, and I don’t know where the calls are emanating from but iyong essence nito, our judicial system, as you know, is not perfect,” the President said.
The Chief Executive said that death penalty can only be fully applied in a perfectly-existing judicial system.
For the past two decades the President had many discussions regarding the issue, including that with his mother, the late former President Corazon C. Aquino.
“I had so many discussions from way back, siguro close to two decades, and including discussions with my mother in that aspect. At the end of the day, I used to support death penalty. But I really witnessed also justice that was not perfect, so I have to change my position that since we cannot turn back the clock if we execute somebody, then we shouldn’t, in the off chance that we might render that penalty to somebody who was not guilty,” the President noted.
Capital punishment in the Philippines was abolished on June 24, 2006, the second time since 1987.
Since it was reintroduced in 1993, seven people have been executed. Abolition of the death penalty has generally occurred in correlation with increasing democratization in nation-states around the world.
As of 2005, a majority of states (122) were abolitionist, and a minority (73) retained the death penalty. (PCOO)
LRT, toll rate hikes to benefit majority of Pinoys -- Aquino
The government's decision to raise fare rates at the Light Railway Transit (LRT) and Metro Railway Transit (MRT) and toll fees at the North Luzon Expressway and South Luzon Expressway was for the benefit of the majority of the people.
President Benigno S. Aquino III made the clarification in his keynote address at the 65th founding anniversary of the Liberal Party held at the Club Filipino in Greenhills, San Juan.
“Kasabay po ng paglalatag natin ng reporma ay ang pagpapalit din ng buong diwa ng pamumuno. Halimbawa nga po itong isyu ng pagtaas ng toll at pasahe sa MRT at LRT, na napakaraming bumabatikos (Implementing reforms needs strong leadership such as in the issue of the toll and fare hike at the MRT and LRT), he said.
The President said he is being heavily criticized for the higher fares that it seemed his critics believed they are still under the old administration.
"What some in government do not see is that we are doing this for the benefit of the people,'' he said in the vernacular, adding that the savings to be generated from not subsidizing the fares will be spent for social services.
"This will go directly to providing good service, improved roads and wide roads,'' he added.
The President also said that the savings can also be spent to build new MRT lines such as that which will connect to Cavite or the LRT South, Antipolo and San Jose del Monte in Bulacan.
The Chief Executive said these problems and difficulty in raising public transport fares was inherited from the past administration’s wrong policies, referring to subsidies paid by the government in the past for Metro Manila’s train services as well as the operators of the tollways.
He stressed that he is in government to make difficult decisions that will result in better services and not because he wanted to look good to the people. (PCOO)
