Esposo cites 'Hand of the Almighty' in Aquino's rise to power on the 25th anniversary of the People Power
President Benigno S. Aquino III’s rise to power in July 2010 must have been God’s handiwork as the country celebrated its 25th People Power Revolution at EDSA, according to newspaper columnist William “Billy” Esposo at the People Power Awards ceremonies held at the Rizal Ceremonial Hall in Malacanang Saturday (Feb. 26).
Esposo was one of five awardees presented with the Legion of Honor with the rank of Chief Commander. The four others were Fr. James Reuter (SJ), Napoleon Rama and, posthumously, Teodoro Benigno and US Rep. Stephen Solarz. Publisher Joaquin “Chino” Roces was, likewise, posthumously presented the Order of Lakandula with the rank of Supremo.
“How come, that at this time when we’re marking the 25th anniversary of People Power, the only son of the twin inspiration of People Power – Ninoy and Cory Aquino – is now sitting as president of our country? Who would be better tasked to see that People Power achieves it full bloom for our nation,” Esposo said in his reaction after receiving the Legion of Honor award from President Aquino.
His reaction was also on behalf of living awardees Napoleon Rama and Fr. James Reuter, whom Esposo fondly described as already in the “pre-departure area of life,” just as the other awardees Chino Roces, Teddy Benigno and US Rep. Stephen Solarz, were “very dead,” which elicited loud laughter from the audience composed of the diplomatic community, business leaders, civil society and the families of the six awardees.
He said the common denominator among Fr. Reuter, Rama, himself and the three posthumous awardees namely Chino Roces, Teddy Benigno and US Congressman Stephen Solarz is that “in our own little way, we were among those who tried to provide a light to a darkened period in Philippine history.”
Esposo said ignorance, the fear to know the unpalatable and public apathy all formed the conditions which perpetuated tyranny. “We tried, in our own little way, to provide the circle around us the light to see what is truly happening and where the evil acts of those in power then will eventually bring us,” Esposo said.
He then said the success of the great historic development of 1986 in EDSA was attained “because of the intervention of the Hand of the Almighty. We all faced seemingly insurmountable odds which were humanly impossible to conquer and we prefer to credit not ourselves but the Almighty. Our 1986 adventure with People Power could have turned into our worst fears and nightmare but thank God that it didn’t,” the chair wrecker said.
“Looking at what has been happening in the Middle East, where people are also trying to stage their own adventure with People Power, we doubly appreciate how things turned out in our country in 1986,” he added
He said the Hand of the Almighty had also arranged this confluence of events to instill a realization in us Filipinos who provided the world with this romantic inspiration called People Power.
And, he stressed that as the Philippines is celebrating its 25th anniversary of People Power, “this demonstration of People Power inspiration happens in the most unlikely region in the world where one would expect it to flourish.”
”How come that at this time we’re marking the 25th anniversary of People Power, the only son of the twin inspiration of People Power – Ninoy and Cory Aquino – is now sitting as president of our country? Who would be better tasked to see that People Power achieves it full bloom for our nation,” he asked.
Then he quipped: “Could this be what Germany’s Otto Von Bismarck described as one of those instances when God is once again marching through history? Don’t you hear the footsteps of God in this recent uncanny confluence of events?”
Esposo said that “if indeed these are the footsteps of God we are hearing marching through history; surely it is not to give us Filipinos a pat in the back. The world stopped to give us a pat in the back when we ousted a dictator 25 years ago in 1986. However, there are many things that have happened in our country as well as many things that have not happened in our country which cannot entitle us to a pat in the back at this time.”
He said the 25th anniversary of People Power should prod Filipinos to ponder that the final task is that of uplifting the lives of all other Filipinos by addressing information, education and opportunity gaps that create the dangerous wealth gap in our country. We have to repair our damaged culture and along with it, erase our culture of corruption,” he stressed.
He said the challenge is to improve the standard of living of the bottom 30 percent of society, the impoverished 4 million Filipino souls who can turn this country into endless cycles of strife and carnage, if their plight remains unaddressed.”
It is said that only the poor can help themselves---but not alone. This is the job for People Power. Filipinos must now be the light to fellow Filipinos wallowing in darkness,” Esposo said. (PCOO)
Development partners pleased with Aquino's reform programs
Over 200 foreign donors, creditors, civic societies and the academe that attended the whole-day Philippine Development Forum at the Sofitel on Saturday expressed satisfaction at the economic and social reforms initiated by the Aquino administration since it assumed office in July 2010.
Several members of the Aquino Cabinet participated actively in the discussions, which World Bank Country Director Bert Hofman described as open, candid and had a lot of shared optimism and trust towards President Aquino’s Social Contract with the Filipino People, the basis for the Philippine Development Program for 2011-2016.
The forum was chaired by Finance Secretary Cesar Purisima and co-chaired by World Bank Country Director Bert Hofman. Among the Aquino Cabinet members present were: Acting Foreign Secretary Albert del Rosario, Budget Secretary Florencio Abad, Interior and Local Government Secretary Jesse Robredo, Justice Secretary Leila de Lima, Presidential Adviser on the Peace Process, Secretary Ging Deles and Internal Revenue Commissioner Kim Jacinto-Henares.
In the wrap-up of the full-day forum, Hofman said the participants shared a lot of optimism, openness and trust for the Aquino administration’s handling of the economy. He noted that with effective implementation of the plan and adequate support, the Philippine government can realize its goal of eradicating poverty through sustained high levels of growth.
He said the development partners of the Philippines welcome the President’s social contract with the Filipino people saying the 16 points outlined in the contract “go to the heart of the many development challenges that Filipinos confront today.” The partners also congratulate the government for some very positive and early reforms that seek to deliver this social contract.
The partners also recognize the importance of the forum as the framework that would allow them to align their support programs with the Philippine program with particular emphasis on strengthening the capacity to implement the program in the local governments through performance-based grants to make budgeting open, transparent and consultative.
They also commended the Philippine legislature for passing a quality 2011 budget and the timely release, which Hofman said “sends an unambiguous signal that this government and legislature are fiscally responsible, transparent and performance-oriented.”
Hofman said development partners laud the government’s strong growth posted last year, the timely passage of the first budget of the new administration and the priority given to the conditional cash transfer program and household targeting systems.
Civil society organizations acknowledged the greater space for involvement as they stressed the need to focus on asset reform, better coordination among anti-corruption agencies, greater access to information and development of the poorest areas of Mindanao.
The foreign development partners welcomed the resumption of peace negotiations and expressed support for the peace process.
The human development cluster of the forum emphasized the need to expand the social safety nets that have proven effective such as CCT, fast tracking the public health insurance program for the poor and improved targeting of public expenditures. For the longer term, the partners cited the need to strengthen disaster risk and climate change management. The partners noted the slow progress in attaining some of the Millennium Development Goals such as universal primary education, improving maternal health and combating pandemic diseases, particularly HIV.
The development partners also welcomed the government’s public private partnership (PPP) agenda as an effective means to provide urgently needed infrastructure and pledged their support to strengthen the government’s capacity to promote, develop and manage PPP.
To mobilize financial resources from the private sector and to attract more investments to the Philippines, the development partners said it is essential that the business environment remains substantially improved and the strong commitment shown in this regard is translated into concrete measures that are steadily implemented on the ground. (PCOO)
Aquino tells Phl development partners: 'This is a government that works & works with you'
Addressing over 200 international and local development partners, President Benigno S. Aquino III confidently said that “this is a government that works well and is willing to work with you” in ensuring that the benefits of prosperity will be felt by the greater majority of our citizens and not just by a few.
The Philippine Development Forum, the first organized in this administration, is chaired by Finance Secretary Cesar Purisima and co chaired by World Bank Country Director Bert Hofman. It was attended by multilateral funding agencies, foreign donors, civil society, non government organizations, the diplomatic and business communities and the academe.
The President said the forum “comes at the right time because our nation has always aspired for an economy where the growth powered by private enterprise impacts on a larger number of people.”
He noted the “upsurge of optimism in the Philippine economy” since the start of his administration, adding that “in a short span of time we are fulfilling our promise to curb corruption and reduce poverty.”
“We did not need a miracle to make it happen. We are simply doing things right,” he continued.
He said his administration took care of spending money prudently to where it could create more impact and benefit, reducing opportunities for corruption, using local ingenuity and creativity and reducing the perks and compensations of government owned and controlled corporations and government financial institutions basing the compensation on their accomplishments.
In January 2011, the GOCCs and GFIs remitted over P29 billion to the national treasury, almost triple the amount in the previous years’ delivery.
For example, he cited stopping overpriced contracts of the Department of Public Works and Highways amounting to P1 billion that were renegotiated and at least some P300 million in savings resulted from a more transparent and truly competitive process in the bidding.
He also mentioned how tapping local innovations such as coco coir for slope protection generated savings of some P2.2 billon.
He said government’s zero-based budgeting approach ensured the efficient use of public resources, as budget items were now evaluated in order to determine the relevance, effectiveness and vulnerability to leakages. Programs that were not delivering were terminated while those that were working enjoyed even more funding.
The President said his government has increased spending on social safety net programs such as the conditional cash transfer and the expanded Philhealth program for immediate, direct and substantial benefits. Beneficiaries to the CCT program will be increased from the current 1 million to 2.3 million by the end of 2011, he said.
The government also affirmed its commitment to basic education by giving it the biggest budget in a decade so that resources will be given to areas students need the most such as in building classrooms and more importantly hiring new teachers.
The Chief Executive said convergence is the key development strategy where efforts and resources will be collaborated for social protection, poverty reduction, health care, education and development of rural economies to ensure maximization of resources for greater impact.
The collaboration will also entail encouraging communities to participate actively in barangay development, as done in the KALAHI CIDDS areas to ensure that agencies pour their resources into communities that need them the most.
“Through our public private partnership initiatives we are also optimistic about enticing investors to enter into a fair, mutually beneficial and productive partnership with the government to build infrastructure, undertake other economic activities in order to generate more employment,” he said. (PCOO)
President Aquino leads consultation with Congress
Executive Secretary Paquito N. Ochoa Jr. is set to present 23 proposed legislations the administration wants Congress to prioritize when President Benigno Aquino III convenes on Monday for the first time the Legislative-Executive Development Advisory Council (LEDAC).
Six more priority bills were added to the previous 17 initially lined up by Cabinet members to include the proposed anti-trust law, protection and security to whistle-blowers, amendments to the Witness Protection Program, creation of a water regulatory body, government procurement reforms, and defining the powers and functions of the Department of National Defense.
According to Ochoa, the priority bills reflect the Aquino Administration's 16-point agenda for human development, infrastructure development, economic development, sovereignty and security and good governance, as well as the targets under the integrated Medium-Term Development Plan.
The list of administration-backed proposals also includes commitments of the President in his first State of the Nation Address in July last year, such as giving flesh to the constitutional provisions that prohibit monopolies and penalizing anti-competitive deals, strengthening the law on witness protection and providing security and benefits to whistle-blowers.
“All the 23 proposals went through benchmarking, goal-setting, and prioritization process during various Cabinet workshops and the succeeding meetings of the Cabinet Clusters,” Ochoa said.
“In determining the measures to be included in our priorities, we reckoned with four parameters: people, resources, legal basis and political objectives,” he added. (PCOO)
