‘SANA’ – State of Palengke Address
THREE days after President Arroyo delivered her State-of-the-Nation Address, we continue to try and decipher from her remarks what it all meant in terms of a national framework for collective action.Valid hopes have been raised by our national leadership. But despair continues to fester among our people.
Yes, there is payback for some, but the multitude remains left out, disconnected from the nominal accomplishments enumerated by the President.
Noong Lunes, napakinggan natin ang SONA. Ngayon naman aking hinahandog po sa inyo ang "SANA"… sana mangyari na sa ating bansa. O kung ayaw niyo ang SANA, siguro ang SOPA – State of the Palengke Address.
Ang agenda ng Pangulo at ng pamunuhan ay dapat hindi lumayo sa agenda ng palengke.
Ang huntahan sa kanto, sa sari-sari store, sa karinderya, sa bawat tahanan ay dapat dalhin sa pambansang entablado kung saan malayang makakalahok at mapapakinggan ang hinagpis, ang pangarap at panukala ng bawat Pilipino.
For it is in the true lives of real people struggling with their everyday problems that the true state of the nation is found — where Filipino values and dreams are hoped for and expressed every day.
Our country is buffeted by large, pervasive jetstreams of change that affect the whole world.
We are part of a global community that shares the effects of global warming and unpredictable weather patterns; terrorism; energy shortages; pandemics; unregulated movements of capital in turbulent financial markets.
To combat these afflictions, the world is aggregating and consolidating; sadly we here in our country are atomizing. Ibig sabihin, tayo watak-watak, ang buong mundo, nagco-consolidate, nag-u-unify.
Our institutions and their occupants are inadequately equipped in terms of values, knowledge and the moral will to meet the increasing tempo of global change and transformation.
We need a crash course to revamp and fortify our institutions; build character in our leaders and bureaucrats, regulators, state and community actors.
We must break out of our parochial views, and embrace the brave new world as one nation founded on strong and robust institutions.
And we can start by rejecting the worn-out dialogue that is engaged in by politicians and pundits, and engage in the dialogue of the people with an authentic sense of civic duty.
Let each dialogue begin and end with the people’s interests as the driving force.
This dialogue should include:
1.) How with each day that passes, we witness a debilitation of the freedom from want and the freedom from fear that we are all entitled to expect.
The financial economy is different from the real economy. Incomes are diminishing, stomachs are aching, opportunities are found wanting.
Wall Street is different from the main street, just as Ayala Avenue is different from J.P. Rizal St.
The stock market is different from the palengke where food and other items are sachet-fied to make them more affordable. Kung dati-rati por kilo ngayon mas tingi-tingi na lamang.
Lumalalim ang mga hinanakit sa ating lipunan dahil sa di makatarungang pagkawala at pagkapatay ng ating kababayan, at malawakang korapsyon.
2.) This dialogue should also address how we must come together, to repair the derangement in our republican institutions.
Kailangan tayong magkaisa upang ituwid ang kahibangan sa ating mga institusyon.
The President’s vision, as stated in her SONA, is for the Philippines to join modernity, or what she refers to as the first world twenty years from today.
Her plan is cast in physical infrastructure terms, striving to bring the nation together through a network of ports, airports, bridges and roads, assuming that simply building the connectors that the country will then come together. That is different as timber, plywood, hollow block, steel bar – building a house – which does not automatically make it a home.
I ask, even if we had all the infrastructure in the world, who or what will bring together our political, social and economic institutions to save the nation from poverty, fragmentation and conflict?
Even in the hallowed halls of the Senate, what I see are convoluted political arrangements where once again the people’s will is being thwarted.
The Senate Presidency and the committee leadership is now in the hands of a coalition even as in the last elections, clearly our people ordained the opposition to lead and direct the agenda of the Senate.
Let me say, as an aside, that I am and shall continue to be in the opposition. I am faithful to the mandate of the Liberal Party. I shall do my part to serve the people. As it was when you elected me, so shall it be today and everyday.
Indeed, the dividing line between any third and first world nation is drawn on the comparative strength and quality of their institutions.
The dividing line between any third and first world nation is drawn on the relevance of their institutions to the lives of the common people, on the force of principle in their politics, in the integrity and cohesion of their democratic organs of power.
Institution building is in the fullest sense of the word—nation building; and the quality and consistency of governance is the ultimate measure of what makes a country first world and modern.
Our political institutions, regrettably, the great powers of this republic, are not only in a state of weakness or disrepair but are in blatant disarray.
We have an anti-terror law that, given our weak record for law enforcement and intelligence, as well as a poor record for human rights, can end up terrorizing the citizens themselves.
We have ambitious fiscal targets but underperforming revenue agencies. Rather than whip them into shape, government instead plans to sell more of our national assets.
The public agenda has been usurped by personal and partisan ends.
We are heading for the dark abyss of endless bickering and fragmentation even as we bask in the seeming illusion of normalcy.
I am here to propose a solution, or at least the beginnings of a solution— to the increasing divide as between the people and their government.
Everyone, first of all, ought to focus on the power of collective responsibility guided by our common faith. Ang panawagan nang matagal na hindi nadidinig; subalit makabuluhan pa rin lalo na ngayon – ay Pilipinas muna bago ang sarili.
I call upon President Arroyo to make the nation whole by a committed, relentless leadership to repair the derangement of our institutions:
To remove the climate of fear and to heal the nation with justice.
To bring to every household the prosperity only indicated by the economic statistics.
The first principle of institution building is transparency and accountability. I believe that the best way to make our republic whole and enable the effective working of our institutions is to accord the people the freedom of access to official information.
We want to demolish the barriers that keep people out of governmental affairs, dismantle the culture of official secrecy and banish the belief that the man on the street is not enlightened enough to participate in government decision making.
The people must not only be the governed but themselves be the governors of the nation.
In the Free Information Act which we propose, government functionaries must respond to all written requests for information, unless proper justification is given on the basis of privacy, national security or diplomatic imperative. And even then, upon official notification, there will be recourse for the inquisitive to find out exactly why their request has been denied.
Harsh penalties shall be levied against government functionaries who knowingly and unjustly refuse to provide this information.
Our history is replete with events and contracts that would benefit from greater transparency, all of which have served to make Juan de la Cruz view his government with distrust and disdain.
The ZTE Contract, conceived, negotiated and consummated outside the normal process that govern such contracts;
The privatization of the electric power sector and numerous biddings, cancellations, failure of bids and all of these other contracts pertinent thereto;
The Radstock-PNCC deal where details reveal how government to its detriment unilaterally recognized a debt that was never on the books, and so on and so forth.
These are part of a rogue’s gallery of questionable transactions that brings the government further away from the people, making the people look upon their government with such disgust.
Just the other day, the Finance secretary indicated more sales of prime government assets.
Hilingin din natin ang detalyadong plano ukol sa pagbenta ng mga ari-arian ng sambayanan para lamang mapagtakpan ang kakulangan sa performance ng BIR at BOC. Hindi sila nakapagkolekta, ibebenta ang ating ari-arian at matapos pagbenta nito, kung saan na tayo pupulutin, sa kangkungan na lang.
The second principle of institution building is oversight by the people’s representatives.
Of immediate concern is government’s preoccupation with security and intelligence matters proceeding from the implementation of the Human Security Act, albeit without its IRR.
I was one of the very few who voted against the passage of this Human Security Act.
We propose the establishment of a bipartisan oversight committee from the legislature, sworn to confidentiality under sanctions, so that they can be given full access to all intelligence information, so that all the activities under this Human Security Act can then be monitored and can be guided by the actions of the people’s representatives. These representatives should be able to shape policy and advise the President and Commander in Chief on matters involving:
The appropriation and deployment of national security and intelligence resources.
Ideological and doctrinal issues; as well as the rules of engagement against the enemies of the state, and
Orders of battle drawn up by the Armed Forces of the Philippines.
We feel that this oversight on intelligence committee would be much better off than the National Security Council which operates more like a debating club and only discusses that which the executive provides to it. It does not have its own ability to figure out what the real information is, it only debates what it is spoonfed to it.
Our proposal is intended to reinforce the stated commitment of the President Arroyo to arrest the assault on civil liberties.
And just much as there ought to be public oversight in the security and intelligence activities of the government, our government’s regulatory oversight over dishonest practices by unscrupulous elements in the business community likewise must be made more robust.
We need stronger action against those who swindle the consumers’ hard-earned money; those responsible for pyramiding and Ponzi schemes; those who fool the public in order to make some money.
These oversight functions in financial matters can be extended to other matters as well:
The CHED could be more proactive in shutting down non-performing schools and diploma mills.
The SEC could be more rigorous in regulating the pre-need companies. Thousands of students and parents, many probably who are in this very room, suffered greatly because of dishonest and fraudulent educational plans, the companies unable to redeem the promises that they made when they first sold these plans.
The BFAD, the Bureau of Food and Drugs, could be more consistent in its effort against substandard medicines and food items.
We need oversight in the full sense of the word without impairing the separation of powers.
The measures I propose will open the doors of dialogue between the institutions of government and between government and the people, for the good of all.
Our dialogue with the people must begin with an earnest dialogue of leaders.
The era of gridlock must give way to the era of authentic nation-building.
And we can only heal the nation by healing the despair.
Maghihilom lamang ang mga sugat ng bayan kung mapapawi ang pighati sa puso, damdamin, at isip ng bawat Pilipino.
By healing despair we can proceed to the essentials that make lives better for every Filipino.
Apart from repairing our republican institutions comes the task of repairing human lives and keeping families whole.
We want a national development plan focusing on better brains and bodies – better, more competitive and productive Filipinos – that can rise above the humblest beginnings on merit instead of patronage or palakasan.
We need huge and broad investments in health and education to carry Filipinos across the digital highway, above the poverty threshold, into the more competitive global markets.
The EVAT ought to be converted to a people’s fund earmarked as a special account in the national treasury separate from the general fund.
This EVAT, coming from all of your and your parents; sacrifices amounts to about P80 billion every year. This is the result of your sacrifice, and there must be a firewall between these funds and the hands of discretion and patronage.
Let us truly put our money where our mouths are. Our most valuable resource is our people, all of you.
Thus, we propose that half of this amount, half of the Php80 billion should go to education, to close the resource gaps in teachers’ training, in the number of teachers and salaries, classrooms and school buildings, as well as to purchase textbooks and funds for scholarships, and the balance to go to public health.
We are for better public clinics and hospitals, continuous training of medical personnel, and reduced malnutrition among mothers and their children.
These basic requirements, other societies take for granted. They’re looked upon as realities in each of their societies. We must summon the political will to align ourselves, our institutions, our laws and our resources to our own development realities.
On another front, those who work in the country, specifically minimum wage earners, must be given relief from their daily financial burden including having to pay the EVAT.
To ease the burden on millions of minimum wage earners, we propose exempting the minimum wage from any income tax. The aggregate "lost collection" for this sector is small compared to the massive relief it would bring to the number of families and to the family budget.
Tax exemption for minimum wage earners is a concrete measure for social payback. Elevating the social payback of the economy also means collecting the right taxes and exorcising the conspiracy of tax thieves from both the government and private business.
We have pointed out the derangement in our institutions and the need to assert common values in order to build strong institutions and keep our country together.
I now propose two more urgent steps to create a more hospitable condition for development to happen.
First, let us resume peace talks with the National Democratic Front without any conditions from both sides.
I urge the government to withdraw the condition attendant to a ceasefire, and the NDF to withdraw the condition attendant to their being tagged as a terrorist organization.
Second, Senator Sonny Trillanes ought to take his seat in the Senate, without prejudice to the handling of his case.
This would be a solid step to ease the restiveness in the soldiery, depoliticize the uniformed ranks and advance political stability.
About 12 million people, knowing that he was charged for his crimes, knowingly voted for him. They want him to bring their voice to the Senate, and we must respect this.
More than just a litany of infrastructure projects just as we’ve heard last Monday, we need strategic steps to pull the rug from under the small hurts, the petty fights and misgivings that serve to disunite us.
Let us open the table for new ideas to move forward.
Kung hindi lahat kasali sa tunay na dayalogo, at kung hindi magtatapat ang pamahalaan sa sambayanan, paano malulutas ang mga problema ng ating bansa? Buksan natin ang pinto natin at hayaang sumibol ang mga bagong panukala at kaisipan. Makinig tayo sa taong bayan, hindi lamang doon sa may kapangyarihan.
I have presented three steps for winning our future:
1. The repair of our broken institutions through transparency and accountability.
2. The harnessing and safeguarding of our resources to deliver economic gains to the home of every Filipino family.
3. And the creation of hospitable conditions for development and peace.
This conceptual framework for national development is our best hope for economic freedom, political stability and first world modernity.
Maraming maraming salamat sa inyong lahat.
