Congress
It’s still Enrile
Liberal Party’s Senate Presidential bet Francis Pangilinan withdrew from his bid due to his failure to muster enough votes from his fellow senators. The Nacionalista Party’s bet, Sen. Manny Villar likewise relented his bid for the position.
Sen. Ed Angara announced that the senators agreed unanimously to give former Senate President Juan Ponce Enrile back the position. Twenty senators reportedly rallied behind Enrile’s senate presidency and thus the voting during the opening of the session became merely ceremonial which would be done through acclamation.
As for the chairmanship of the different committees, Senators Angara and Ralph Recto were said to be in a tug of war for the finance committee. Honasan is said to retain his committee on public and illegeal drugs. (Report from Angie Rosales of Daily Tribune, July 26)
We are yet to see the implications of what Angara called a “grand coalition” in Senate. If this kind of “cooperation” would transcend through the years of the Aquino administration, then public policy making as far as the new administration is concerned would have a smooth flow. Otherwise, policy making would most likely be the same as before.
AFP-PNP
Army officers
According to President Aquino, there would be no further movements in reshuffling of military positions and so Lt. Gen. Oscar Rabena would retain his position as PAF chief. This announcement was made a day after installing Maj. Gen. Arturo Ortiz as the new Army Chief. Also, Aquino approved the designation of former Army chief Lt. Gen. Reynaldo Mapagu as Vice Chief of Staff of the Armed Forces of the Philippines. This was a position left vacant by Lt. Gen. Nestor Ochoa who opted for early retirement.
Apparently, a number of senior officers who were among those mentioned in the “Hello, Garci” scandal were also given new assignments. Armed Forces spokesman Brig. Gen. Jose Mabanta said it is a chance for them to clear their names. (Report from Jaime Laude of Phil Star, July 25)
With the new faces in the topmost positions of the so-called vanguards of our security force, all that is left for the country is to hope that these people work for the interest of the public. In the coming years, the public expectation is to see them address the issues on human rights violations, enforced disappearances and other matters which are within their scope of control.
Cabinet and other appointments
New appointments
President Aquino appointed former Tagaytay Mayor Francis Tolentino as the new chair of the Metropolitan Manila Development Authority (MMDA). He replaced OIC Oscar Innocentes.
Aquino said he would decide on Friday who to appoint as the new President and General Manager of the Government Service Insurance System (GSIS). He said he has five names being considered.
Also, he already appointed a new head of the Presidential Legislative Liaison Office, but he did not give her name. The new head of the Philippine Drug Enforcement Agency is yet to be named. (Report from TJ Burgonio of PDI, July 24)
Meanwhile, Justice Secretary Leila de Lima Lima announced that she has designated Chief State Counsel Ricardo Paras and Undersecretary Jose Vicente Salazar as officers-in-charge of the PCGG and BI, respectively. The two shall serve until July 31. By then it is expected that President Aquino have appointed the new heads of the two offices.
De Lima explained that the president accepted her recommendation to replace all remaining appointees of GMA in the Presidential Commission on Good Government (PCGG). She further stated that the PCGG is covered by the first memorandum circular issued by the administration which stated that all co-terminous officials appointed by former President Gloria M. Arroyo are deemed resigned last June 30 (Report by Ed Punay of Phil Star, July 28).
The pending appointments should be announced soon for the transitions might cause some delays in the operations of the concerned departments. Also, this will require a period of adjustment for the employees. Although the effects would be minimal as some may say, we cannot gloss over the fact that the need to appoint people in different offices who are expected to stay there for a relatively longer period of time should be done sooner so that the flow of operations would not be disrupted further.
As for those who were already appointed, it is expected that they do what they need to do as soon as they are summoned to office. That way, the delivery or services to the citizens could be swift.
Issues
Content and criticisms of the SONA
President Aquino, in his State of the Nation Address, unveiled the anomalies surrounding the past administration.
According to him, the over-importation of rice in 2004 and 2007 resulted in a debt of P177 billion. NFA purchased 900,000 metric tons of rice in 2004 and 1.827 metric tons of rice in 2007 which is more than double the amount of the rice shortage during those times. Grimly, these only ended up rotting in warehouses. Aquino also stated that five days before Arroyo’s resignation, the administration ordered the release of P3.5 billion to fund 89 rehabilitation projects which are offshoots of Ondoy and Pepeng. Nineteen of these projects did not undergo public bidding.
He also revealed that from 2001 to 2004, the government forced Napocor to sell electricity at a loss to prevent increases in electricity rates. The agenda behind this move, according to Aquino, is the administration’s preparation for the elections. It however resulted in Napocor’s further indebtedness and so the government ended up shouldering the P200 billion it owed. The case of the MRT suffered the same. The operator was forced to keep the price low with the government’s guarantee that he would be able to regain his investment. The guarantee was not fulfilled and so Landbank and the Development Bank of the Philippines were forced to purchase the MRT.
Aquino also touched on the misallocation of motor vehicle user’s charges for infrastructure projects that “makes no sense”. The extravagant payroll of MWSS officials was also bombarded by the president. (Report from TJ, Burgonio and Christian Esguerra of PDI, July 27)
Presidents Ramos and Estrada found Aquino’s State of the Nation Address good but lacking in many aspects. Ramos said that Aquino was on the right track when he discussed the blunders of the Arroyo administration and that these things should be investigated. However, Ramos added that Aquino should also present a “road map for future” to show the direction he sees for the country.
Estrada stated that Aquino’s list of the past administration’s anomalies is too light as compared to the more controversial anomalies that GMA faced during her reign. He said that the bigger graft and corruption cases should have been the focus of Aquino’s exposé.
Former Agriculture Secretary and now Bohol Rep. Arthur Yap stated the need to restudy the figures given by Aquino regarding the alleged over importation of rice which bloated NFA’s debt to over P171 B.
Bayan Muna Representative Teodoro Casino argued that what Aquino did was merely a confirmation of what the public is already aware of. He said that he was expecting a more substantial discussion on agrarian reform, the peace process and freedom of information (Report from Tarra Quisimundo et al of PDI, July 27).
Similar to Aquino’s inaugural speech, his first state of the Nation Address is seen by many to be lacking the strands of the “daang matuwid” he kept on talking about during his campaign. Yet, it should not be forgotten that the Aquino administration should be judged based on the concrete moves done with regard to agrarian reform, human rights, peace process, industrialization and many other areas – not solely on a mere speech which did not even last for an hour.
Budget
This August, Malacañang will propose to Congress a national budget of P1.757 trillion which is 14 percent higher than the 2010 budget. Budget Secretary Florencio Abad Jr. said that the increase was meant to address the underinvestment in areas such as education, health, power, and transport infrastructure. (Report from Ronnel Domingo of PDI, July 23, 2010)
Every year, the budget proposal gets higher and higher. There seems to be no problems with this if the Filipinos can see and feel how the money is translated into efficient basic services and relevant investments. Unless what is written in the proposals are actuated by the government officials handling these matters, their arguments would never be justified.