MANILA, Philippines – President Aquino assured Filipinos of a “better life” this year under his administration, notwithstanding the challenges and uncertainties faced by the nation.
“There will be challenges ahead – from an uncertain outlook for the global economy, to a noisy minority who want to rekindle the malicious practices of the past,” Aquino said during the traditional vin d’honneur at Malacañang yesterday that was attended by members of the diplomatic community and political, business and economic leaders.
Cambodian Deputy Prime Minister Sok An also attended the event.
Aquino said he would not fail his compatriots who had expressed optimism for the New Year.
Members of the international community also praised the smooth transition in the country’s leadership and the determination of the Aquino administration to resolve the problems of the Filipino people.
Papal Nuncio Archbishop Edward Joseph Adams, dean of the diplomatic corps, led the expression of support for the Aquino administration.
“The past year, we have followed with attention and interest the chain of events that have tested the democratic processes and capacities of this great nation. What has resulted in a smooth transition to a new leadership that asserted its resolve to tackle with determination and efficiency the urgent problems which confront the Filipino people,” Adams said.
“Symbolically, our common effort at forging a genuine community of peoples and nations and to reflect with each experience of the past and look towards a future that we all hope will be ever more serene and auspicious,” he said.
Adams said Aquino took the path with “courage and vision, manifesting the political will and tenacity to preserve the tenets of democracy, to safeguard the common good, to unite the vital forces of society and to assure a peaceful future for your people, irrespective of religion, culture or religious background.”
On the global scale, Adams said the year 2010 had been marked by a series of natural and manmade disasters, threats to the environment, the problem of energy security, the question of water allocation, food procurement and management, among other issues.
Particularly worrying, Adams added, was the ongoing impact of the global financial crisis and the multiplication throughout the world of instances of confusion, struggle and conflict.
“We continue to witness how demanding it is to stay on the path that leads to truth, justice and reconciliation and how important to this end is a commitment to the dignity of the human person and the defense of human rights,” Adams noted.
Adams offered best wishes for Aquino this year.
“We are fortunate to be in a position to see close at hand, in this country, the working out of the perennial interplay of the great and lasting questions of peace and prosperity, of nation and integration, of tradition and diversity. It is with these sentiments that I would like to offer best wishes for the year ahead,” he said.
Aquino told the gathering that last year saw a record number of Filipinos hoping their lives would improve under a new administration.
“Their optimism will be validated. This year, businesses will invest more in this country, creating new jobs for our families. This year, government resources will be spent to uplift the lives of the poor. This year, the Philippines will once again be a voice in the world for freedom and fairness,” Aquino said.
Aquino rallied the people to stay with him as the challenges and difficulties would be many.
“But if we work together, we will overcome the challenges and fulfill the promise of the year ahead. We have much to look forward to,” the President said.
Critics, however, slammed Aquino for making what they called a “crude partisan tirade” against the political opposition.
House Minority Leader Edcel Lagman, who attended the event, said the “noisy minority” remark was uncalled for.
He said the remark “marred the New Year celebration in Malacañang.”
Zambales Rep. Milagros Magsaysay said Aquino’s remarks were in “bad taste” and “just showed his arrogance and immaturity to be President of this country.”
“We are here to fiscalize and comment on issues not being dealt properly by this administration, especially if they have sworn to do so,” Magsaysay said.
“The minority is articulate, not ‘noisy’. It is responsible and deliberate, and does not bask in the past,” Lagman added.
“If the President is picking a fight this early in 2011, then the minority is not running away from a good fight… if the President asks for it, he will get it,” he said.
The Albay lawmaker said it is Aquino, “who repeatedly harps on the perceived sins of the past in a vain effort to project himself as a ‘different and model’ leader.”
According to Lagman, Presidential Communications Group Secretary Ricky Carandang had admitted to him that he was among those who prepared the draft of the President’s brief message that specifically included the “contemptuous statement against the minority.”
Lagman and Magsaysay attended the ceremony as members of the opposition bloc in the House of Representatives.
Lagman enjoined the members of the minority to attend the vin d’honneur as an expression of cooperation with the Aquino administration in the advent of the New Year.
“Percentage wise, there were more members of the minority than the majority who were present,” Lagman said.
He said many in attendance, including members of the majority, were “utterly astonished and disgusted” by Aquino’s uncalled for statement. –With Delon Porcalla, Paolo Romero, Jess Diaz