Noy to continue with exposés

MANILA, Philippines - The word war with the opposition is not yet over.

Malacañang said President Aquino would continue exposing the anomalies of the past administration as long as it takes.

Deputy presidential spokesperson Abigail Valte said Aquino was just stating a fact, that there were anomalies committed during the administration of former President Gloria Macapagal-Arroyo.

“It can’t all be flowers and bees. We are just stating a matter of fact. Those who are saying that they are criticisms, they are not criticisms, what we came out with was true. The facts and figures were discovered when President Aquino arrived here in Malacañang,” Valte said.

In his speech at the “Ulat sa Bayan” marking his first year in office, Aquino ticked off the various anomalies that he had discovered.

Among them is the alleged misuse of funds at the National Food Authority (NFA), the Philippine National Construction Corp. (PNOC) and the Philippine Charity Sweepstakes Office (PCSO).

Aquino said the Arroyo administration left him with heavy debts. The debt incurred by the NFA, for instance, swelled to P177 billion from only P12.9 billion incurred from 1972 to 2000.

Aquino said his administration implemented some of the programs and projects by using government resources judiciously without incurring more debts to secure funds.

Valte stressed the President would continue to report more anomalies and irregularities as they are uncovered.

“We hope there will be none anymore for the sake of the country. But it is our duty to inform the public if we will find out more,” she said.

Asked whether the government would pursue cases against Arroyo instead of reconciling with her, Valte said there could be no reconciliation without justice.

Budget Secretary Florencio Abad said over radio dzMM that the Aquino administration was gathering evidence and careful not to bungle the cases against Arroyo and her former officials.

“That was what the President said. We need to (make Arroyo and other former officials accountable for entering into anomalous contracts or misusing funds) because that’s what the President is saying. But we have to be sure that there is strong evidence and basis for the cases,” Abad said.

He said the administration was gathering solid evidence that would link the contracts to Arroyo and her officials.

“The President is careful about filing of cases. You know the courts, they say prove beyond reasonable doubt,” he said.

Abad noted it was possible that many of the actions taken by officials were merely following the orders of the former president. “Looking for connection between the one who implemented and the one who ordered, that is the biggest challenge,” he said.

Getting frustrated

Other sectors, however, challenged Aquino to move forward instead of blaming the sins of the past administration for his shortcomings.

Bayan Muna party-list Rep. Teddy Casiño said the people are getting frustrated with Aquino, who he said was so popular during the elections, but has been continuing the sins of his predecessor.

“Such action is the biggest blunder of the Chief Executive,” he said.

Casiño said the Aquino administration has squandered its high popularity by practically following the policies of Arroyo like the allocation of pork barrel for legislators, privatization and providing band-aid solutions to poverty.

Instead of allocating billions for such programs, the administration should have allocated the huge amount to building classrooms, health centers and other infrastructures and provide livelihood programs for the poor.

Militant groups led by Bagong Alyansang Makabayan (Bayan) said Aquino should have just filed the cases against Arroyo and her officials instead of complaining of the corruption and anomalies of the past administration.

“For all his rhetoric against corruption and for all his tirades against the past administration, the nagging is question is this: Why has Aquino not been able to file any case against Arroyo? It was definitely left out in his speech (Thursday),” Bayan secretary-general Renato Reyes said.

“Aquino keeps on proclaiming he is the opposite of GMA (Arroyo) yet he has failed to go after the former president… the rhetoric is becoming tiresome because there is no concrete legal action against GMA. With all the resources at his disposal, it’s really hard to fathom why Aquino has not charged Arroyo with anything after one year,” he added.

Reyes said several sectors, which included party list groups, anti-corruption watchdogs and several human rights victims have filed the charges against Arroyo.

“Is it lack of political will, sheer incompetence, or a combination of both, which explains why Aquino has nothing to show in terms of going after GMA?” Reyes asked.

Bayan said Aquino’s anti-Arroyo and anti-corruption rhetoric would end up a mere publicity gimmick if there are no cases filed.

“It’s becoming too convenient for Aquino to blame everything on Arroyo. Aquino has not taken responsibility for his own failures in the economy, human rights, governance and foreign policy,” Reyes said.

The militant Health Alliance for Democracy also expressed disappointment over Aquino.

HAD secretary-general Dr. Geneve Rivera said Aquino was obviously not aware of the health situation of the country in his Ulat sa Bayan.

HAD said Aquino had mentioned the RN Heals program under which 10,000 nurses were hired temporarily to serve in 1,221 far-flung and under-served communities across the country for one year.

Aquino said the nurses were among those who benefited from the revenues raised by the government without increasing taxes.

“His report proves that he does not have a bit of an idea how dismal the public health care services are,” Rivera said.

Rivera said Aquino should not boast about RN Heals program since it is not really the answer to the worsening unemployment problems among nurses and the inaccessibility of health care services in most parts of the country.

Rivera added Aquino has been implementing “anti-people policies such as privatization and commercialization of public health care.”

Organized labor also expressed disappointment over Aquino’s failure to improve the lives of workers nationwide during his first year in office.

Trade Union Congress of the Philippines (TUCP) lamented Aquino’s obvious disregard of the workers’ plight in his anniversary speech.

“It is unfortunate that President Aquino failed to mention about what are his concrete action addressing problems on unemployment, joblessnesss, and rising costs of basic commodities and services,” TUCP said in a statement.

“What we heard are discoveries of graft and corruption of the past administration which are not new to the man on the street,” TUCP said.

The militant Kilusang Mayo Uno (KMU) said Aquino’s speech merely showed that he has nothing to be proud after one year in office.

“There is nothing new about his speech, he again focused his campaign against corruption and again blamed the previous Arroyo administration for the country’s problems when he himself has (not) done anything for the past year,” KMU said.

Worth mentioning also

On the other hand, Catholic Bishops’ Conference of the Philippines (CBCP) president Nereo Odchimar said Aquino should have also mentioned the good points of his predecessor.

“In order to be fair, give the good and the bad points. (Do) not only (talk) about the negative points but also the benefits that we inherited from her (Arroyo). We cannot say that her administration was 100 percent wrong,” Odchimar said.

Among the positive traits of Arroyo, he said, was her work style and philosophy. She was also credited for the many infrastructure projects done during her nine-year administration, Odchimar said.

“She (Arroyo) accomplished infrastructure more than all the proceeding administrations combined, that is the claim whether it is true or not. That has not been contradicted,” he added.

There were several allegations made against Arroyo, now elected representative of Pampanga’s second congressional district, but Odchimar said her critics should also observe due process.

He said critics should show proof and file appropriate charges in court.

Presidential Communications Development and Strategic Planning Office Secretary Herminio Coloma earlier explained the delay in the filing of cases against Arroyo and her officials.

He said that even if the Truth Commission was delayed because of a pending Supreme Court case, the appointment of a new ombudsman would hopefully pave the way for the resolution of various controversies involving Arroyo.

Coloma said the government proceeded with its anti-corruption drive on other fronts and that necessary charges would be filed against officials allegedly involved in irregularities based on evidence.

Local officials also continued their support for President Aquino despite the dip in survey ratings.

The governors of Western Visayas led by Capiz Gov. Victor Tanco gave Aquino high ratings from 7.7 to 9, in a scale of 1 to 10, saying he has done well in his first year.

Tanco said he gave Aquino an 8 for his anti-corruption campaign that is getting positive feedback. –With Mayen Jaymalin, Sheila Crisostomo, Evelyn Macairan, Rhodina Villanueva, Eva Visperas, Danny Dangcalan