EDITORIAL - Achievements

From the signing of a framework peace agreement to the approval of the sin tax and reproductive health or RH bills, 2013 has been a good year for the Aquino administration in terms of achieving difficult goals. Translating those achievements into benefits felt at the grassroots is the challenge for the coming year.

The start of 2012 saw the administration attaining what it considered a victory in its reform efforts. President Aquino had made no secret of his belief that the chief justice and ombudsman appointed by his predecessor Gloria Macapagal-Arroyo were major obstacles to his anti-corruption efforts. The year 2011 saw Merceditas Gutierrez stepping down as ombudsman before she could be tried by an impeachment court. The year 2012 opened with the trial that led to the ouster of Renato Corona as chief justice.

Like the spirited debates over the RH and sin tax reform measures, Corona’s unprecedented removal can also be considered a victory for the democratic process, with the Senate delivering an outstanding performance. Before the year was over, Congress also passed another landmark measure, making involvement in enforced or involuntary disappearance a criminal offense separate from kidnapping.

The year had its share of tragedies. The nation lost a dedicated public servant in the death of interior secretary Jesse Robredo. In the final weeks of the year, typhoon “Pablo” devastated Compostela Valley, the Davao provinces and several others areas in Mindanao, leaving over a thousand people dead or missing and banana plantations in ruins. Victims of the typhoon had not yet fully recovered when storm “Quinta” struck.

The year also exposed the weakness of the nation’s external defense capability as China intensified its activities in disputed seas. Territorial disputes with China created a rift within the Association of Southeast Asian Nations that has not been fully mended. In sports, national pride was knocked out together with boxing superstar Manny Pacquiao at the hands of Mexico’s Juan Manuel Marquez, although Nonito Donaire saved the day later by knocking out another Mexican opponent.

Amid the bad news this year, there was a lot that was good, on the economic and other fronts. In 2013, the nation must sustain the reforms and build on the gains that have been achieved.