P-Noy's maiden SONA was simple rehash and lacked teeth, some plain folks and political analysts said alike. JES AZNAR

President Benigno “Noynoy” Aquino III spent a major part of his first State of the Nation Address (SONA) revealing and denouncing how the previous administration allegedly squandered and depleted the public coffers.

Aquino said just halfway through the year, only PhP 100 billion (USD 2.2 billion) or 6.5 percent of the PhP 1.54 trillion (USD 34 billion) budget for 2010 could be used for the remaining six months. And with government expenditures exceeding revenues that means the budget deficit further widened to PhP 196.7 billion (USD 4.4 billion). “Inilihim at sadyang iniligaw ang sambayanan sa totoong kalagayan ng ating bansa (The reality was hidden from our people, who seem to have been deliberately obfuscated on the real state of our nation),” Aquino said.

The calamity fund worth PhP 2 billion (USD 44 million) is among those left drained, according to Aquino, with 70 percent or PhP 1.4 billion (USD 31 billion) already spent even before the typhoon season has set in.

He also put the spotlight on alleged irregular spending of the funds.

He said that while Pangasinan province was severely affected by Typhoon Pepeng, it received a calamity fund of just PhP 5 million (USD 111,000) –this compared to the PhP 108 million (USD 2.4 million) Pampanga received – Pampanga being the political base of his presidential predecessor Gloria Macapagal-Arroyo.

“Ibinigay po ang pondo ng Pampanga sa buwan ng eleksyon, pitong buwan pagkatapos ng Ondoy at Pepeng (The funds for Pampanga were released on election month…seven months after typhoons Ondoy and Pepeng).”

The same is true with funds for infrastructure, Aquino said. A budget of PhP 425 million (USD 9.4 million) rose to PhP 480 million (USD 10.6 million), but ended up funding only 28 of the 246 priority safety projects allegedly due to anomalous practices like overpricing.

Such excesses of the Arroyo administration were also seen in government agencies managing some of the country’s basic needs, the chief executive said.

While people were lining up for water just recently, the Metropolitan Waterworks and Sewerage System (MWSS) leadership rewarded itself with a huge number of perks -- even as the pensions of retired employees remain unpaid.

Each MWSS trustee received P 2.5 million (USD 55,600) a year plus car benefits, technical assistance, and loans, Aquino revealed.

He also pointed to the National Food Authority, which he claimed was responsible for the rotten rice supplies due to a massive surplus in the rice it imported.

“Hindi po ba krimen ito, na hinahayaan nilang mabulok ang bigas, sa kabila ng apat na milyong Pilipinong hindi kumakain ng tatlong beses sa isang araw? (Is this not a crime, letting rice rot, despite the fact that there are 4 million Filipinos who do not eat three times a day?)”

Such mismanagement also leads to the rise of NFA’s debt, which is now pegged at a staggering PhP 177 billion (USD 4 billion).

“Kasuklam-suklam ang kalakarang ito. Pera na, naging bato pa. (This way of doing things is revolting. Money was there only to be wasted.)”

Solutions

Along with giving a litany of the previous administration’s alleged excesses, President Aquino promised anew in his SONA to stamp out extravagance and profligacy in government.

Top of his agenda is to eradicate poorly conceived or unnecessary projects and to eliminate bribery and overpricing in government procurement contracts.

“Sa administrasyon po natin, walang kota-kota, walang tongpats, ang pera ng taumbayan ay gagastusin para sa taumbayan lamang (Under our administration, there will be no quotas, there will be no overpricing, the funds of the people will be spent for the people).”

He mentioned again the Truth Commission, which will be tasked to search for the truth on the alleged wrongdoing committed in the last nine years. This week, Aquino said, he will sign the first ever Executive Order on the formation of this Truth Commission.

To fill the budget gaps, the Aquino administration will intensify efforts against tax evaders and smugglers. He even cited the filing of a tax evasion case against a pawnshop owner who has a penchant for expensive cars like a Lamborghini but allegedly can’t pay his taxes.

His administration will also implement new public-private partnerships to fund public services, promising to streamline processes to make these predictable, reliable and efficient for those who want to invest.

Applause

The 35-minute speech in front of Congress was interrupted by a series of applause -- 32 in all. Lisa Lim, a former overseas Filipino worker who was watching Aquino’s SONA on television at home, joined in applauding the president.

She told the Philippine Public Transparency Reporting Project that she was inspired: “I trust Noynoy. He is not corrupt,” she said.

Domestic helper Mira Matin-ao also took time to catch the president’s SONA but is less of an optimist as Lim. A single mother of seven, she said she will only believe in the President if and when prices of basic goods drop.

“Hirap ng buhay. Lahat ng bagay mahal. Sana maipababa niya ang presyo ng mga bilihin. ‘Yon ang gusto kong marinig sa kanya. (Life is hard. Everything is expensive. I hope he can bring down the prices of goods. That’s what I want to hear from him).”

And like Matin-ao, Akbayan Rep. Walden Bello was not wholly convinced by Aquino’s address.

He said the speech failed to mention clear solutions to the problems. “The SONA was strong in condemning corruption and revealing shocking cases of graft in the previous administration, but lacking on hard-headed solutions,” he said.

Bello, who is also professor of sociology and public administration of the University of the Philippines, also noted that Aquino missed mentioning specific programs for agrarian reform and wage increase for workers. He also failed to address the issue of foreign debt.

“It was well-intentioned but we need teeth and the teeth were missing. Hopefully, tougher policies will emerge in the next few weeks,” Bello said.

Political science professor Clarita Carlos from the University of the Philippines considered Aquino’s speech as bland and lacking in direction.

“He fails to give us his description of where he intends to lead our country,” she said. “I want a leader who will say that he will lead us back to become an economic leader in Asia. Now, that’s inspiring.”

Carlos added that Aquino’s goals of running after tax evaders and forging public-private sector partnerships are a “simple rehash” of previous SONAs by former presidents. “They are not new,” she said.

His predecessor

Former president Gloria Macapagal-Arroyo was one of three congressmen who failed to turn up to hear the SONA. She recently left for Hong Kong with husband Jose Miguel Arroyo, who is undergoing a medical check-up.

Arroyo’s spokesman Len Bautista-Horn was quick to come to her defense.

She vehemently denied the allegation that the national treasury has been drained of funds, explaining that the money was only allotted to the various departments but it was not actually spent.

For one, she said the entire annual budget for the salary of 1.6 million government workers was already released in January to ensure there are no delays in the disbursement of salaries.

“Maling sabihin na bangkarote ang gobyernong aming pinamana sa kanila (It is wrong to say we gave our successors a bankrupt government),” she said.

She said actual disbursement of funds from January to June 30 this year totalled PhP 788 billion (USD 17.5 billion), or 51 percent of the 2010 General Appropriations Act approved last year, and not 93.5 percent as Aquino claimed.

About the government's calamity fund, Bautista-Horn defended that much of it was used to repair the damages brought about by typhoons Ondoy and Pepeng in 2009. The PhP 2 billion (USD 44 million) calamity fund was not even enough to finance reconstruction work that would take PhP 50 billion (USD 1.1 billion), she said. She also denied that calamity funds given to Pampanga were used for Arroyo’s congressional campaign.

She asked: How can it be used for campaign purposes when the special allocation release order for the fund was only issued on May 27, way too late for the campaign season?

All 100 percent of the fund is still intact in the hands of the government as projects had to go through proper bidding, she added.

On the alleged anomaly in the perks and allowances of MWSS employees and officials, she said the agency has its own charter governed by a board of trustees, and that allowances must be based on its resolution and the availability of funds. But if these are indeed excessive, the president can order for the reduction, she added.

Bautista-Horn likewise questioned what she called the lack of details in Aquino’s SONA on the supposed rotting of rice, and challenged him to back his statements with proof.

Former agriculture secretary Arthur Yap said that until his term ended, he had not received any report of rotten supplies of NFA rice. Yap is now in Congress as Bohol representative.

Meantime, Bautista-Horn said her boss is not keen on personally countering the allegations hurled at her by her successor. The former president, she said, would rather want a congressional probe for her to air her side of the story. Philippine Public Transparency Reporting Project

(The author is a senior correspondent of GMA Network, Inc.)