Sunday, July 26, 2015

SONA 2015, Remarks of Speaker Feliciano Belmonte Jr. on the Opening of the Third Regular Session, 16th Congress, with ref on Senate Pres Drilon's speech & previous 5 SONAs of Pres Aquino

State of the Nation Address 2015
of His Excellency Benigno S. Aquino III
President of the Philippines
To the Congress of the Philippines
[Delivered at the Session Hall of the House of Representatives, Batasang Pambansa Complex, Quezon City, on July 27, 2015
 http://www.gov.ph/2015/07/27/english-president-aquino-sixth-sona/

His Excellency Benigno S. Aquino III, President of the Philippines
"Now, I wish to talk about legislation, which I hope will be passed during the term of this Congress.
The most important of these: the Bangsamoro Basic Law. [Applause] To those who oppose this measure: I believe that it is incumbent upon you to suggest more meaningful measures. If you do not present an alternative, you are only making sure that progress will never take root in Mindanao. Let me ask you: How many more of our countrymen will have to perish before everyone realizes that the broken status quo of Muslim Mindanao must change?
I invite you to listen to some of those who can benefit from this law:
Translated transcript of Testimonial of Nor-ashia Binatac, 4Ps beneficiary
Before, because we were poor, we had no food. We only had sweet potatoes. That’s it. That’s all we’d eat for breakfast and dinner.
It’s a hard life when you’re a farmer. You work hard to till the land; and when you sell your produce, you can only sell them for so much.
I felt terrible because I saw how just difficult it was for my family to cope. I used to think and wish that I had the opportunity to finish my studies—so that I could help my family leave this horrible state of poverty.
I was in 6th grade when they rolled out the Conditional Cash Transfer program here. It was a big relief to see my father have money for my studies. I thought, before this program, I didn’t even have a notebook or a pair of shoes. Now, with the support of government, I can really focus on my studies, so that I can help my parents one day.
I’d like to thank the DSWD and the government, because they thought of doing this for the poor. If it weren’t for them, our lives wouldn’t have changed.
[Applause]
____________________
Translated transcript of Testimonial of Nadjieb Sanquila and Hadid Hassan, MILF combatants
Sanquila: The injustice during that period was indescribable. Because it was Martial Law, they saw us Moros as mere animals. We were being killed and massacred with no remorse. My family was among the victims of those massacred by the soldiers. That is what hurts the most; this is why we are here today. We joined the Moro Islamic Liberation Front to fight for our rights.
Hassan: When I joined the MILF, our principles were premised upon nasshur awis-shahada. For example under President Estrada’s administration, the people of Mindanao were under the threat of annihilation. Of course, any Muslim would think to defend those principles.
If you are a Muslim, you are part of the Bangsamoro. You were, therefore, viewed as a terrorist, and would not be given any work—because you might end up destroying the company.
The Sajahatra has now arrived. We were more encouraged by this: we learned and applied what we learned. For me, this may be the path for our brothers and sisters in the Bangsamoro to live peaceful lives, and have the wherewithal to lift themselves out of poverty.
Since 1972, I have never experienced a peaceful Bangsamoro; but today, if the agreement is fulfilled, with Allah’s blessing, we might finally be able to live in peace."
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Remarks of Speaker Feliciano Belmonte Jr. on the Opening of the Third Regular Session, 16th Congress
27 July 2015 10:41:26 AM
Speaker Feliciano Belmonte Jr., House of representatives

My distinguished colleagues, good morning.

Our government and Congress began its work under the administration of His Excellency, President Benigno S. Aquino III, with his call five years ago during the 15th Congress, for all government officials to observe a "no wang-wang" policy. This was not only meant to be a symbolic gesture, as it actually highlighted the government's commitment of doing away with the pomp and privilege of power, and high position. It became our collective mission as well, to restore decency to public service, ending long-standing practices of preferences, exemptions and abuse, profoundly guided bythe sense of fairness and decency of the Filipino. 


The House of Representatives has acted in this spirit, compelling even the mightiest and the most powerful in the land to submit themselves before the full majesty of the law, subjecting all those culpable to a complete accounting before our people.

Good governance is the condition precedent for keeping the trust of the people so that Congress may craft the social contract to feed the poor, educate our children, cure the sick, provide decent employment for our workers, empower the social sectors, and defend our national territory.

By this measure and by these standards, we can all proudly and resoundingly say, that"Daang Matuwid" has been, a resounding success.

The 15th Congress was characterized by the passage of several landmark legislation. It passed measures that languished for decades for lack of political will. It granted just compensation to the Marcos human rights victims, approved the Kasambahay Law and the Reproductive Health Law, among others.

Indeed, if there is a single word that can describe the result of the work of the last five years and the work of both the 15th and 16th Congresses, that word is "credibility."

The Aquino administration and the Congress of the Philippines are credible because we ended the abuse of the government-owned and controlled corporations which for years served as the milking cows of the appointed few. "The GOCC Governance Act" established benchmarks to keep the GOCC board and management on their toes. And by limiting their terms to one-year subject to re-appointment based on merit, we held them to the highest standards of accountability and service. It is therefore no small wonder that the previously non-performing GOCCs remitted P28 billion in dividends to the Treasury in 2013, and a further P32.3 billion in dividends in 2014.

We are credible to our people because we passed the Sin Tax Reform Law. From December 2012 to March 2014 alone, smoking prevalence in class e or the very poor dropped from 38% to 25%, and in the youth from 18-24 years old, the prevalence was vastly reduced from 35% to 18%. We leveled the playing field for all industry players, and increased revenues for health care programs. Excise taxes applied to tobacco, more than doubled in 2014 to P70.4 billion, increasing by P41.8 billion from the previous year.

We are credible to our tax-abiding citizens by ensuring that their taxes will not be stolen by government officials. By amending the Sandiganbayan Law, we created an additional two divisions and allowed the transfer of minor cases to the regional trial courts, with the intention to speed up the process of putting the guilty behind bars.

We are credible to our workers because we raised their tax exemption for their 13th month pay from the current P30,000 based on the 1992 price index to P82,000, restoring our workers' lost purchasing power which had been eroded by inflation.

We are credible to our women because notwithstanding the strongest opposition, we passed the "Reproductive Health Law" to ensure that all women, especially the poor, would have universal access to safe, effective, affordable and quality reproductive health services and methods, and that relevant information and education would be made available.

We are credible to the children who now have more access to quality education, from childhood to adulthood. We institutionalized kindergarten as part of the primary education system, and enhanced our basic education system by legislating the K-12 Act, ensuring that all our school children will be provided quality primary and secondary education, with enough time to master concepts and develop life skills. While there has been opposition to the K-12 Program, that is to be expected of any efforts toward genuine reform. We look forward to the gains that will surely be evident as the program enters full implementation.

We are credible to our senior citizens because we have ensured that they will not be forgotten in the sunset of their years. We insisted on mandatory PhilHealth coverage for all senior citizens, that they will have adequate health care and preferred access to government services because they are the keepers of our traditions, customs and our heritage.

We are credible to our taxpayers and our citizens because we finally ended the long-standing practice of previous administrations operating on a re-enacted budget. Once and for all we said "No" to the wholesale treatment of budgeting as an outright spoils system based on political patronage.

Under the Aquino administration the House of Representatives has always passed the budget on time. By so doing we ensured rationality, purpose and direction in the planning of our economy, and raised the confidence level of the multilateral development banks as well as the international and domestic investment communities.

And it is this credibility, earned at home and around the world, which has generated tremendous growth potential for our country.

Good governance and credible laws are the key to continuing and expanding this growth. Through these economic measures we intend to make unstoppable the full economic resurgence of the Philippines. By placing our economic policies in line with the best practices of the world we will make inevitable the achievement of full social inclusiveness, and no dream will be unreachable.

For the last five years, our economy has been growing at an annual average of 6.3 percent -the highest five-year average in the last forty years. Given the domestic problems brought about by natural disasters and economic downturns, this is impressive.

Just last week President Aquino signed into law, The Philippine Competition Act. This is the anti-trust law that took all of 26 years and 8 Congresses to finally enact into law. With this law, we now prohibit and penalize anti-competitive agreements, the abuse of dominant market or supply positions, and anti-competitive mergers, addressing a whole range of sectors from power, to water, to telecommunications, to broadband connectivity and to transportation. It intends, through increased competition, to make more affordable all major goods and services and bring them within the reach of all.

We also now have the Amended Cabotage Law allowing foreign vessels to call on multiple local ports, enabling importers and exporters to co-load containers in foreign ships entering and exiting the Philippines. No longer will corn shipped from California to Manila be cheaper than corn shipped from General Santos to Manila. By allowing the entry of competition, we will fully approximate the true costs of goods, addressing both the need to be competitive under Asean integration and to fully benefit from supply chain linkages.

It is now in that same spirit that I urge you, our dear colleagues, to ensure that we finally pass Resolution of Both Houses Number 1. By amending the restrictive economic provisions of our Constitution, we empower Congress to enact laws that will attract the kind of investments that will reverse the de-industrialization and de-agriculturalization of our economy. Only then can we encourage locators and investors to expand our manufacturing sector, the area where the better paying decent jobs can be created. This is the best strategy to ensure that no Filipino will be left behind.

To the end of achieving peace, we are also committed to passing the Bangsamoro Basic Law. For far too long, the conflicts in the Bangsamoro have taken on different forms, rooted in passions that feed on discrimination and deprivations that are fuelled by poverty. We must address the longstanding grievances of the Bangsamoro people by empowering them to fully provide for their self-expression and development. But this has to be complemented by clear and decisive legislative language to accommodate and empower not just the new majority of the Muslims in the Bangsamoro, but also for all other groups whose lives, family and work are located in these regionally autonomous areas of the Bangsamoro.

There is also a sense of new possibility for our country as a whole after Mamasapano. As we work towards achieving real and lasting peace in Mindanao, we must also have the courage to finally come to peace with one another, and with ourselves, by exploring all avenues for peace, including the possibility of reopening peace negotiations with the CPP-NDF.

We know the lessons of history: that democracy and freedom and inclusive economic development do not instantly happen. The 16th Congress has already passed 40 other laws. We managed to accomplish this because we acted collectively and responsibly, prompted only by public interest. In the deliberation of these measures there was no majority or minority - only one united House.

It is therefore my hope and abiding trust that this Congress shall pass the following additional priority measures before its term ends:

The 2016 National Budget
The Creation of the Department of Information and Communications Technology
Strengthening the Build-Operate-Transfer Law
The Modernization of PAG-ASA
The Freedom of Information Act
The Tax Incentives Management and Transparency Bill
The Customs Modernization and Tariff Act
The National Identification System
The Prepaid SIM Card Registration
The Barangay Officials Welfare and Incentives Act
The Philippine Immigration Act of 2015
The Law Adjusting the Amount Involved, Value of Property or Damage on which a penalty is based and the fines under the Revised Penal Code
The Healthcare Services Price Disclosure Act
And the law that will ensure that each school division has a SPED Center for our children with special needs

The House has already passed some of these on Third Reading.

We should also ensure the sustainable and productive use of our natural resources. Our actions determine the survival of the next generations. There is hardly time or room for error in this policy area. Denial will not move reforms. We must work vigorously to ensure that economic growth and sustainability are achieved by giving full attention to the following measures:

Land Administration Reform
The Land Use Policy Bill
The Delineation of Forest Boundaries

I also urge the Senate to immediately pass the Archipelagic Sea Lanes Act and the Maritime Zones Act to protect our territorial integrity, even as this Congress, continues to fully, and unequivocally support, the country's claims over our exclusive economic zones in the West Philippine Sea, at the Arbitral Tribunal of the Permanent Court of Arbitration at The Hague.

Your representation in the 16th Congress continues the process of renewal that good governance and economic resurgence seek to bring. This translates into the laws that will bring new possibilities for all Filipinos as individuals, as families, as sectors, and as communities.

This is admittedly the hard path, but let me assure you, that this is the better way. This path may be harder but is more hopeful; it is longer, but is more compelling; it is steeper, but is more worthy of our people.

I would like to end with a personal note. "Those who are members of the same household residing under the same roof" is considered family.

Dear colleagues, all of you, those who served with me in the 15th and 16th Congresses, you are my family.

Together, by listening to each other individually, critically, and understandably, we jointly craft and modulate the component strains of our peoples' dreams and aspirations. Through this process, we will put together the component strains of our national anthem for 2016 and onwards. By your presence and hard work, we have made the House of Representatives, truly the House of the Filipino People.

In less than ten months, the voters will decide, to whom they will pass their mandate. They will decide whether we are on the right track morally or economically.

Next year we will see a transfer of power. But today, we must recognize that there remains a last window of opportunity, to make a greater difference in the lives of our people. Let us therefore get to work as we near the end of our three-year mandate. We are on track to match, if not surpass, the achievements of the 15th Congress, and conclude with a golden harvest of legislation under the Aquino administration. Let us, in the end, earn a righteous and honored place in our country's history and a cherished position in the hearts of our people.

I wish you Godspeed and my solidarity as we work together to pass our legislative agenda and meet the judgment of history in 2016.

Mabuhay ang Republika ng Pilipinas!

Mabuhay ang Sambayanang Pilipino!

SOURCE: Media Relations Service, Public Relations and Information Bureau

HOUSE OF REPRESENTATIVES OF THE PHILIPPINES
HOR Complex, Constitution Hills 1126
Quezon City, Philippines



Speech of Senate President Franklin M. Drilon
3rd Regular Session, 16th Congress
July 27, 2015
LET US WALK A MILE MORE
http://www.senate.gov.ph/speeches/sp_drilon/sp_speech_2015_3rd_RS_opening.asp


State of the Nation Address 2014
of His Excellency Benigno S. Aquino III
President of the Philippines
To the Congress of the Philippines
BATASANG PAMBANSA, QUEZON CITY
JULY 28, 2014
http://www.congress.gov.ph/press/details.php?pressid=8042



State of the Nation Address 2013
of His Excellency Benigno S. Aquino III
President of the Philippines
To the Congress of the Philippines
 [This is an English translation of the SONA delivered at the Session Hall of the House of Representatives, Batasang Pambansa Complex, Quezon City, on July 22, 2013]
http://www.gov.ph/2013/07/22/english-benigno-s-aquino-iii-fourth-state-of-the-nation-address-july-22-2013/


State of the Nation Address 2012
of His Excellency Benigno S. Aquino III
President of the Philippines
To the Congress of the Philippines
[Delivered at the Session Hall of the House of Representatives, Batasang Pambansa Complex, Quezon City, on July 23, 2012
 http://www.gov.ph/2012/07/23/benigno-s-aquino-iii-third-state-of-the-nation-address-july-23-2012/


STATE OF THE NATION ADDRESS 2011
OF HIS EXCELLENCY BENIGNO S. AQUINO III
PRESIDENT OF THE PHILIPPINES
TO THE CONGRESS OF THE PHILIPPINES
[English translation of the speech delivered at the Session Hall of the House of Representatives, Batasan Pambansa Complex, Quezon City on July 25, 2011]
http://www.gov.ph/2011/07/25/benigno-s-aquino-iii-second-state-of-the-nation-address-july-25-2011-en/


State of the Nation Address 2010
of His Excellency Benigno S. Aquino III
President of the Philippines
To the Congress of the Philippines
Session Hall of the House of Representatives
July 26, 2010
[Batasan Pambansa Complex, Quezon City]
http://www.gmanetwork.com/news/story/197030/news/nation/sona-english-translation-of-pres-benigno-s-aquino-iii-s-state-of-the-nation-address


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