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
|
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 beneficiaryBefore, 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 combatantsSanquila: 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."
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
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.aspState 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
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
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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