Y-SONA: The Youth’s State of the Nation Address

Friday, 22 July 2011 02:35

Written by Aaron Benedict De Leon

Where are we now, a year after the occupancy of Benigno Aquino III as President of the Republic of the Philippines? Administration allies and opposition figures, of course, will present, and speculatively, dent the facts to favor their stance on whether Aquino’s 1st year was a success or failure.

We have been indoctrinated to this prosecute-defend cycle for the past 13 years, even since the time of Former President Joseph Estrada. We’ve seen people transfer from one party to another, we’ve seen new and old players come and go, but we’ve never seen the change that we have clamored for, either through the exercise of legitimate democracy through elections, or even through several people power movements and attempts at doing so.

It’s already 2011, yet the life that we are taking on is still premised on post-1986 expectations.

We will go through the State of the Nation Address with another strenuous litany of promises, plans, and even more, blames towards the previous administration. Many expect the 2011 SONA to be another opportunity for Aquino to publicly bash his predecessor, Mrs. Arroyo, for her morally bankrupt leadership in the past 9 years. We would expect another set of excuses for the many reforms that should have been undertaken in one year.

The Aquino campaign in 2010 promised to establish a Social Contract with the Filipino People, founded on the idea that we will all be part of the transformational leadership they would bring along to governance. They promised to bring to fruition a re-awakened sense of right and wrong, through the examples of their supposed leadership. However, it seems that they have countered the perceived evil with even greater evil, submitting the accused to trial by publicity instead of allowing justice to take its course through our institutions.

It’s even more saddening that the supposed sound byte “Kung walang corrupt, walang mahirap” has been impressed upon by the current administration as a can be “Vision for the Philippines in the next six years.” Into the second year of the Aquino administration, there is still no blueprint for the Philippines after their tenure in office.

PURSUING THE PREVIOUS ADMINISTRATION

Most of the efforts during the past year were focused on prosecuting and filing cases vs. CGMA and her allies, and removing her political appointments from key government posts. Yes, some of the efforts were successful, as finally, they were able to force Merci Gutierrez out of the Office of the Ombudsman.

However, getting them out of office and finally putting the allegations against Arroyo and her allies in court, in pursuit of justice, are two different things.

There are agencies mandated by law to prosecute them, yet it seems that the pieces of evidence have been presented in the wrong venue, over media. There is always the presumption of innocence in any court proceeding, may it be in the stage of pre-investigation or during the actual trial. We must allow the judiciary and the mandated Executive departments to dispense of their constitutionally mandated duties, without much interference from the Chief Executive. We must leave the vigilance to the general public, and all the President must do is to ensure there is a smooth and swift resolution to these cases.

To re-iterate, it is not the Chief Executive’s role to prosecute and judge a former President and/or public official(s), but to ensure that the fullest extent of the law is implemented, being reasonable to both sides.

Whether it was the alleged cheating in 2004, the NBN ZTE Scandal Deal or even the PCSO Bribery Issue, it should all be heard at the proper venue, and not over television stations. We are a country that abides by the rule of law, not just the rule of the majority who wants to bend the law to suit their personal interests.

EDUCATION REFORMS

There are a number of problems that beset our Education Sector today, which includes:

* Insufficient Appropriation in the National Budget
* Low participation and retention rates in some regions
* Inadequate School Buildings, Classrooms and Instructional Materials
* Low quality of instruction in Basic, Secondary and Tertiary Education

The Aquino administration vowed to put premium on education, as the central strategy for investing in people, reducing poverty and building national competitiveness.

However, it seems that investment meant forever implementing subsidy programs which are non-sustainable and overly bureaucratic. This tolerates a culture of mendicancy and dependency over a culture of self-sufficiency and self-determination amongst our youth, particularly our students.

Programs like GASTPE and CCT offer financial relief to poor but deserving individuals, yet the question remains, does most of the appropriation for these programs go to the beneficiaries or to administrative costs? More so, government is supposed to be investing in our students, so there should be a rate of return. So how does the government then ensure that there is a return on their investment for the beneficiaries?

We are not a welfare state, and we must see to it that our investments in our people, technology or infrastructure do yield a return of investment, through the social benefits the beneficiaries can provide for our government, like mandating SUC graduates to work for government after graduation, or even higher tax rates for SUC graduates, since they were beneficiaries of government and subsequently, people funded programs.

The K-12 program, or the extension of the Basic Education Cycle must also be progressively studied or explored, before being implemented. I do think that the Basic Education Sector Reform Agenda crafted by Fr. Niebres is sufficient in itself, but due to the corruption of no long term continuity which exists in government for many years now, the current Administration wants to make its own mark in implementing Education reforms. Just to differentiate itself from the rest, government will put aside all those gains in the past just to be able to lay claim to the fact that it has created its own and sulk in the praise and glory of doing so.

I laud the effort of Sec. Luistro in putting value on Technical and Vocational Education, but we must also try to widen our horizons and start increasing incentives or enticing the inclination of young people towards considering jobs in the field of Engineering, Maritime, Police, Military and Science, where Filipino’s have proven to excel in.

It is time to raise the competitiveness of our Filipino workers in many areas, aside from Nursing and the BPO Industry.

The SUC Budget, meanwhile, will never suffice, especially that the demands for more logistics are increasing. The Budget for Education should at least be 5% of the GDP, and should not just be increased in small increments. If we imagine how many students enter SUC’s versus the amount of increase in the Education Budget from the previous fiscal year, the proportions do not match, as expected.

The government must seriously consider several fund raising initiatives to address the gaps in the budget for education. If this would require borrowing money, I think the best strategy would be to loan with short term maturities, so that the interests do not compound with our failure to pay due to complacency. Fiscal discipline and soundness is required to expand the Budget Pie for Education. We should also try to channel foreign aid and disperse it amongst important priority areas in Education, such as building more schools in the countryside, to decongest our urban area schools. The President can also exercise his power to use the PDAF, or the Pork Barrel, to mandate Congressmen to prioritize building schools in their PDAF Agenda.

Education should also not just be a matter of national concern, but also of our local governments. Local government units with resource capability must be given more responsibility in the provision of basic education. Instead of financing and establishing Higher Educational Institutions, LGU funds can be utilized in financing basic education and technical/vocational education.

We must also consider providing tax incentives for private corporations donating school buildings, books and equipment in depressed areas.

There are a host of solutions, but there has to be political will on the part of the administration and sustained vigilance on the part of civil society and the opposition in order to effectively organize and carry out these initiatives. The vigilance I’m referring to must focus on substance, instead of focusing on the personalities involved.

INSTITUTIONAL REFORMS

Above all considerations, we must pressure the Aquino administration to pursue Constitutional Reform as an avenue to improve the system of governance in our country.

We must open the avenue for free exchange of thoughts and ideas on provisions which need to be revisited. We cannot allow another body to be assigned by the President to look into this possibility, just for effort or name’s sake.

The 1987 Constitution was a reactive constitution, and it has already served its purpose.
The apparatus for independence, for exchange of ideas through debate and to combat anti-repressive mechanisms have already been put in place, with the freedom of the press as a clear manifestation of such. But clearly, the current charter lacks the synergy to propel the country to even greater heights.

We have to re-assess the basis of our structures in our Constitution. There is a need for us to have a system to facilitate political, economic and social reform. We must engage the people in governance through less bureaucratic means, making them direct stakeholders systematically in the process of governance in our country.

It is now the perfect opportunity to put synergistic revisions to our present charter, so that our economy can have a facility to grow and develop, so that our institutions would have the opportunity to mature by putting in “carrot and stick” mechanisms to reward and punish positive and negative behavior, and so that our people’s faith in our government would be restored, in as far as the delivery of basic services is concerned.

THE CURRENT POLITICAL TERRAIN

As of this moment, we have been witness to this cycle of vengeance and changing of roles between the Aquino’s and the Arroyo’s. I will not subscribe to choosing one over the other, because as far as my recent memory is concerned, both have failed to live up to standards required to restore the trust and confidence of Filipino’s in government.

Mild Economic gains, not even Lack of Corruption can compensate for Incompetence or even Morally Bankrupt Leadership. The people must refuse the idea that we are being confined to choose from two evils. We must stand up and pressure both parties to set aside their interests of vengeance, and prioritize the interest of the general public.

On the part of Mrs. Arroyo and her camp, they must surface and answer the allegations hurled against them. They must be willing to submit themselves to the process, and not evade the law. Their name and reputation has already been tarnished by the trial by publicity they have been subjected to, and it is bound to get even worse should they continue to keep mum about the issue.

On the part of Mr. Aquino and the administration, this is the perfect time to allow individuals and parties to file appropriate charges against the former President. It is not the job of the President to micro-manage the situation, and to have a direct hand in prosecuting the former President but it is his duty to allow due process to run its course. If Aquino’s governance would be focused on prosecuting the former, he is missing already half of what he’s supposed to do as President of this country, losing ground and sight on the primary goal of governance, which is to provide basic quality service to our people through the provision of basic social services.

Let justice run its course, and the President nor the former President must not serve as obstructionists in the pursuit of the truth.

MESSAGE TO OUR GOVERNMENT AND THE OPPOSITION

My message to our government and the opposition would be very simple. Let’s stop acting like we have clean hands and very brilliant minds. Though no one would categorically claim to one’s misgiving or failure, the honesty the people are expecting should reflect on the reforms to be pushed and implemented at this point.

The opposition should push towards strengthening our justice system, especially in echoing the right of an innocent person to a fair and reasonable trial. Reforms in the relationship between the judiciary and the executive in as far as prosecuting public officials should be explored and given attention to. There should also be a definition on the releasing of information based on the interest of transparency and accountability versus the right of the defendant not to be submitted to trial by publicity. This includes information which can be broadcasted by the media, to the extent that they would be held responsible should they act contrary to what is being prescribed by the law.

The administration should also push forward reforms in as far as evidence gathering and in protecting whistleblowers, not only in as far as personal security is concerned, but providing reasonable incentives for the whistleblowers’ personal sacrifices. The investigative capability of our government agencies should be reviewed and strengthened, so that our government would be competent enough to put law breakers in jail.

Now is not the time to give out excuses and reasons, and instead offer solutions and even alternatives in aid of those mentioned problems.

“Kung kami talaga ang boss mo, ipakita mo sa aming karapat-dapat kang tawaging Pinuno ng Estado at Pangulo ng Pilipinas. Hindi na kami papayag na mapaliwanagan ng iba’t ibang palusot o dahilan sa mga mangyayaring kakulangan at kapalpakan sa iyong pamamahala. Tama na ang paninisi. Ito’y panahon na para kumilos”

Past administrations have come and ran out of excuses; past oppositionists have come and ran out of new allegations. Your time is up. It’s now time to get your acts together for the good of our countrymen and our nation.
The country cannot wait for another year or two for the change it expects out of our leaders. Patience has been our virtue, but we are not stupid to wait for nothing.

This country needs behavioral and institutional change, and not just one of the two. We cannot afford a one-dimensional leader just capable of doing a single solution over a multitude of problems. We need to push our President, whether he likes it or not, to become a jack of all trades, because he is beholden to us through the votes he garnered in the 2010 Elections.

The nature of the challenges we face today does not only call for a renewal of our systems and institutions, but also a renewal of our values and attitudes towards ourselves and others.

The challenges of today’s modern democracy call for that a synergistic system be established to foster increased political cooperation.

May you be part of the administration or the opposition, the call for change is as imminent as to answering the call of a hungry stomach for food on the table. It is as urgent as your political survival, as urgent as their need to exist and live longer.

Government Leaders and Oppositionists should start being responsive to this call for change, or else change will leave them behind, and soon, their political careers.

Let me remind you, that from this day on, “Your power is now in our hands.”