MANILA, Philippines - Ahead of President Benigno Aquino III's fifth State of the Nation Address on Monday, we take a look back at last year’s SONA, in which he set people’s expectations for the second half of 2013 and the first half of this year.
How well did he deliver on his promises? Here are seven excerpts from SONA 2013, and a look at how his administration delivered, or didn’t.
“Lumisan man ang bagyo, ‘di naman humuhupa ang pagsisikap nating maibalik sa normal ang buhay ng mga pamilyang nasalanta ng mga nagdaang kalamidad (Even after the storms have passed, our work to restore normalcy to the lives of calamity-struck families does not end.).”
During last year’s SONA, Aquino touted the 8,377 houses the government and the private sector built for the survivors of Tropical Storm Sendong, and the 53,106 they planned to distribute to the survivors of Typhoon Pablo. Of the latter, he said that 35,447 would be completed this year.
The National Disaster Risk Reduction and Management Council on Monday said that Typhoon Glenda, which struck July 16, left 97 dead, 437 injured, and six missing. Over P16 million worth of relief goods and medicine were provided for affected areas by the Department of Social Welfare and Development, local government units, and nongovernmental organizations.
Meanwhile, Supertyphoon Yolanda, which hit November 8 last year, left 6,293 dead, 28,689 injured, and 1,061 missing, as of the NDRRMC’s last update in April.
Among the aid given: 3,361,993 food and rice packs, 544,234 liters of water, 142,941 canned goods, and 244,444 high energy biscuits. As of December, 126 of the targeted 222 units of temporary shelter were completed.
209,685 households received basic emergency shelter materials, and 83,638 households received support for self-recovery like shelter repair kits, cash, and construction materials.
The Department of Education (DepEd) released over P1 million to construct makeshift classrooms.
Over P1 billion in relief assistance was provided.
However, aid organization International Organization for Migration said only eight percent of designated evacuation centers in Samar and Eastern Samar were usable as of June.
A joint government-nongovernmental organization report also revealed in the same month that more than 2.6 million survivors “remain at risk and without durable shelter.”
The 7.2-magnitude earthquake which rocked Bohol on October 15 last year left 222 dead, 976 injured, and eight missing. As of November, the total cost of assistance given by the DSWD, the Department of Health, LGUs, and NGOs amounted to over P71 million.
In June, Aquino authorized the release of almost P1 billion for the rehabilitation and reconstruction of 35 damaged state universities and colleges, and P1.9 billion for the DepEd’s and DSWD’s rehabilitation and recovery programs, following these disasters.
“Kaya nga po, ang layunin nating ilayo sa panganib ang mga [informal settler na] nagsisiksikan sa peligrosong bahagi ng lungsod: tinutupad na rin natin (This is why we are already fulfilling our goal to remove from harm’s way those who crammed themselves into high-risk areas of the city).”
Aquino said the DSWD, Department of the Interior and Local Government, Department of Public Works and Highways, National Housing Authority, and the Metropolitan Manila Development Authority were working together to relocate 19,400 families living along the main waterways of Metro Manila to safer neighborhoods.
Following the SONA, 87 informal settler families living near San Juan River voluntarily dismantled their homes in August last year and relocated in San Jose del Monte, Bulacan as the pilot group for the government's Zero Casualty Program.
MMDA Chairman Francis Tolentino said the government allocated P360 million for rental subsidy to be distributed to 19,440 informal settler families in eight major waterways in Metro Manila.
In January this year, Vice President Jejomar Binay also promised that some 300 informal settler families would have their own homes in San Juan, thanks to the construction of six buildings with a total of 348 units in San Juan City.
In February, the Department of Budget and Management released about P600 million to the NHA for the relocation of 2,069 informal settler families living in Pateros City.
They would be transferred to a housing project in Baras, Rizal.
In June, about 100 informal settler families living along Masalasa Creek in Tarlac were awarded lots on a relocation site in Tarlac City.
By the end of the month, P147.6 million worth of housing units had been distributed to 738 informal settlers who used to live in Maricaban Creek, Pasay City. They were also given 1,845 starter food packs, 550 health kits, and P18,000 financial assistance per family.
The clearing of the waterways would enable flood control projects to be implemented.
However, informal settlers in Manila's Port Area protested in August last year after being given a notice of demolition by the DPWH.
In January this year, informal settlers and police clashed in Agham Road, Quezon City, after demolition attempts on the land being developed by a private conglomerate.
“Inaayos na rin po natin ang problema sa madalas na pagbaha sa Kamaynilaan (We are also remedying the problem of flooding in Metro Manila).”
Aquino revealed that the government was allocating P6.2 billion for flood prevention in Metro Manila. One of the projects under this was the Blumentritt Interceptor Catchment, which would catch up to 14 Olympic-sized swimming pools of water. He said it would be completed this year.
He added that the relocation of informal settlers living along waterways would clear these.
Just a month after his SONA however, tropical storm Maring caused floods in various parts of Metro Manila, with boats needed to ply some of its roads.
The MMDA said that its newly built and better maintained pumping stations sped up the draining of the flood.
In September, however, parts of Taft Avenue and EDSA were impassable to light vehicles due to floods caused by the habagat. Other parts of Makati City, Pasay City, and Manila were also inundated.
Following this, the MMDA conducted rescue and de-clogging operations.
In November, Mayor Junjun Binay ordered flood control measures done in the Makati diversion channel, which the DPWH dredged daily.
In February this year, Budget Secretary Florencio Abad said the government would spend P219.9 billion this year for flood control systems, among other infrastructure projects.
In a Cabinet meeting for the proposed 2015 national budget in July, the allocation for the DPWH's flood control and drainage projects increased from P34.8 billion to P38.6 billion.
In the same month, however, the government stopped a P5-billion flood control project in waterways in Caloocan, Malabon, Navotas, Valenzuela, Pasig, and Marikina as it was funded by the Disbursement Acceleration Program that the Supreme Court declared unconstitutional.
“Kaya naman, patuloy po tayong nagpupunla ng mga inisyatibang pihadong magbubunga ng higit na kaunlaran sa ating mga magsasaka (That is why we continue to sow initiatives that will certainly bear the fruits of even greater progress for our farmers).”
Aquino took pride in the decrease in the country’s rice import, from two million metric tons in 2010 to at most, 350,000 metric tons in 2013. He said the Philippines was on-track to rice self-sufficiency, and had even begun exporting.
For coconut farmers, he said that the government was pushing for intercropping to increase their income and productivity. From only about P20,000 per hectare annually for coconuts, they could earn up to P172,400 by planting coffee as well, and more by planting other crops.
434 sites for intercropping were targeted for 2013.
In October last year, the Philippine Coconut Authority (PCA) released P8.17 million worth of cash incentives to 4,506 earthquake-hit coconut farmers from provinces through a Cash-for-Work program.
In November, after the Department of Agrarian Reform (DAR) said it had completed the distribution of land in Hacienda Luisita, which is owned by Aquino's family, a farmer leader was murdered following the Tarlac Development Corp. and the Luisita Realty Corp. reportedly fenced off and deployed guards around 500 hectares of land.
The following month, farmers here accused the first firm of destroying 30 hectares of rice and vegetables they owned.
In January this year, the PCA set aside P2.8 billion for 440,000 farmers affected by Yolanda, to be used in seedling production, intercropping, and cash-for-work.
In April, Aquino released P1.05 billion for farmers affected by Yolanda for clearing and de-silting operations and for the purchase of tools, machinery, seeds, and fertilizers.
In June, the Department of Agrarian Reform distributed 245-hectare lands to 131 farmers in Agusan del Norte.
In the same month, Aquino certified as urgent a bill extending the Comprehensive Agrarian Reform Program until 2016, as over half a million hectares had yet to be distributed to farmers.
Also in June, the PCA declared the “cocolisap” issue an outbreak, with about 2.1 million coconut trees infested by the Aspidiotus rigidus insect. The Department of Science and Technology (DOST) announced that it would inject affected trees with insecticide at the rate of 22,000 trees per day.
“Kaya nga po: Nariyan ang maraming inisyatiba ng pamahalaan upang tulungang makaalpas sa lambat ng kahirapan ang ating mga mangingisda (We are also now steering our fishermen towards more productive waters).”
Aquino said that the government was implementing a number of initiatives such as building cold storage facilities, piers, roads, bridges, and other infrastructure so that fisherfolk could access the market more easily.
He added that the DILG, the Coast Guard, and the Bureau of Fisheries and Aquatic Resources were monitoring irresponsible and unrestrained fishing.
In November last year, BFAR replaced fish pens with fish cages in Lake Bito, Leyte for sustainable fishing.
In February this year, almost 70,000 kilos of fish died in Lake Sebu, South Cotabato, as the fish no longer had enough room to roam or food to eat due to the proliferation of fish cages. The local agriculture office distributed fingerlings to 52 fish cage operators as assistance.
BFAR Region XI also said it was expanding its campaign against dynamite fishing.
In the same month, BFAR, through government-private sector initiative Ahon! assisted 449 fisherfolk affected by Yolanda in Bantayan, Cebu, through about P1.8 million worth of boat repair tools.
50 new pumpboats, 50 repaired boats, 15 tons of seaweed seedlings, and 100 sets of fishing gear were also distributed.
Ahon! also gave 1,030 beneficiaries boat repair tools in Guiuan, Eastern Samar. As of March, 14,166 fishing boats were already provided for Yolanda-affected fishing communities.
It is now establishing cold storage facilities and ice plants.
In the same month, Presidential Spokesperson Edwin Lacierda said the BFAR would provide "payao" (alternative fish sanctuary) devices for fisherfolk who wanted to fish without straying too far from the disputed Panatag Shoal.
In May, 70 percent of the fish cages of tilapia in Lake Bato, Camarines Sur, were hit by fishkill due to a change in water temperature, affecting more than 200 fish cage owners.
In June, the BFAR warned farmers in Caquipotan Channel in Pangasinan that the water's oxygen level was depleted, threatening to cause a fish kill.
“Ang madalas na pag-brownout sa Mindanao. …Sa ngayon, patuloy ang paggawa natin ng mga hakbang upang tugunan ang mga kakulangan at agarang pangangailangan ([F]or example, the recurring, rotating blackouts in Mindanao. …We have been working on a solution for this).”
Aquino assured that the government was addressing the recurring, rotating blackouts in Mindanao, but added that the problem could not be solved overnight. They began by aiding electric cooperatives in bringing in generator sets, as they waited for the construction of power plants to be completed, which could take two to three years.
At least two power plants underwent maintenance beginning August last year, causing brownouts. Department of Energy Secretary Jericho Petilla said that by 2015 to 2016, however, Mindanao could expect an oversupply of electricity thanks to new power plants.
In November, the National Power Corp. was able to secure P969 million for its capital expenditure projects in 2014.
In February this year, a trip in government-owned Pulang hydroelectric plant triggered a domino effect, causing an hours-long brownout.
In March, Mindanao's only coal-fired plant was damaged, causing rotating brownouts.
Presidential Communications Operations Office Secretary Herminio Coloma said the DOE and private power stakeholders would repair the coal-fired power plant and existing hydroelectric power plants, among other initiatives.
By 2016, he said, three coal-fired power plants would go onstream.
With a unit of Mt. Apo Geothermal Plant undergoing preventive maintenance in April, and water levels decreasing in hydropower plants, Cotabato City and neighboring areas experienced rotating brownouts.
Thousands of residents rallied in May due to the unceasing brownouts.
At the time, they were experiencing brownouts ranging from six to 15 hours a day in North Cotabato, Maguindanao, Zamboanga City, Tacurong City, Cotabato City, Davao City, Surigao City, and Ozamiz City.
“Kailangang dumaan sa tamang proseso ang bawat proyekto, para masigurong ang perang inyong pinaghihirapan ay napupunta sa dapat nitong kalagyan (Each project has to go through the correct process to ensure that our taxpayers’ hard-earned money will be spent the right way).”
Aquino said in his SONA that Public-Private Partnership projects were being undertaken in an “honest, transparent, and clear way.” The government, he added, had no plans of entering into questionable contracts.
Their practices were bearing fruit, he said, noting that the Laguindingan Airport, Tacloban Airport, the Bicol International Airport, the New Bohol Airport, the Mactan Airport, and the Puerto Princesa Airport were being upgraded and modernized.
Just one month later, however, the bidding for the Light Rail Transit Line Cavite Extension Project failed, with only one of four parties submitting a bid. Worse, it was rejected because of unacceptable conditions. Two of the parties who withdrew their proposals said it was because of the project's financial risk.
Also in August, the Department of Transportation and Communications said it would implement a P56.5-billion roll-on, roll-off project which would cut travel time between Manila and Mindanao from two days to 20 hours.
After a slight delay in November due to Yolanda relief and rehabilitation, the National Economic and Development Authority board, chaired by Aquino, approved the LRT 1 South Extension Project; the MRT 7 Project; the LRT 1 North Extension Project–Common Station Project; the Mactan Cebu International Airport New Passenger Terminal Project; the Development of Transportation System at Food Terminal Inc. and Philippine Reclamation Authority; the Modernization of Philippine Orthopedic Center; and the Bulacan Bulk Water Supply Project.
By the end of the year, the Daang Hari-SLEX Link Road, the NAIA Expressway, the PPP for School Infrastructure Phase 1, the PPP for School Infrastructure Phase 2, and the Modernization of Philippine Orthopedic Center had been awarded.
By February this year, controversies delayed the Mactan Cebu International Airport because of an alleged conflict of interest on the part of the top bidder; the Philippine Orthopedic Center because of the privatization supposedly being anti-poor; and the Automated Fare Collection System because of a losing bidder's objection.
In June, Aquino approved three new PPP projects: the Laguna-Lakeshore Expressway Dike Project; Laguindingan Airport Development, Operation, and Maintenance; and the New Bohol Airport Development Operations and Maintenance Project.
In July, the Philippine Ports Authority said it would privatize three Mindanao ports under the PPP.
During both years, the government received funding from a number of countries through the Asian Development Bank to boost its PPP program.
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