Aquino’s SONA doesn’t acquit him

Frankly Speaking
By Frank Wenceslao

This would’ve been titled “Saving Aquino’s presidency” but I changed it after analyzing his State of the Nation Address (SONA). When I sent its draft for comments to the US-Pinoy professor (PhD, political science) referenced in my previous email, he said the title sounds like the Tom Hanks movie “Saving Private Ryan” and saving President Aquino’s presidency could cause difficulties and agonies Hanks and his U.S. Ranger team had in the movie that led to his death and two other team members.

Levity aside, the grievances of both friends and enemies against Aquino have been building up for some time now. This could soon reach critical mass that Aquino and his team are ill-equipped to address; hence, it should be prevented by all means. Historically, the professor said, Aquino has become his own enemy because his popular support is melting away partly thru his own faults. Yet, he doesn’t notice it to make corrections. He’s driven off-course paying attention to trivial matters that don’t affect his legacy one way or the other.

After Aquino’s SONA, I went over the emails with comments that Pamusa received from Filipinos in North America, the Middle East and African countries. There’s almost unanimity that Aquino hasn’t grasped after four years the underlying national problem agonizing our many countrymen to leave families at home and seek jobs overseas. Without knowing it Aquino is clearly becoming another failed Philippine president since the 1960s including his mother not to understand and effectively address the country’s underlying problem which can be solved by either slowing down population growth or creating jobs that will overtake the number of jobless and the new entrants to the labor course with some tight-rope walking so that slowing population growth will not be a declaration of war against the Catholic Church.

I’m confident though that Pope Francis has a full grasp the world’s most serious problem causing agonizing quandaries to millions of Catholic families and debilitating their economic wellbeing. Even Jesus Christ resorted to a great miracle of bringing Lazarus to life because of the Lord’s compassion for the dead’s grieving sisters. In bringing a person to life, won’t Jesus’ compassion extend to those known to have little chance of having good lives that it’s better that they be denied life in the first place? After all, parents are Christ’s agents to take good care of their children and, if one or both of them commit a horrible mistake and hurt one or all their children, they’re accountable to Christ.

The country’s population is estimated to have reached 100 million this month while job creation has lagged far behind and, as things stand now, it may take several 6-year term presidents to create jobs and overtake the rapid population growth if at all; or God forbid, a war would kill 20 million people like what happened in the Soviet Union in WW II.

A simple calculation shows that the country’s population has doubled since the 1970s while the government couldn’t adopt policies to keep in step with population growth to consistently incentivizing domestic and foreign investments that create jobs to increase people’s purchasing power and consumer demand; and encourage further capital build-up and investments. Every President since Diosdado Macapagal should’ve borne this in mind even if politically unpalatable. After all, Macapagal lost reelection any way.

Marcos who had the best opportunity to push the nation’s economic growth and job creation to overtake population with tolerable unemployment seemingly grasped this strategy. But he lost his way by succumbing to temptation he could stay permanently in power with the enormous kickbacks from borrowed petrodollars the world was awash in the latter half of the 1960s thru the 70s. Marcos made Imelda oftentimes a more powerful co-partner behind his back to implement with her fiesta mentality a vital socio-economic component of the national development plan. The plan was derailed when the massive infrastructure building program projected to hasten delivery of the nation’s products, firstly, to respond to people’s needs at stable prices; and secondly, to export markets internationally competitive products to bring in the foreign exchange to repay petrodollar debts.

However, as always happen when unintended consequences are not thought thru up to 50% of the cost of the infrastructure program went to the pockets of corrupt implementers, and the worst of all, Roberto Ongpin’s 11 Major Industrial Projects (MIPs) and the behest projects of Marcos’ cronies would siphon off $700 billion from the nation’s capital stock over 10 years emptying suppliers’ credit and foreign bank loans.

Instead, the production especially of rice for the people’s consumption at stable prices became unavailable and precious foreign exchange mostly borrowed was used to import rice with overprice favoring only those close to the powers that be while export products supposed to bring in foreign exchange to repay foreign debts were limited to the earnings of cottage industry products because the export prices of the Philippines’ traditional commodities such as sugar, copra, minerals, etc. hit rock bottom and the country’s foreign exchange earnings hit new lows.

I was the head of the Philippine Export Council from late 1979 to mid-1981. Most of my time was used thinking of arguments of dissuading Marcos to stop Ongpin’s 11 MIPs with Doroy Vslencia’s attacking the projects almost every day. Until Ongpin who’s onion-skinned got so pissed off he asked Marcos to choose between him and me. I knew it’s me that would be sacrificial lamb. But it didn’t occur to me then that Marcos won’t give up the 11 MIPs because, looking back, foreign suppliers of the industrial projects must’ve included big kickbacks for Marcos who might already be counting the millions of dollars he’d get. On the other hand, the small and medium export enterprises I was fighting for as a better strategy to expand Philippine export markets didn’t have any kickback except lunch invitations of the makers of products I’d choose to be exhibited in trade fairs and exhibitions we’re participating.

If only for these MIPs that Marcos bought hook line and circle, Ongpin should rot in jail aside from the “Binondo central bank” funds that the late Gen. Fabian Ver and he lost during the financial crisis in the wake of Ninoy Aquino’s assassination, and the P660 million DBP-loan Ongpin got for his undercapitalized company (DVRI) in 2009 allegedly with Mike Arroyo’s help. The DBP loan was used to buy a DBP-owned block of Philex shares using the DBP loan itself as collateral, then Ongpin turned around and sold the shares for cash to Manny V. Pangilinan at double Ongpin’s buying price from which Ongpin et al. made at least P150 million profit in less than 6 months according to a COA official.

Instead of Aquino shedding tears while delivering the SONA, he should’ve spoken for only 20-25 minutes. After reviewing the number of kilometers of roads and bridges, helicopters and naval vessels added to AFP’s assets, etc. normally expected of a sitting President of the Philippines, overseas Filipinos including probably the demonstrators outside the Batasan Bldg. would’ve been pleased had Aquino sworn to send Ongpin, the three senators and other government officials charged with graft and plunder for various criminal offenses to jail before his term ends.

Like King David calling his flock, Aquino should’ve made peace offering and presidential assistance to the Supreme Court Chief Justice Ma. Lourdes Sereno and Associate Justices and also to Sandiganbayan Presiding Justice Cabotage-Tang and Justices to expedite the court cases especially on graft and plunder and let the ax fall where it may before he leaves office in June 2016. Imagine the boost to whoever Aquino may choose to be his successor.

Some diehard supporters have about giving up on Aquino. They pointed out his popularity derived from the sacrifices of his martyred father and popular mother has been squandered in some instances foolishly such as readily clearing subordinates of anomalies without investigation as required by the rule of law he’s promised to uphold. The professor said that Aquino’s popularity was like the beauty of a nicely made-over lady but soon faded away because Aquino is incapable of addressing problems requiring basic executive experience and broad international perspective. Many people feel voting for Aquino was like buying a fake Rolex watch and suffering further indignity of realizing the person they voted for the highest office of the land lacks minimum requirements to succeed as president.

If his presidency were to be saved Aquino can’t rely anymore on the same Cabinet members and high officials causing the fast diminution of his popular support while even his diehard supporters like me won’t display yellow ribbon anymore for being ashamed he’s betrayed the great legacy of his parents. Aquino didn’t realize his hesitance to decisively act in Puno’s case instead of asking him to go on leave and let the public outcry die down so he could return remorseful. Instead, Aquino sent a clear signal to Cabinet members and other top officials that the President’s personal loyalty (magsipsip) was an insurance to continue in office as long as the evidence of involvement in anomalies can be hidden thru good media relation to the extent of buying out nosy reporters.

Aquino’s poor leadership became clear to me from the outset in Paquito Ochoa’s appointment which is the equivalent of the important chief of staff to the head of government in developed countries. How could Aquino be unaware that Janet Napoles’ companies are perpetrating the PADF scams when she’s allegedly getting legal service from Ochoa’s “former” law firm, MOST (Marcos, Ochoa, Serapio, Tan) that’s also helping the “Queen of Scams” to easily navigate the bureaucracy through the OP about problems impeding PADF releases to her NGOs?

One time Aquino got angry to hear Napoles’ complaint most likely passed on to him by Ochoa that NBI officials including its director were shaking her down. Aquino acted fast and asked the resignation of NBI chief Rojas’ and other officials, again, allegedly by Ochoa’s recommendation. Why Aquino didn’t know also that Napoles’ problems with the government are resolved in 24 hours thanks to Ochoa and his “former” law firm could be in Ripley’s “Believe or Not.”

It’s conceivable based on feedbacks Pamusa gets from sources that Aquino from the start had lost control of governing the country. This is left entirely to Ochoa and the OP’s inner circle which, sources say, are more beholden to the Iglesia ni Cristo than to Aquino who invariably does what’s asked of him by the INC on appointments of people in every branch of the government especially in regulatory agencies and the judiciary. People are asking what has Ochoa done to him, or to the country to make him indispensable?

Finally, with regards to the news that the Marcoses plan to reclaim the presidency, many overseas Filipinos are asking: “What for, to destroy the country again?”