President Gloria Macapagal Arroyo urged the Congress to create laws that will curb political killings in the country in her State of the Nation Address (SONA) at the Batasang Pambansa, Quezon City, Monday, July 23.
Arroyo described those laws as:
The Arroyo government has been criticized for the increasing number of extra-judicial killings and disappearances of leftist activists. A Philippine Daily Inquirer report cites local human rights groups claiming that about 800 leftist activists have been killed since Arroyo took over in 2001.
“We fight terrorism. It threatens our sovereign, democratic, compassionate and decent way of life,” she said.
She also asserted the value of the Human Security Act, which had been implemented on July 15, in protecting infrastructures, especially in Mindanao, where war between the government and rebel groups is taking place. “Mindanao’s energy challenge lies not in generating [electric] power but in power lines. Terrorists target transmission towers,” she said.
Various sectors have been calling for the revoking of the anti-terror law, saying the law is prone to abuses.
“We pay tribute to the to the fearless 14 who were savagely massacred at Tipo-Tipo trying to pursue a peaceful and progressive Philippines. We will not disappoint their hopes. We will not waste their sacrifice. We will not be swayed from the course we have set in this conflict for peace with justice throughout our land.” The 14 soldiers were killed in an ambush in Basilan on July 10.
Richer country in 20 years
Clad in a red terno, the President said, “Hangarin kong mapabilang Pilipinas sa mayayamang bansa sa loob ng dalawampung taon (My aim is for the Philippines to be at par with the rich countries in 20 years). By then poverty shall have been marginalized; and the marginalized raised to a robust middle class.”
“By 2010, the Philippines should be well on its way to achieving that vision.”
Using an audio-visual presentation, she outlined the accomplishment of and the government’s plans on the Super Regions which she introduced on her SONA last year. The Super Regions are divided according to their economic potentials: Mindanao, Central Philippines, North Luzon Agribusiness Quadrangle, Luzon Urban Beltway and the Cyber Corridor.
“The Super Regions was not a gimmick for the occasion but the blueprint for building a future,” she said.
The government will invest P 150 billion on education, which is P 29 billion more than last year’s budget on education, she said. The president also pointed out the improvements on public health and housing, such as cheaper medicines and lower interests rates on housing loans.
Besides laws on political killings, Arroyo also asked the Congress four other laws, namely: 1)the law creating the Civil Aviation Authority of the Philippines, to ensure the safety of air ports; 2)the Electric Power Industry Reform industry, for open access and more competition; 3) the Cheaper Medicines bill, which was almost passed in June, to make cheaper medicine available to more people; and 4) a law improving the long-term care for senior citizens.
“What I have outlined today is just a sampler of our P1.7 trillion Medium Term Development Investment Program.” she said. To fund the program, P 1 trillion will come from state revenues, P 300 billion from state corporations, and the rest from “government financial institutions, private sector investments, local government equity and [ the Philippines’] bilateral and multilateral partners,” she listed.
She owed the improvement of the economy to the fiscal reforms the government had adopted, to the disapproval of the public. “But I would rather be right than popular,” she asserted.
Arroyo also hinted of quitting politics after her term, saying, “I stand in the way of no one’s ambition.” She also added that no one should hinder “the people’s well-being and the nation’s progress.”
After almost an hour, the President ended her speech by asking for divine blessing, and reiterating, “The state of the nation is strong.”
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