YEARENDER: Palace delivers on promise of good governance

MANILA, Philippines - The year 2012 was a banner year for President Aquino, under whose watch a chief justice was impeached and a framework peace deal with Muslim rebels was signed.

Also highlighting the year was the administration’s steering of the economy to a record 7.1 percent growth in the third quarter – the fastest among Southeast Asian countries.

Officials had emphasized that the removal of Renato Corona as chief magistrate was a testament to the administration’s commitment to good governance. Corona was impeached for betraying public trust, specifically for not revealing all his wealth in his statement of assets, liabilities and net worth.

The government’s signing of a framework peace agreement with the Moro Islamic Liberation Front, meanwhile, is considered the biggest breakthrough so far in the country’s quest for lasting peace in Mindanao.

Before the year ended, President Aquino signed into law the Reproductive Health bill and the Sin Tax Reform measure.

It helped that the administration had a generally supportive Congress to rely on.

The two measures took more than a decade to hurdle the legislative process and political observers said Aquino’s popularity may have contributed significantly to shaping lawmakers’ decisions.

The two bills, passed by the two chambers of Congress just before they went on Christmas break, had sparked heated debates and tested party loyalties. The administration’s stubborn resolve to have the RH bill passed had angered the local Catholic Church, which had even called on the faithful to reject pro-RH politicians in this year’s mid-term polls.

The only son of the late democracy icon and devout Catholic Cory Aquino, the President had initially urged his allies in the House of Representatives to finish the debates on the RH bill and put the measure to a vote – a “conscience vote,” as he emphasized. But he later certified the measure as urgent, reportedly after realizing that it might not make it to third and final reading due to its having hurdled second reading only by a slim margin.

But the determination displayed by the administration in shepherding the RH bill and the Sin Tax Reform measure was not apparent in its treatment of the Freedom of Information bill, which remains pending in the House.

For President Aquino, the ouster of Corona as well as the arrest and detention of former president and now Pampanga Rep. Gloria Macapagal-Arroyo were signals that in the Philippines, even the rich and the powerful could face harsh penalty for transgressions.

Gone were the days, Aquino said, when those in high places could abuse their power and get away with it.

President Aquino’s battlecry that the people are the real “bosses” of public officials may ring hollow to the masses who remain powerless and without access to basic social services and good education.

Aquino said his leadership style is about going back to basics and reaching out to the poor. “There are no poor where there are no corrupt,” he said in his inauguration speech.

He said he would make sure government’s resources would put food on the table and make globally competitive education accessible to the poor.

He said assistance to farmers would result in bigger rice yields and ensure food sufficiency.

According to the President, jobs must come sooner than later and the government is prepared to make the necessary intervention while luring more investors.

On the local front, a construction boom is giving the economy the boost it badly needs as the world experiences financial crises.

Global recognition

While there have been many criticisms against the Aquino administration’s supposed slow pace of reforming investment policies, foreign leaders and business groups have praised him for the economic breakthroughs achieved by the country.

European countries have again taken a look at the Philippines. Canadian Prime Minister Stephen Harper, in a visit to Manila, echoed what analysts were saying – that the country is on its way to becoming a “tiger economy.”

Aquino was called a “phenomenon” and a “transformational” leader in Australia during a visit.

Midway through her administration as president, Aquino’s mother had told the nation about her achievements in so short a time. She noted, however, that “liberty is a poor substitute for food” and that something more had to be done to make the people enjoy more the fruits of freedom restored.

A Reuters report said lack of foreign direct investments is the missing link in the country’s “fairytale economic revival” and that the jobless rate remains high at seven percent.

The government also has to parry criticism on some issues affecting business, particularly on mining, real estate, and the implementation of public-private partnership projects.

Budget and Management Secretary Florencio Abad had early on explained it would not be that easy to bring back investors despite the cleanup being made, as well as efforts being undertaken to level the playing field for businesses.

Sen. Manuel Villar Jr., the businessman who ran and lost to Aquino in the 2010 presidential elections, also said in interviews that the Philippines would have to sustain its growth for several consecutive years in order to convince more investors to come in.

But just after Aquino’s signing of the Sin Tax Reform Act of 2012, Standard & Poor’s (S&P) rating services upgraded its credit rating outlook for the country from “stable” to “positive” on the back of strong confidence in the Aquino administration.

In his statement, Abad said S&P’s decision has put the country even closer to achieving investment grade next year.

“We expect this upgrade to further reduce our risk profile and bring down the cost of borrowing, as well as lower the cost of doing business in the country. More importantly, however, S&P’s raised outlook for the country reinforces the virtuous growth cycle we are now developing, where improved governance is the jumping board for genuine economic growth,” Abad said.

“This growth, in turn, will foster a thriving investment climate that will create jobs, sustain and build on our fiscal strengths, and create real benefits for the people,” he added.

Tried and tested

Presidential Legislative Liaison Office chief Manuel Mamba said Aquino enjoys high popularity ratings because his reputation and personal conviction give him the moral authority over other political leaders.

In the words of Mamba, Filipinos are lucky to have a President “who cannot be bought.” The trust and approval ratings of the President have remained high.

Mamba said it would be difficult not to work with a President who is clearly not after personal and financial gains.

But while the administration may be enjoying popularity at home, it has to deal with serious challenges on the international front – particularly China’s incursions in the West Philippine Sea.

The continued presence of Chinese vessels at Panatag Shoal is a thorn in diplomatic relations with China. Cambodia even joined the fray when Prime Minister Hun Sen announced in a recent ASEAN meeting that the regional bloc had agreed not to internationalize the issue on China’s maritime incursions. Aquino had to interrupt Hun Sen’s speech to deny that there had ever been such an agreement. China is Cambodia’s principal trade partner and creditor.

Despite its achievements, the Aquino administration is no stranger to controversy.

In August, he let go of his close associate and shooting buddy Rico Puno due to allegations of anomaly in a weapons purchase deal.

Earlier, Aquino lost a Cabinet member, DILG Secretary Jesse Robredo who was killed in a plane crash.

The President also announced that Sen. Antonio Trillanes IV, whom he had entrusted to do backchannel talks with China, would no longer continue the job and that Foreign Affairs Secretary Albert del Rosario would be on the frontline in all diplomatic issues involving the country.

Because of Robredo’s death, then Transportation and Communications Secretary Manuel Roxas II had to take his place and Cavite Rep. Joseph Emilio Abaya assumed Roxas’ position.

Aquino said his Cabinet members were all giving their best, with the economic team promising to sustain or even improve the 7.1 percent economic growth in the third quarter.

In the coming year, the President said he would be busy with governance as well as with the campaign and the elections, which he believed would be a referendum on his brand of leadership.

This early, critics see politics behind the filing of charges against Pangasinan Gov. Amado Espino Jr. for the latter’s alleged involvement in jeuteng and against Cebu Gov. Gwen Garcia for alleged grave abuse of authority. Administration officials, however, said critics should check the evidence before making accusations.

In the coming mid-term elections, the administration Liberal Party (LP) will face off with the United Nationalist Alliance of Vice President Jejomar Binay, former president Joseph Estrada and Senate President Juan Ponce Enrile.

In coalition with the LP in the 2013 elections are the Nacionalista Party of Villar, the Nationalist People’s Coalition, the Laban ng Demokratikong Pilipino and the Akbayan party-list.

Also seen to pose a problem for the administration is Arroyo’s and retired elections commissioner Benjamin Abalos’ being able to post bail in connection with their electoral sabotage case, supposedly a non-bailable offense.

Shortly after Arroyo was ordered released on bail, the Office of the Ombudsman filed a plunder case – also a non-bailable offense – against her in connection with her alleged misuse of P366 million in Philippine Charity Sweepstakes Office intelligence funds. Arroyo is seeking reelection in the second district of Pampanga in the May 13 polls.

Ombudsman Conchita Carpio-Morales earlier overturned a decision of a panel of ombudsman prosecutors which had recommended the downgrading of a case against Arroyo from plunder to technical malversation.