3rd SONA

On Monday, President Aquino will deliver his third state of the nation address. It is expected that he will focus his speech on the economic growth of his administration, to wit the 6.4% GDP rate during the first quarter, the upgrade to B+ by Standard and Poor, the achievement of BIR revenue targets and the all time high record of the stock market.

He will claim achievement in his anti-corruption campaign with the removal of Chief Justice Renato Corona, the filing of plunder and illegal electoral sabotage charges against GMA and Benjamin Abalos, the filing of graft charges against ranking PNP officers.

He will also cite the 2 years implementation of the CCT program and the start of the K to 12 program.

On the negative side, the government created only 1.1 million jobs, way below the 3,000,000 unemployed and the 7,000,000 underemployed.

The flagship PPP program has not taken off and private business are not hiring new workers.

The prices of prime commodities, gasoline, electricity, water and transport fares have gone up.

There is a crime wave ongoing with riding in tandem assassinations happening by the dozen weekly. Kidnapping and akyat-bahay gangs are doing their thing with impunity. Extra judicial killings of activists and journalists are continuing.

Despite EO 23, illegal logging remains unchecked. Illegal mining, mostly small scale, is happening all over the country.

After 2 years there is little progress in the peace talks with the MILF and NPA. The NPA rebels have been mounting raids and ambushes from Quezon and Bicol to Compostela Valley and Surigao. The Abu Sayyaf rebels are still a potent force committing kidnappings and killings in Basilan, Zamboanga and Sulu.

The illegal drug problem is still a very serious one with an estimated 3 million drug users, majority of them young people.

Smuggling remains rampant in Philippine ports. Ninoy Aquino International Airport is still not upgraded. NAIA 3 is not fully operational. There is congestion in the skies over NAIA causing delays and cancellations of flights. Sea mishaps are happening regularly.

Floods are everywhere.

As Usec. Abigail Valte said: “There is a change in the mindset of people but much remains to be done.”

After 2 years, complacency and lack of a sense of urgency has set in. It’s time to shake up the Cabinet. It’s time to take extreme measures to reform and reorganize the PNP. It’s time to call a summit on crime.

It’s time to double time decision making. It’s less than 4 years to go.

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RECORD BREAKING . . Pagcor Chairman Cristino “Bong” Naguiat reports that Pagcor will break the P40 billion mark in gross revenues this year.

He bases his prediction on the fact that in the first six months of 2012, Pagcor recorded a gross revenue of P21.32 billion which is P4 billion higher than in the same period last year.

Despite criticism from some sectors, Pagcor has chalked up a commendable record for 2 years recording over P73 billion in gross earnings, contributing P35 billion to the government and other beneficiary agencies.

Pagcor has been breaking records on a monthly basis for 12 months, grossing P3.88 billion for the month of June, according to Naguiat.

Pagcor released P1 billion for the construction of 1,000 classrooms. 

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CCT ANOMALIES . . The Commission on Audit (COA) has documented several anomalies in the 2011 implementation of the Conditional Cash Transfer (CCT) or Pantawid Pamilyang Pilipino Program (4Ps) of President Aquino.

COA estimated 206,000 unqualified beneficiaries who were not extremely poor, or were earning income, confirming what many mayors had earlier complained about. It was pointed out that relatives of DSWD employees and teachers were on the list.

COA also found double entries of names and unliquidated fund transfers.

Many had forewarned DSWD that finding and listing 2.3 million poor families in 6 months was not doable. But they went on and DSWD workers apparently hurried to list down every Tom, Dick and Harry they knew to complete their quota.

There are also complaints of giving allocation of beneficiaries to rich provinces to the neglect of many poor towns.

The COA findings cast doubt on the accuracy of the procedures and methodology used in the selection of poor households.

COA also reported that P6.6 billion transferred to the Land Bank for the payment of CCT remained unliquidated casting doubts on the regularity of the disbursements.

COA said included in the unliquidated balances are fund transfers with no actual beneficiaries and some grantees whose names are entered twice in the payroll.

The COA finding justifies a top to bottom review of the CCT program before another P45 billion is appropriated for 2013. Senator Frank Drilon has already said that the 10% adiministrative cost is excessive.

The distribution of beneficiaries should be limited to 5th and 6th class municipalities, to the 20 poorest provinces and to the 3 poorest regions of ARMM, Region V and Region VIII. Some special effort must be made to reach coastal and mountain barangays where there are no ATM machines.

The new lists must be reviewed by a committee composed of the municipal mayor, the public school supervisor and a representative of an NGO. Barangay chairmen must also be consulted.

After 2 years, a committee of experts from NEDA and academe must now review whether it has improved the lives of the beneficiaries.

Maybe the amount of P1,400/month of the 4 Ps doleout is too small to create an impact on poor peoples’ lives. It’s like giving 25 centavos to a beggar. This will certainly not help him out of poverty.

Also of concern is the report that beneficiaries sell their 4Ps payments at a 20% discount to village financiers, especially when payments are delayed. 

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TIDBITS . . It’s good that DOH has denied any plans to abolish charity wards in government hospitals.

Businessman Bienvenido Tan and his wife were shot dead by riding in tandem assassins in front of the Barrio Fiesta Restaurant at Marcos Highway, Pasig City.

12,000 Filipino OFWs are still trapped in Syria, only about 1,800 have been repatriated.

The Philippine Hospital Association of the Philippines (PHAP) claimed that PhilHealth owes them P2 billion. Unbelievable.

Fifty-one party-list representatives are millionaires.