PRES. NOYNOY AQUINO SONA 2011 - State Of the Nation Address (GMA 7) - 25 July 2011

COURTESY OF GMA 7 (with Mike Enriquez) PRESIDENT NOYNOY AQUINO SONA 2011

(Transcript in English) Sona 2011

I stood before you during my inauguration and promised: we would do away with the use of the wang-wang. This one gesture has become the symbol of change, not just in our streets, but even in our collective attitude.

Over the years, the wang-wang had come to symbolize abuse of authority. It was routinely used by public officials to violate traffic laws, inconveniencing ordinary motorists—as if only the time of the powerful few, and no one else's, mattered. Instead of behaving like public servants, they acted like kings.

This privilege was extended to their cronies and patrons, who moved along the streets as if they were aristocracy, indifferent to those who were forced to give way and were left behind.

Abusing privilege despite promising to serve—this is the wang-wang mindset; this is the mindset of entitlement.

They had no right to do this. The law authorizes only the President, the Vice President, the Senate President, the Speaker, the Chief Justice, and police vehicles, fire trucks, and ambulances to use sirens in the fulfillment of their official duties—no one else.

Yet the flagrant abuse we bore witness to prompts us to ask: if they felt it their privilege to flout the simplest traffic laws, how could we expect them not to help themselves to a share of projects funded by the Filipino people?

Do you want the corrupt held accountable? So do I.

Do you want to see the end of wang-wang, both on the streets and in the sense of entitlement that has led to the abuse that we have lived with for so long? So do I.

Do you want to give everyone a fair chance to improve their lot in life? So do I.

We have fought against the wang-wang, and our efforts have yielded results. Just this year, the number of Filipinos who experienced hunger has come down.

Self-rated hunger has gone down from 20.5% in March to 15.1% this June—equivalent to a million Filipino families who used to go hungry, but who now say they eat properly every day.

As for business, who would have thought that the stock market would reach seven record highs in the past year? At one time, we thought that for the PSE Index to reach 4,000 points would be, at best, a fluke. We now routinely exceed this threshold.

Our once low credit ratings have now been upgraded by Moody's, Standard and Poors, Fitch, and Japan Credit Ratings Agency—in recognition of our prudent use of funds and creative financial management.

These improved credit ratings mean lower interest on our debts. Our innovative fiscal approach has saved taxpayers 23 billion pesos in the first four months of this year.

This is enough to cover the 2.3 million conditional cash transfer beneficiaries for the entire year.

Let me remind you: in the nine and a half years before we were elected into office, our credit ratings were upgraded once, and downgraded six times by the different credit ratings agencies.

Compare this to the four upgrades we have achieved in the single year we have been in office. This was no small feat, considering that the upgrades came after ratings agencies have grown considerably more conservative in their assessments, especially in the wake of criticism they received after the recent American financial crisis.

But while they have downgraded the ratings of other countries, they have upgraded ours, so that we are now just one notch below investment grade. Our economic team is hard at work to sustain the momentum.

And allow me to share more good news from the Department of Energy: having rid the DOE of wang-wang, we have revived the confidence of investors in our energy sector. 140 companies, all ready to participate in the exploration and strengthening of our oil and natural gas resources, can attest to this.

Compare this to the last energy contracting round in 2006, which saw the participation of only 35 companies. Just last Friday, a new contract was signed for a power plant to be constructed in the Luzon grid, so that by 2014, our country will have a cheaper, more reliable source of energy.

There is confidence and there is hope; the government is now fulfilling its promises. And I cannot help but remember a woman I spoke with during one of my first house-to-house campaigns.

She lamented: "It won't matter who wins these elections. Nothing will change. I was poor when our leaders campaigned, I am poor now that they are in office, and I will still be poor when they step down."

This is a grievance echoed by many: "Our leaders didn't care about us then, our leaders don't care about us now, and our leaders will not care about us tomorrow."

Given the persistence of the wang-wang attitude, wasn't their sentiment justified? \

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[directions34]

Baby James : Yaya, am i normal ? Yaya : Of course! You're not like them. Why did you ask?! Baby James : i'm so confused.... ... my grandfather is Ninoy, my uncle is Noynoy, my brother is Abnoy, my dad is chikboy, my mom,, iba-iba ang boy, my ninong is tito boy,but he's not a boy! di kaya ,, Ako Budoy

[pinoyfutbol]

Pilipino basahin mo tong comment ko..sino ang kawatan?,di ba't si Cory ang kumulekta ng baryang pera ng Pilipinas na gawa sa SILVER at pinalitan ng TANSO?.,at despite all that bakit mas malaki ang inutang ni Cory sa IMF sa loob lamang ng anim na taon kumapara sa 20+ years ng Marcos admin?.,.PNOY HINDI KAMI BULAG! IYON ANG DAHILAN MO KUNG BAKIT ANG UNA MONG PROYEKTO AY MAGLABAS NG BAGONG ANYO NG PERA PARA SABIHING ROUTINARY LANG AT NORMAL ANG PALITAN ANG PERA..Aquinos bilib ako sa propaganda nyo

[JusticeForPinoys]

@clare953, You're right about that. Dollar accounts should be no exemption. Like you said they too have skeletons hidden in their closets. They are afraid when their turn comes to face corruption charges, they have to comply. The government eagerly and prematurely took its independece in order to control the country's financials with an agenda to corrupt. We get financial aide from countries like the U.S and, they also lend us money which only go to the deep pockets of dirty politicians. Sad

[jmmacalalag]

Noynoy Panot

[JusticeForPinoys]

Rampant corruption can bring a country's economy to its knees. Gloria Arroyo is the biggest fish but what about the small ones? The outcome of the "stop corruption" that the president promises to do is yet to be seen. Will there be accountability or is this just going to be another phony show.

[MrBillioner1]

@pinoyfutbol loko kay gloria ka kasi mag sama kyo ng mga kawatan

[eduardbill]

@JusticeForPinoys insulting the President based on your comments simply means you don't have peace of mind rather to talk nasty and negative comments better for you to check your way of living to support your family.

[eduardbill]

@Strayspiderstrut Until now hindi ka pa naka move on, si Noynoy ay dumaan sa fair equal legal election na dapat nating igalang. Lets support him and think positive.

[Strayspiderstrut]

Noynoy talk the talk, but he doesn't walk the walk. He only won the elections because he's riding Ninoy and Cory's fame. He won't won if Cory didn't die. Philippines needs to wake up and stop voting candidates who have mass appeal, instead VOTE SMART and vote the one who can GET THINGS DONE. Gordon deserves the presidential spot.

[JusticeForPinoys]

One bad president after the other. The country is far from recovery without a dim of hope and nothing but absolute darkness at the end of the tunnel. Noy-P is not the one who can revive a dying country. His name is nothing more than a fancy decor that's nice to look at but in reality a worthless piece of crap.

[learyan]

@eduardbill TROL.. ang sakin lang buksan ninyu mata ninyu! kaw pa tong nag sabi na style ko bulok......... wala akong ini-indorse.. sana nga lang 2016 ang manalo yung ang taong talagang eligible to be a leader. wag na sana sa popularity..... d mu ba alam nanakot yan si noynoy na mag people power pang natalo siya? and YOU should ipagmalaki ang iyong natapos! be proud of yourself!