‘I have fought the good fight’

“I HAVE fought the good fight, I have finished the race, I have kept the faith.”

President Aquino quoted the seventh verse of the fourth chapter of the second epistle of St. Paul to Timothy to cap off his over two-hour State-of-the-Nation Address (Sona) at the Batasan Pambansa yesterday.

Aquino quoted the New Testament verse after saying that he was not perfect, and after reciting a litany of gains and paying tribute to cabinet members down to his hairstylist.

The Sona was greeted with 156 rounds of applause. It was his longest and most applauded Sona since 2010. As people applauded the President just as he concluded his lengthiest Sona, lawmakers from the progressive

Makabayan bloc gathered in front of Aquino to boo and raise placards with the message “Serbisyo Palpak.” Aquino said his administration will continue pursuing good governance reforms imperative to transform the country from developing into First World country.

But nearing the end of his two-hour and nine-minute speech, Aquino asked, “Lahat ba ng ating naipundar, lahat ng ating pinaghirapan maglalaho dahil lang sa isang eleksyon?”

Split-screen images of “presidentiables” Vice President Jejomar Binay, Sen. Grace Poe and Interior Secretary Manuel Roxas II were then flashed, and the crowd broke into laughter.

Aquino did not endorse anyone to be his successor but his remarks about Roxas, the administration Liberal Party’s presumptive presidential bet, sounded like one. He called Roxas a man of integrity who knew his job, and who, despite criticisms, has proven that “you can’t put a good man down.”

He called on lawmakers to pass the Anti-Dynasty Bill into law, saying many politicians and their families with vested interests want to remain in power, a remark seen as a jab at Binay whose son is Makati’s mayor and whose daughters are members of Congress. Another proposed measure that he asked Congress to approve is the proposed Bangsamoro Basic Law.

Aquino took a swipe at those who called his administration bungling and insensitive, pointing out that 40 percent of the poorest citizens in the country are entitled to free medication in public hospitals because of Philhealth coverage. He said some 89.4 million Filipinos already have Philhealth coverage.

“Ito ang kanilang tinatawag ng iba na palpak at manhid. Sabi nga ni Aiza Seguerra: ‘I thank you, bow,’” said Aquino.
He also said some 4.4 million poor households nationwide are now benefiting under the government’s Pantawid Pamilyang Pilipino Program, a far cry from the 786,523 beneficiaries when he assumed the presidency five years ago.

As a result, he said, some 333,673 children finished high school in March with 13,469 of them have receiving honors and different recognitions.

Aquino also claimed the unemployment rate went down by 6.8 percent, the lowest in a decade, and the number of overseas Filipino workers decreased from 9.51 million in 2011 to 9.07 million based on December 2014 data.

Investment inflows from foreign and domestic firms increased during the past five years, said Aquino, adding that net foreign direct investments in 2014 reached US$ 6.2 billion from US$1.07 billion in 2010 or a surge by almost 500 percent. He said the country, based on Global Competitiveness Index rankings, is now “Asia’s Rising Tiger” and “Asia’s Rising Star.”

Aquino said he was confident of the sustained increase of the Bureau of Internal Revenue’s collections this year.

He said the number of labor strikes also went down––the Department of Labor and Employment recorded only 15 strikes under his administration compared to 199 during the Arroyo administration, and only one strike in 2013. Aquino said the manufacturing sector grew by eight percent from 2010 to 2014 from a three-percent annual growth in 2001 to 2009.

Tourism, he said, grew, and the country had 4.83 million visitors in 2014, creating more jobs. At present, some 4.7 million people are directly employed in tourism which makes up almost 10 percent of the total workforce.