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Benigno S. Aquino III, First State ofthe Nation Address, July 26, 2010

(nglish translation!

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/nglish translation of the seeh deliered at the Session$all of the $ouse of &eresentaties, Batasan a34ansa

o3le5, ueon ity on July 26, 20107

Sea8er Feliiano Bel3onte9 Senate resident Juan onenrile9 :ie resident Je;o3ar Binay, hief Justie &enatoorona, For3er residents Fidel :alde &a3os and Joseh;erito strada9

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riniles9 and to 4e faithful to the u4li serant@s s>ornoath to sere the ountry honestly.

"his is the straight ath.

#n the other side, ersonal interest is the riority, and >hereone 4eo3es a slae to olitial onsiderations to thedetri3ent of our nation.

"his is the roo8ed ath.

For a long ti3e, our ountry lost its >ay in the roo8ed ath.As days go 4y (sine I 4ea3e resident!, the 3assie soeof the ro4le3s >e hae inherited 4eo3es 3uh learer. Iould al3ost feel the >eight of 3y resonsi4ilities.

In the ?rst three >ee8s of our ad3inistration, >e disoered3any things, and I >ill reort to you so3e of the ro4le3s >ehae unoered, and the stes >e are ta8ing to sole the3.

"his reort is 3erely a gli3se of our situation. It is not theentire iture of the rises >e are faing. "he reality >ashidden fro3 our eole, >ho see3 to hae 4een deli4eratelyo4fusated on the real state of our nation.

In the ?rst si5 years of this year, goern3ent e5endituree5eeded our reenues. #ur de?it further inreased toh16. 4illion. #ur olletion targets, >hih la8 h2C.D

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4illion, >ere not fully 3et, >hile >e >ent 4eyond oursending 4y hE.1 4illion.

#ur 4udget for 2010 is h1.E trillion. #f this, only h1004illion G or 6.H of the total 4udget an 4e used for there3aining si5 3onths of the urrent year. &oughly 1H of thetotal 4udget is left for eah of the re3aining 3onth.

here did the funds goK

A ala3ity fund >orth h2 4illion >as resered inrearation for antiiated ala3ities. #f this already3inisule a3ount, at a ti3e >hen the rainy season has yet toset in, h1.E 4illion or 0H >as already sent.

"he entire roine of a3anga reeied h10D 3illion. #fthis, h10 3illion >ent to only one distrit. #n the otherhand, the roine of angasinan, >hih >as seerelyaLeted 4y "yhoon eeng, reeied a 3ere h 3illion,>hih had to 4e used to ?5 da3ages inMited not een 4yeeng, 4ut 4y a reious tyhoon, os3e.

"he funds >ere released on eletion 3onth, >hih >as seen3onths after the tyhoon. hat >ill haen if a tyhoonarries to3orro>K "he fund has 4een used u to reairda3age fro3 tyhoons that hit us last year. #ur future >illay for the greed of yesterday.

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"his is also >hat haened to the funds of the ater >hile the leadershi of thearded itself een though the ensions of retirede3loyees re3ain unaid.

"he entire ayroll of the hat they reeie=they reeie additional allo>anes and 4ene?ts a3ounting toD1.1 3illion esos. In short, they reeie 211. 3illion esosannually. ">enty four erent of this is for nor3al salaries,and si5ty si5 erent is added on.

"he aerage >or8er reeies u to 1Cth 3onth ay lus aash gift. In the anes.

hat >e disoered in the ase of the salaries of their 4oardof trustees is een 3ore sho8ing. )et@s ta8e a loo8 at theallo>anes they reeie=

Attending 4oard of trustees and 4oard o33ittee 3eetings,and you get fourteen thousands esos. "his totals ninetyeight thousand esos a 3onth. "hey also get an annual

groery inentie of eighty thousand esos.

And that@s not all. "hey get a 3idGyear 4onus, rodutiity4onus, anniersary 4onus, yearGend 4onus, and ?nanialassistane. "hey not only get a hrist3as 4onus, 4ut an

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additional hrist3as a8age as >ell. ah of these a3ountsto eighty thousand esos. All in all, eah 3e34er of the4oard reeies t>o and a half 3illion esos a year e5lusieof ar serie, tehnial assistane, and loans. )et 3e reeat.

"hey a>ard the3seles all of these >hile 4eing in arrears forthe ensions of their retired e3loyees.

en the )a atershed >asn@t sared. In order toensure an adequate suly of >ater, >e need to rotet our>atersheds. In >atersheds, trees are needed. here thereshould 4e trees, they 4uilt ho3es for the to oials of the

let@s disuss funds for infrastruture. "he %$identi?ed t>o hundred forty si5 riority safety ro;ets to 4efunded 4y the 3otor ehile user@s harge. "his needs a4udget of E2 3illion esos. hat they ended u funding>ere only 2D ro;ets. "hey disregarded 21D ro;ets andrelaed these >ith seenty ro;ets that >eren@t in thelans. "he E2 3illion esos originally as8ed for 4ea3e ED03illion esos, inreasing 4eause of ro;ets alloated for afaored fe>.

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"hese ro;ets 3a8e no sense= unstudied and unreared for,srouting li8e 3ushroo3s.

"he era of suh ro;ets is at an end. -nder our

ad3inistration, there >ill 4e no quotas, there >ill 4e nooerriing, the funds of the eole >ill 4e sent for theeole.

"here@s 3ore. Fie days 4efore the ter3 of the reiousad3inistration ended, they ordered C. 4illion esos to 4ereleased for the reha4ilitation of those aLeted 4y tyhoons#ndoy and eeng. "his >as suosed to fund eightyGninero;ets. But nineteen of these ro;ets a3ounting to D13illion esos didn@t go through u4li 4idding. SeialAllot3ent &elease #rders hadn@t een 4een released and yetthe ontrats >ere already signed. It@s a good thing Seretary&ogelio Singson sotted and stoed the3. Instead, they >illall go through the roer 4idding, and the funds >ill 4e usedto roide relief to those >ho lost their ho3es due totyhoons #ndoy and eeng.

)et@s disuss >hat haened in Naoor. Fro3 2001 to 200E,the goern3ent fored Naoor to sell eletriity at a loss toreent inreases in eletriity rates. "he real 3otiation forthis is that they >ere rearing for the eletion.

As a result, in 200E, NA##& slu3ed deely in de4t. "hegoern3ent >as o4ligated to shoulder the 200 4illion esos ito>ed.

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hat the u4li thought they saed fro3 eletriity, >e areno> aying for using u4li oLers. Not only are >e ayingfor the ost of eletriity9 >e are also aying for the interestarising fro3 the de4t.

If the 3oney >e 4orro>ed >as used roerly, then there>ould 4e added assurane that onstant suly of eletriityis aaila4le. $o>eer, this deision >as 4ased on 4ad olitis,not on the true needs of the eole. "he eole, after haingto sari?e, suLered een 3ore.

"his is also >hat haened to the

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seen ti3es the a3ount of shortage, they still 4ought 3orethan >hat >as needed.

In 200= D,000 3etri tons >as the shortage in the sulyof the hiliines. hat they 4ought >ere 1.D2 3illion3etri tons. en if you 3ultily for 3ore than three ti3esthe a3ount of shortage, they again 4ought 3ore than >hat>as needed.

hat hurts is, 4eause they 8ee urhasing 3ore than >hatthey need year after year, the e5ess rie that had to 4estored in >arehouses ended u rotting, ;ust li8e >hathaened in 200D.

Is this not a ri3e, letting rie rot, desite the fat that thereare E 3illion Filiinos >ho do not eat three ti3es a dayK

"he result is NFA@s urrent de4t of 1 4illion esos.

"his 3oney that >as >asted ould hae funded the follo>ing=

G "he 4udget of the entire ;udiiary, >hih is at 12. 4illionesos this year.

G "he onditional ash "ransfers for the follo>ing year, >hihost 2.6 4illion esos.

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G All the lassroo3s that our ountry needs, >hih ost 1C04illion esos.

"his >ay of doing things is reolting. as there only to4e >asted.

*ou hae heard ho> the u4li oLers >ere squandered. "hisis >hat is lear to 3e no>= hange an only o3e fro3 ourdeter3ination to sta3 out this e5traagane and roMigay.

"hat is >hy starting no>= >e >ill sto the >asteful use ofgoern3ent funds. e >ill eradiate ro;ets that are >rong.

"his is the oint of >hat >e all the eroG4ased aroah inour 4udget. hat used to 4e the nor3 >as eery year, the4udget 3erely gets reGenated >ithout lugging the holes.

Ne5t 3onth >e >ill 4e su43itting a 4udget that auratelyidenti?es the ro4le3 and gies 3uh attention on the rightsolution.

"hose that I hae 3entioned >ere only so3e of the ro4le3s>e hae disoered. $ere no> are e5a3les of the stes >eare underta8ing to sole the3.

"here is a ase of one a>nsho o>ner. $e urhased aehile at an esti3ated ost of 26 3illion esos.

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If he an aLord to 4uy a )a34orghini, >hy an@t he ay hista5esK

A ase has already 4een ?led against hi3. "hrough theleadershi of Finane Seretary esar urisi3a, BI&o33issioner Oi3 $enares, usto3s o33issioner )itoAlare, and Justie Seretary )eila de )i3a, eery >ee8 >ehae ne> ases ?led against s3ugglers and against those>ho do not ay the right ta5es.

e hae also already identi?ed the susets of the ases ofFraniso Baldo3ero, Jose %aguio and e assu3ed theresideny.

Fifty erent (0H! of these inidents of e5tralegal 8illings areno> on their >ay to 4eing resoled.

e >ill not sto the ursuit of the re3aining half of these8illings until ;ustie has 4een ahieed.

e >ill hold 3urderers aounta4le. e >ill also hold those

>ho are orrut that >or8 in goern3ent aounta4le fortheir ations.

e hae 4egun for3ing our "ruth o33ission, through theleadershi of for3er hief Justie $ilario %aide. e >ill

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#n national defense=

e hae C6,000 nautial 3iles of shoreline, 4ut >e only haeC2 4oats. "hese 4oats are as old as the ti3e of (-S +eneral%ouglas! ill rent the Nayheadquarters on &o5as Bouleard and the Naal Station in

Fort Bonifaio.

"hey >ill ta8e are of the funding neessary to transfer theNay $eadquarters to a3 Aguinaldo. I33ediately, >e >ill4e gien 100 3illion dollars. Further3ore, they >ill gie us aortion of their ro?ts fro3 their 4usinesses that >ouldouy the land they >ill rent.

In short, >e >ill 3eet our needs >ithout sending, and >e>ill also earn.

"here hae already 4een 3any roosals fro3 loal toforeign inestors to roide for our arious needs.

Fro3 these u4liGriate artnershis, our eono3y >illgro> and eery Filiino >ill 4e the 4ene?iary. "here are so3any setors that ould 4ene?t fro3 this.

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e >ill 4e a4le to onstrut the needed infrastruture inorder to hel touris3 gro>.

In agriulture, >e >ill 4e a4le to hae aess to grains

ter3inals, refrigeration failities, orderly road net>or8s andostGharest failities.

If >e an ?5 out food suly hain >ith the hel of the riatesetor, instead of i3orting, >e >ill hoefully 4e a4le tosuly for the needs of the glo4al 3ar8et.

"he ries of o33odities >ill go do>n if >e are a4le to3a8e this eient rail>ay syste3 a reality. It >ill 4e heaerand faster, and it >ill 4e easier for traelers to aoid roo8edos and re4els.

A re3inder to all= reating ;o4s is fore3ost on our agenda,

and the reation of ;o4s >ill o3e fro3 the gro>th of ourindustries. +ro>th >ill only 4e ossi4le if >e strea3lineroesses to 3a8e the3 redita4le, relia4le and eient forthose >ho >ant to inest.

e 3a8e sure that the BuildG#erateGandG"ransfer ro;ets>ill undergo qui8 and eient roesses. ith the hel of all

goern3ent agenies onerned and the eole, a roessthat used to ta8e as short as a year and as long as a deade>ill no> only ta8e si5 3onths.

"he %eart3ent of "rade and Industry has already ta8enstes to eLet this hange, under the leadershi of Seretary+regory %o3ingo=

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"he neerGending horror story of registering 4usiness na3es,>hih used to ta8e a 3ini3u3 of four to eight hours

deending on the day, >ill 4e ut do>n drastially to ?fteen3inutes.

hat used to 4e a he8 list of thirtyGsi5 dou3ents >ill 4eshortened to a list of si5, and the old eightGage aliationfor3 >ill 4e >hittled do>n to one age.

I all on our loal goern3ent units to reie> its o>nroedures. hile >e loo8 for 3ore >ays to strea3line ourroesses to 3a8e 4usiness startGus easier, I hoe the )+-san also ?nd >ays to i3le3ent refor3s that >ill 4eonsistent >ith the ones >e hae already started.

All >ill ertainly 4ene?t fro3 this strea3lining GG 4e it4usiness3en, soldiers, re4els and ordinary Filiinos. As long

as the interests of Filiinos >ill not 4e ;eoardied, >e >ille5lore all aaila4le aenues to 3a8e this a reality. e 3uststart no>, and >e should all hel ahiee this and not standin eah other@s >ay.

"he ti3e >hen >e >ill no longer 4e 3ade to hoose 4et>eenour eole@s seurity and the future of our hildren is uon us

no>.

#ne >e i3le3ent these u4liGriate artnershis, >e >ill4e a4le to fund u4li serie in aordane >ith ourlatfor3.

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"his >ill ena4le us to fund our lans for eduation.

e >ill 4e a4le to e5and our 4asi eduation yle fro3seen years to the glo4al standard of t>ele years.

e an 4uild 3ore lassroo3s, and >e >ill fund serieontrating under the +oern3ent Assistane to Studentsand "eahers in riate duation rogra3 (+AS"!.

onditional ash transfers that ai3 to lessen the 4urden ofeduation on arents >ill also 4e funded if this artnershi4eo3es a reality.

#ur lans for i3roing hil$ealth an no> 4e >ithin reah.

First, >e >ill identify the orret nu34er of Filiinos >hosorely need hil$ealth oerage, as urrent data is onMitingon this 3atter. #n one hand, hil$ealth says that eightyGseen erent (DH! of Filiinos are oered, then lo>ers thenu34er to only ?ftyGthree erent (CH!. #n the other hand,the National Statistis #e says that only thirtyGeighterent (CDH! of Filiinos are oered 4y hilhealth.

en as >e sea8, Seretary %in8y Soli3an and the%eart3ent of Soial elfare and %eelo3ent are 3oingto i3le3ent the National $ousehold "argeting Syste3 that>ill identify the fa3ilies that 3ost urgently need assistane.

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An esti3ated 4illion esos is needed in order to roideoerage for ?e 3illion oor Filiinos.

#ur ountry is 4eginning to see 4etter days ahead. "heriate setor, the )eague of roines headed 4y +oernorAlfonso -3ali, together >ith +oernors )G&ay :illafuerte andIot etilla, are no> ready to do their share >hen it o3es toshouldering the ?nanial 4urden. I 8no> that the )eague ofities under the leadershi of ill not4e far 4ehind.

If the loal goern3ents share in our goals, I 8no> that I ansurely ount on ongress, the institution >here I 4egan u4liserie, to ush for our agenda for hange.

#ur a4inet has already sho>ed it s8ill 4y identifying not ;ustro4le3s 4ut also roosing solutions in a 3atter of three>ee8s.

In the after3ath of "yhoon Basyang, >e >ere told 4y thosein the o>er setor that >e >ould 4e >ithout eletriity forfour days. "he qui8 ation of Seretary &ene Al3endras andthe %eart3ent of nergy resulted in the restoration of o>erto al3ost all those aLeted >ithin t>entyGfour hours.

"he soGalled >ater shortage in ays. Seretary Singsondid it >ithout rodding, >hih alleiated the suLering ofthose aLeted.

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e also >itnessed the o3etene and initiatie of those >eaointed to 4e art of our a4inet. It is 4ut ;ust that they not

4e fored to go through the eye of a needle to 4e on?r3ed4y the o33ission on Aoint3ents. Should this haen,o3etent Filiinos >ill 4e enouraged to hel our ountry 4y4eo3ing u4li serants.

In the soonest ossi4le ti3e, >e >ill onene the )egislatie5eutie %eelo3ent Adisory ounil ()%A! to disussthe i3ortant 4ills that need to 4e addressed. &est assuredthat I >ill 8ee an oen 3ind and treat you honora4ly.

e >ill ush for the Fisal &esonsi4ility Bill, >hih >ill li3itsending 4ills only for aroriations that hae identi?ed asoure of funding. e need 10E.1 4illion esos to fund thosela>s already assed 4ut >hose i3le3entation re3ainsending 4eause of la8 of funds.

e >ill reGealuate ?sal inenties gien in the ast. No>that >e are tightening our urse strings, >e need to identifythose inenties that >ill re3ain and those that need to 4edone a>ay >ith.

e >ill not allo> another NBNGP" sandal to haen again.hether fro3 loal or foreign soures, all roosed ontrats3ust undergo the srutiny of orret roedures. I no> as8for your hel >ith a3ending our roure3ent )a>.

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Aording to our onstitution, it is the goern3ent@s duty toensure that the 3ar8et is fair for all. No 3onoolies, noartels that 8ill o3etition. e need an AntiG"rust )a> that>ill gie life to these riniles, to aLord S3allG and thof our eono3y.

)et us ass into la> the National )and -se Bill.

It >as in 1C, during the o33on>ealth, that the National%efense At >as assed. "here is a need to a3end for a ne>la> that is 3ore resonsie to the urrent needs of nationalseurity.

I aeal to our legislators to ass the histle4lo>er@s Bill toeradiate the realent ulture of fear and silene that hashounded our syste3.

e >ill strengthen the itness rotetion rogra3. e 3ustre3e34er that fro3 200 to 2010 alone, ases >hihinoled the artiiation of >itnesses under the rogra3resulted in a ninetyG?e erent onition.

"here is a need to reie> our la>s. I all on our la>3a8ers to4egin a reGodi?ation of our la>s to ensure har3ony inlegislation and eli3inate ontraditions.

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"hese la>s sere as the 4asis of order in our land, 4ut thefoundation of all rests on the rinile that >e annot gro>>ithout eae and order.

e fae t>o o4stales on our road to eae= the situation in has not hanged >hen it o3es to the situation inill only ahiee lasting eae if allsta8eholders engage in an honest dialogue= 3ay they 4eas done >ith olitial 3otiation, and that the

interest 4ehind it >as not that of the eole.

e reognie the eLorts of the ithinits ran8s. e are hoeful that the negotiations >ill 4egin after&a3adan.

"o the GNAGN%F= are you reared to ut forth onrete

solutions rather than ure ritiis3 and ?ngerGointingK

If it is eae you truly desire, then >e are ready for ani33ediate easeG?re. )et us go 4a8 to the ta4le and 4egintal8ing again.

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It is diult to 4egin disussions in earnest if the s3ell of guno>der still hangs in the air. I all on eeryone onerned not

to >aste a good oortunity to rally 4ehind our o33onasiration for eae.

#ur foundation for gro>th is eae. e >ill ontinue to 4esha8led 4y oerty if the ross?re ersists.

e 3ust understand that no> is a ti3e for sari?e. It is thissari?e that >ill ae the >ay for a 4etter future. ith ourfreedo3 o3es our resonsi4ility to do good unto our fello>sand to our ountry.

"o our friends in 3edia, eseially those in radio and rint, tothe 4lo8Gti3ers and those in our o33unity ne>saers, I

trust that you >ill ta8e u the udgels to olie your o>nran8s.

3eaning to the riniles of your oation=to roide larity to ressing issues9 to 4e fair and truthful inyour reorting, and to raise the leel of u4li disourse.

It is eery Filiino@s duty to losely >ath the leaders that youhae eleted. I enourage eeryone to ta8e a ste to>ards

artiiation rather than faultG?nding. "he for3er ta8es artin ?nding a solution9 fro3 the latter, neerGending o3laints.

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e hae al>ays 8no>n that the 8ey to gro>th is utting theinterest of others 4eyond one@s o>n. #ne thing is lear= ho>do >e 3oe for>ard if >e 8ee utting others do>nK

$o> >ill those >ithout eduation seure quality ;o4sK $o>>ill the une3loyed 4eo3e onsu3ersK $o> >ill they sae3oney for their future needsK

If >e hange all this, if >e rioritie ena4ling others, >e >illoen a >orld of oortunities not ;ust for ourseles 4ut forthose >ho direly need it.

e hae already 4egun the roess of hange, and >e areno> a4le to drea3 of 4etter things for our ountry. )et us notforget that there are those >ho >ish us to fail, so that they>ill one again relai3 o>er to do as they lease at thee5ense of our eole.

e fous on ulifting the lies of our fello>3en, I hae an unsha8ea4le faith that Al3ighty +od >ill gieus $is 4lessings and suort. If >e re3ain ?r3 in our 4eliefthat +od is on our side, is there anything i3ossi4le for us toahieeK

"he 3andate >e reeied last

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)et us all 4eo3e one in ahieing a ful?l3ent of our hoesand asirations for our ountry.

"han8 *ouQ