‘Juana Change’ apologizes for supporting Noy

MANILA, Philippines - She used to be a keen supporter. But actress and political activist Mae Paner, known for her character Juana Change, has apologized to militants for her support for President Aquino during the 2010 elections.

“I campaigned for him, but he changed,” she said during a program along Commonwealth Avenue shortly before the President’s State of the Nation Address (SONA) yesterday.

“I thought the lives of the Filipino people would be better if he is elected. But nothing happened. His promises were not fulfilled,” added Paner, who was wearing a brown Filipiniana dress during the protest.

She changed to a peach dress upon entering the House of Representatives to attend the SONA.

Paner said she initially thought that electing Aquino would be for the benefit of the people. But she said she found out that the end of the administration’s “Tuwid na Daan” platform is a cliff.

She is also supporting the impeachment complaint against the President, adding that the President’s SONA would not change her mind.

Apologize

Former Bayan Muna Rep. Teddy Casiño, meanwhile, said Aquino should apologize for the mistakes that he committed, particularly with the implementation of the Disbursement Acceleration Program (DAP).

“Sorry would be a good start… (An) admission that he made a mistake that he will rectify,” he said.

He said the President should also address concerns about the power rate hike and the Freedom of Information bill.

Renato Reyes, secretary-general of Bagong Alyansang Makabayan, said they do not expect anything from the President’s SONA.

“We expect him to use his SONA to defend himself from issues involving DAP, probably even against the allegations contained in the impeachment complaint,” he said.

Reyes said Aquino might also use his speech to influence Congress to junk their impeachment complaint, even as he admitted that it would be hard to secure the numbers needed for it to push through.

‘HolDAPer’

Bayan described the President as “HolDAPer on the killer highway.”

Police said militants who joined the SONA protests reached 7,500, but Reyes said their number swelled to 20,000.

“The reason (for the bigger crowd) is the prevalence of corruption, the DAP scandal,” Reyes said. “Some members of the middle class and even professionals are sharing their sentiments. They want the President to be held accountable.”

“Aquino still thinks he is above the law and beyond the reach of the Supreme Court. We cannot allow a wannabe dictator to reign for the next two years. He has to be made accountable now,” added Reyes.

Protesters from Central Luzon and Southern Tagalog have joined the Metro Manila contingent for SONA.

Worsened

Reyes said the economy has worsened under the Aquino administration, citing figures in terms of unemployment, migration, landlessness and depressed wages.

“Human rights violations have also increased due to the regime’s counter-insurgency program. While suspected plunderers are given special treatment, more than 400 political prisoners languish in jails nationwide,” he said.

“Our national sovereignty is also undermined by the grossly lopsided agreement known as the Enhanced Defense Cooperation Agreement. It is a total sell-out of national interest in exchange for false promises of support from the US,” he added.

True state of the nation

Joms Salvador, secretary-general of Gabriela, said ordinary Filipinos who have to contend daily with rising prices, low wages, lack of job opportunities and corruption know the true state of the nation.

“Despite programs like the Conditional Cash Transfer program, women and children are still living in abject poverty. In fact, poverty incidence among women declined by a mere .3 percent from 2009 to 2012, while only a .1 percent decrease was recorded among the poorest children,” she said. “Is this what he means by the DAP-spurred development?”

Last 2 minutes

Party-list group Akbayan, an Aquino ally, said the President should pursue “deeper and broader reforms” in the homestretch of his administration, which was likened to basketball’s last two minutes.

By pursuing deeper reforms, Rep. Walden Bello said Aquino would be able to “disarm his critics and isolate the noisy few howling once again for impeachment.”  “To use an analogy from basketball, President Aquino’s administration is entering the crucial last two minutes of the game. Being the team captain, he must step up his game, rally the people to a ‘full court press’ to defend and further their gains, make best use of the remaining time, and deliver victory for the people,” he said.

He said administration critics have succeeded to some extent in muddling the reforms the administration has put in place and the gains of its anti-corruption campaign.

He suggested that the President push for the approval of some measures in Congress to reenergize his reform agenda.

Among such measures are the completion of the program to distribute land to landless farmers, the Freedom of Information Bill, amendments to the Electric Power Industry Reform Act, political party reforms, security of tenure for contractual workers, and bills to address flaws in the use of the national budget and government savings.

Wide support

Bello said Aquino could still pursue deeper reforms, since he still enjoys wide support among the people.

Akbayan colleague Ibarra Gutierrez, on the other hand, urged Aquino to rally his congressional allies for the approval of budget reform measures that would address flaws in the use of public funds as exposed by the Supreme Court in its ruling on the DAP.

He said the administration’s decision to file a motion asking the SC to reconsider its decision “clearly demonstrates its commitment to the constitutional route and legal-institutional framework of checks and balances.”

“However, the solution to the current debate on the proper extent of the executive’s power over the budget lies in legislation. Congress holds the power of the purse, and it is Congress that must be mobilized to lay down clearer and stronger rules defining executive power over the budget,” he said.

He added that while in his view current laws “very explicitly” give the President the authority to implement DAP, the SC decision “made it apparent that there is a need for clarifying legislation.”

Like other colleagues, Bello and Gutierrez want the House of Representatives to clearly define government savings.

Resign

Overseas Filipino workers (OFWs) called for the immediate resignation of Aquino for failing to accomplish the promises he made in his past SONAs.

Garry Martinez, Migrante International chair, said calls for the ouster of Aquino gain strength not only in the country, as the condition of millions of OFWs continues to deteriorate.

“The latest development on the DAP is the last straw for Filipino migrants and their families. Filipinos around the world want Aquino out. We do not want him to stay until 2016. He can resign, be impeached or ousted,” he said.

He said Aquino’s action on DAP is unjustifiable and unforgivable.

“DAP did not produce good results. What Aquino did through DAP was to pull in millions of pesos into a huge sum of presidential pork. DAP was used for bribery, patronage politics and to consolidate Aquino’s clique in government,” he said.

10,000 cops, soldiers

Meanwhile, workers condemned the deployment of over 10,000 policemen and military troops for the President’s SONA.

“Such action shows the repressive mindset of a haciendero and the stubbornness of a spoiled brat and the paranoia of the Pork Barrel King amidst growing public outrage over DAP,” the militant Kilusang Mayo Uno (KMU) said.

Partido ng Manggagawa (PM), on the other hand, criticized the Aquino government for implementing policies that exacerbated social inequality amidst economic growth.

PM spokesman Wilson Fortaleza cited the big number of unemployed as proof of growing inequality.

Labor Secretary Rosalinda Baldoz, however, said the economy generated 1.654 million employed persons or an employment growth of 4.5 percent as of April 2014.

She expressed optimism that the next round of the Labor Force Survey will sustain the country’s robust employment situation.

“This optimism is anchored on the overall effort and commitment of the government, including the DOLE, to implement programs, projects and services that facilitate employment and make the business climate conducive for job creation and job generation,” she said. – With Jess Diaz, Mayen Jaymalin