Originally published in the June 2012 issue of Esquire Philippines.

Words by Lourd De Veyra

 

Think of it as an act of empathy.  It is a tall task writing a speech for someone else, moreso a speech for the president of a republic. The president of this Republic, at that, where everyone has an opinion (or an opinion column) and where most everyone will listen to an opposing view—but just long enough ‘til they think of a rebuttal. We didn’t want it to be an excuse to launch into a litany of rants and complaints, or a series of jokes. That’s too easy. We didn’t want it to turn into an exercise of wish fulfillment. Easier. We wanted a speech that is sensible and sensitive, both to the speaker and the audience he is addressing. We want it to be considerate not just of the speaker’s language and cadence, but also of his history. We want it attuned to the sentiments and the most immediate needs of his audience: the entire nation. We wanted facts and we wanted it comprehensive, but at the same time we wanted to listen to it long enough without thinking of the next appropriate window for a bathroom break. We wanted breadth and depth, but we also wanted to have a little fun.

 

So we asked Esquire writer-at-large Lourd de Veyra, who has had his own beef with the present administration on a few occasions, to write P-Noy’s State of the Nation address for us. And if there’s any wish fulfillment we want out of this exercise, after reading what Lourd has written, it is only that today, this is the speech Benigno Aquino III delivers.

 

 

It has been two years since I first stood here. 

 

Some things have changed, but as a wise man once said, the more they do, the more they stay the same. Nangako tayong tatahakin ang daang matuwid. Hindi na tayo maaaring lumihis. Dahil lalong wala na tayong dahilan para lumihis.

 

I stand before you today, proud of our administration’s campaign to set the moral compass of this nation to the straight and righteous path—a path unencumbered by the strictures of previous dispensations. We must not allow ourselves to be haunted by the past. Which is to say, the wang-wang—which for many years was the symbol of abuse of authority. As early as the outset of our term, we have started to wage war on the evil that is the wang-wang and we continue to do so. To eradicate this misguided culture is to believe in a mythology of goodness and decency. We all live under the power of symbols and metaphors. We are only able to imagine in terms of concrete images. We must begin in clarity and end in triumph.

 

We are often criticized for using the past government as a whipping boy. Hindi n’yo ako masisisi. Kung alam n’yo lang kung gaano kalala ang sitwasyong iniwan ng dating dispensasyon. Maihahalintulad ito sa kuwento ng Augean Stables, ang pagkadumi-duming sabsaban na kinailangan pa ng isang Hercules para linisin. Hindi ko ito ginagamit na scapegoat. Two years will not suffice to undo all the damage that nine years of terrible management has wrought.

 

Nevertheless, it must be said that we have had six positive rating actions from the credit-ratings agencies since we took over a little less than two years ago—a glaring contrast to the single upgrade and six downgrades in the nine years of the previous administration. We have experienced all-time highs in our stock market. In fact, 27 times in our 22 months in office. Kaya ikaw, Mitos Magsaysay, tumahimik ka na.

 

Madali tayong makalimot. Ito ang dahilan kung bakit patuloy tayong nakakarinig ng alingawngaw ng wang-wang. May mga pagkakasala sa atin na hindi natin dapat ibaon sa limot. Kung hindi, patuloy itong babangon mula sa hukay upang tayo’y multuhin. Hinding hindi tayo dapat magka-amnesia.

 

I have said this over and over again: There can be no justice if we allow the wrongdoers, those who have committed grave crimes against our people, to roam free and unpunished. The essence of justice is not retribution but accountability. Our critics disparagingly call it “politics,” but isn’t everything we do political? This is not about vindictiveness.  It was never about vindictiveness to begin with. This is about justice. At hindi ako mapapagod ulit-ulitin ito: the reason why this country cannot move forward is because our fate remains anchored in the sins of the past. Messianic as it may sound, now is our only chance to set things right.

 

Ang natapos na impeachment trial sa Senado ay isa lamang sa mga pagtatangka ng mga puwersa ng liwanag at kabutihan na walisin mula sa ating sistema ang mga bakas ng nakalipas. Huwag itong tingnan bilang isang paglapastangan sa Kataas-taasang Korte. Sa halip, dapat itong ituring na pinakadakilang pagtrato sa isang institusyon na dapat ay nababalot lamang lagi sa alapaap ng kadakilaan. Kahit bahid ng dungis ay hindi siya dapat kakitaan.

 

This is also not about being petty and spiteful. We have often been called “singleminded” and “simplistic.” But what is wrong with focus? With persistence of vision? What is wrong with calling a spade a spade?  What is wrong with calling white white, and black black? Maybe this is where corruption is born: when we start to confuse one for the other.

 

When we mistake our Villars for our Arroyos, our Estradas for our Lagmans, our Defensors for our Belmontes.

 

Kaya nga mula ngayon ay papayagan ko na ang pag-apruba ng aming sariling bersyon ng  Freedom of Information Bill. I am asking the members of the House of Representatives to fast-track its passage. We must impose on ourselves the same level of transparency and accessibility to information. Ito ay isinasama ko na ngayon sa ating listahan ng priority measures. At sa mga umaangal pa rin, muli ko na ring iniutos ang pag-ayos ng FOI para isama ang pagbunyag ng mga komprehensibong detalye tungkol sa pork barrel.

 

At pinag-aaralan ko na ring ipanukala ang pag-abolish sa pork barrel.

 

Joke lang. I just wanted to see how some of you would react.

 

IKINAGAGALAK kong ibahagi sa inyo na we have a surplus budget of P10.65 billion. Kung aalalahanin natin ang P286 billion na national deficit na iniwan ng gobyernong Arroyo, hindi naman maikakailang magandang balita ito.

 

Again, to counter the criticism that this surplus is due to the lack of economic initiatives on the part of government, I would like to say that there is a gulf of difference between stinginess and sensible spending. In less than 24 months, we have been able to kickstart the Public-Private Partnership Programs. Isa pa lang ang PPP na naaprubahan sa ngayon. Samantala, ’yung iba, PPP pa rin. “Puro Powerpoint Presentation.”

 

Ang daang matuwid ay daang mabilis din dapat. Kaya bukas na bukas ay pasisimulan ko na ang pagtayo ng elevated highway na mag-uugnay sa Makati at E.Rodriguez Avenue. Nangako ang contractor na tatapusin ito sa loob lamang ng tatlumpong buwan. Makati to Quezon City sa loob lamang ng siyam na minuto? Kayang-kaya na ‘yan.

 

Iba po ang nagtitipid, iba po ang kuripot. May kasabihan tayo: pag maiksi ang kumot, matutong mamaluktot. May panahon po para sa lahat. May panahon para gumasta, may panahon para mag-higpit ng sinturon.

 

Sa usapang langis, magpapatupad ako ng moratorium sa pagtaas ng presyo ng petrolyo mula bukas hanggang sa dulo ng aking pamamahala. Tama na ang habambuhay na pagpapakasasa ng mga higanteng kumpanya habang tayo, mga Boss, ay nagtitiis.

 

Tama na ang pagpapa-alipin sa mga oil companies. Bilang na rin ang mga araw nila, dahil ipinag-utos ko na sa DOST na dagdagan pa ang pananaliksik sa mga alternatibong pagkukunan ng enerhiya. Solar power and advanced forms of hydrothermal energy should be the wave of the future.

 

I have also ordered the increased production of e-jeepneys, which should be the more sensible option for public transport in this city.

 

Marami pang magagandang balitang bunga ng ating kampanya laban sa katiwalian. The Bureau of Customs increased its collection by 20 percent to P22.433 billion, mula sa dating P18.583 billion. Its collections in the first two months of this year reached P44.423 billion, up 13.6 percent from P39 billion.

 

This is the result of an intensified clean-up drive within a bureau where we once saw the infuriatingly bizarre: a clerk who earns less than P10,000 a month can drive a Porsche. From this day onward, I vow— through Secretary Ruffy Biazon— to clean up this bureau that has become a symbol of unchecked corruption. Pinapangako ko sa inyong lahat: hindi ako titigil hangga’t hindi natin nalilinis ang reputasyon ng opisinang ito.

 

Remittances by government-owned and government-controlled corporations boosted the collections of the Bureau of Treasury by more than 600 percent—that’s P31.187 billion—in the first two months of this year.

 

The economy is surging forward. I would like to believe it is because of the business atmosphere we have tried to project. An atmosphere free from corruption. Namumunga ang magandang prutas kapag wasto at maaliwalas ang hangin.

 

GAYA ng nasabi ko sa pagpupulong ng Asian Development Bank kamakailan: “Economic prosperity must be inclusive.” Ang pag-unlad ay hindi dapat nararanasan lang ng iilan.

 

Nagbigay na rin ako ng instructions sa Kongreso na ipasa na ang P125 wage hike na matagal nang hinihingi ng ating mga kababayang manggagawa. This is in recognition of certain economic realities, kasama na diyan ang patuloy na pagtaas ng presyo ng langis at kuryente. Sana ay matigil na ang mga militanteng grupo sa kanilang patuloy na pagsunog ng aking mga effigy. Maawa naman kayo sa akin—at sa hangin.

 

At kung maari lang, ganda-gandahan n’yo naman kahit konti ang mga maskarang ginagawa n’yo.

 

Bukod pa sa umento sa sahod, nais na rin po nating itigil ang di-makatarungang sistema ng kontraktuwalisasyon. Pumasa na ang Security of Tenure Bill sa committee level and I will exert all efforts na mailusot ito sa plenary. Hindi na puwede ang pa-three-months-three-months na kontrata na walang benepisyo at walang kasiguraduhan. Gusto kong maramdaman ninyo, mga Boss ko, na bawat isa sa inyo ay may karapatang magtrabaho nang may ganap na dangal—saleslady ka man sa department store o flight attendant sa eroplano. Hindi ko na masikmura ang makitang sunod-sunod ang pagpapatayo ng mga mall, supermarket, banko, at condominium ng iilang negosyante—dahil sa nakakainis na sistema ng contractualization. Ilang mall pa ba ang gusto niyong ipatayo para makuntento kayo? Ilang kanto pa ang patatayuan n’yo ng tindahan hanggang ang buong arkipelago ay maging kulay green at blue?

 

Ganoon din ang Kasambahay Bill na magtataas sa minimum wage ng mga anghel natin sa tahanan. Hindi rin katanggap-tanggap na ang mga taong nag-aalaga sa ating mga anak, ang mga pinapapasok natin sa ating mga kuwarto, at minsan sa ating mga buhay, ay kailangang magtiis sa buwanang sahod na mas maliit pa sa presyo ng isang pares ng bagong rubber shoes.

 

Ang mga taong kakarampot lang ang kinikita ay may karapatan din laban sa mga pisikal at sikolohikal na pang-aabuso. Ipakukulong ko ang sinomang nagbabayad pa rin ng P800 sa kanilang mga kasambahay. Hindi sapat na sabihing libre ang pagkain at kuryente ni Inday.  Si Inday ay hindi nag-sakripisyong umalis sa lalawigan para makakain lang nang libre at makinood ng telenovela. Mayroon din siyang mga binubuhay.

 

Mabuhay ang manggagawang Pilipino. Tandaan, kakampi ninyo ako.

 

Kaugnay ng ating kagustuhang mapangalagaan ang kapakanan ng nakararami, I have ordered a moratorium on all demolitions. Our people need shelter, not bullets and tear gas. Hindi ko na hahayaan na ang wala na ngang matirahan ay pahihimlayin na lang sa sementeryo. Ipinag-utos ko na rin ang pagpapatayo ng limang relocation sites sa Rizal province, sa mga bakantang loteng nakatiwangwang lamang. Those who have less in life should have more in law—ako ay naniniwala pa rin dito. Sa Tagalog, bigyang prayoridad ang mga walang tahanan at walang lupa, hindi ang mga panginoong may-lupa na kaliwa’t kanan ang pagpapatayo ng mga condominium at mga supermarket na hindi lamang pumapatay sa maliliit na mga katabing negosyo, pumapatay rin sa ating mga natitirang mga puno.

 

Nais ko pong sabihin na natuldukan na rin sa wakas ang mahabang pagtitiis ng ilan nating mga kababayan. The Supreme Court has finally ruled on the Hacienda Luisita case. That should finally put to rest suspicions that the Aquino family is delaying the process of distributing land to more than six thousand farmers. Hindi na kami humingi ng bilyon-bilyon. Tama na ang piso. Sana po ay tuldukan na natin ang kabanatang ito.

 

MAY mga bagay man tayong napagtagumpayan, mga Boss, nakalulungkot na the wang-wang attitude in some of our countrymen continue to persist. We can see it insidiously slithering its way around our landscape. In the little tarpaulins congratulating the new graduates. In bright little logos emblazoned on each and every waiting shed. Lalong lalo na’t malapit na ang eleksyon. At the beginning of my term, I have strictly called for a stop to this atrocious practice. To all congressmen, councilors, and barangay officials, let me make this clear: that is not your money. I do not care if you all happen to be millionaires by way of old family wealth. I do not care if you can afford to print enough tarpaulin streamers to cover the entire archipelago. That will always leave a bad taste in the people’s mouth. Ito ang nangyari noong nakaraang siyam at kalahating taon bago nailuklok ang pamunuang ito—kung saan ang pagmumukha ng dating namumuno ay nakapaskil sa buong kapuluan. Huwag na nating hayaang bumalik ang ganitong uri ng pang-aabuso. Kaya pinakikiusapan ko ang Senado na aprubahan na ang Anti-Epal Bill ni Senadora Miriam Defensor-Santiago. Gaya ng kay Senadora, ang masasabi ko lang sa mga ganitong uri ng pang-aabuso ng kapangyarihan ay: “Waaaah!”

 

Remember that we are now addressing a more vigilant, and more discerning electorate. You can not fool the people all the time. And you can not fool them now. The fact that Lito Lapid landed in the Senate by a hairline is testament to that. And as to hairlines— especially the diminishing variety—the less said about it the better. Huwag na nating pag-usapan.

 

Hindi na tayo nagpapaloko at hindi na tayo dapat magpaloko. Naniniwala akong nagbubunga na ang ganitong klaseng paninidigan.

 

MAY NAIS lamang po akong sabihin sa ating mga kapatid sa pamamahayag. For the past year, the media continues to be unfairly critical of this administration, oftentimes to heedlessly personal degrees.  I cannot understand why the killing of journalists is always pinned to me. Why? Did I pull the trigger? Was I the one who ordered their deaths? Yes, I am aware of the statistics and the numbers, which have been again compared, unfairly, to that of my predecessor.

 

Be that as it may, maka-aasa po kayong sisimulan naming gawing mas ligtas ang mga probinsiya at maliliit na lungsod ng ating bansa para sa malayang pamamahayag.

 

And rest assured that we have been escalating investigations and pursuits regarding the cases of Jonas Burgos, Karen Empeño, Shirley Cadapan, and many more cases of enforced disappearances. And to those who remain defiant in the face of the law, those who think they are operating within the same biosphere of impunity of the nine and a half years of the previous administration, I am warning you: This is your last chance to surrender. Major General Jovito Palparan, sumuko ka na. Governor Joel Reyes, sumuko ka na rin. Kung ayaw n’yong masaktan. Kailangan n’yong managot sa taumbayan.

 

Managot na ang kailangang managot. Hindi na tayo maaring magpa-api, kahit kanino— abusadong heneral man yan o banyagang gobyerno.  Kaya’t dapat tayo pumalag sa bansang Tsina. Tayo ang nasa tama, hindi sila. We have constantly reminded our ASEAN neighbors: the next shoal and cluster of islands these Chinese boats would claim might be yours.   We have shown that we are serious in our desire to guard our borders and in staking our rightful claim.

 

We have shown them that we will not be cowered by their military might. But now is the time we should stop fighting each other through headlines—much less through attacks on cyberspace. It is the time to stop the saber-rattling. It is now the time for us to talk and figure this problem out, for strong diplomacy to take over. The same kind that Arturo Tolentino showed when he got the United Nations to recognize the Archipelagic Doctrine thirty years ago. The same kind that allowed us to pass the Philippine Baselines Law in the last few years. These were met by opposition by China, but we prevailed.

 

Let us not rely on America to fight our battles for us, or convince ourselves that they will indeed back us up in case of conflict. They may or may not. They have their own interests to protect. And the fact is that they have vastly bigger stakes in imperial, gigantic China. We will look after our own.

 

We are not about to file another diplomatic protest. We are sick and tired of running to the UN like bullied grade-schoolers. Sumosobra na ang China. Wala man tayong armas na maipantatapat sa kanila kundi ang ating tapang sa diplomasya, China must realize that the days of empire and brute conquest are long over. We are now living in a modern world where mutual cooperation and shared interest are boundless territories.

 

MAKABAGO NA ang mundong ating kinabibilangan. At sa mundong ito hindi rin po natin maaring kalimutan ang ating pagsulong sa Reproductive Health Bill. Batid ko ang kontrobersiya, ang debate, at ang protesta na nalilikha nito mula sa ilang sektor. Hindi na natin kailangang magdagdag pa ng malakas na boses sa maselang isyung ito. Sa halip, ang kailangan natin ay mahinanong diyalogo. Hindi ito puwedeng daanin sa paninindak at pang-iinsulto. Hinahon, pasensiya, at pang-unawa ang kailangan—at hindi mga banta ng dagat ng apoy. Nabubuhay na tayo sa taong 2012; wala na tayo sa taong 1435.

 

At sa taong kasalukuyan, in the field of education, I am confident that the K+12 system will change our educational system of force-feeding. And this we must say: the K+12 system is proudly Philippine-made.

 

Yes, we are aware of the many objections raised against it. But we must keep in mind that we are the only country in Asia and the third in the world still insisting on a ten-year basic education framework. The other two countries are in Africa. We may like to flatter ourselves that, academically, we do not belong to the same category as war-torn countries ruled by warlords. Pero gusto ba natin ito? Patuloy ba tayong makikinig sa iilang mga mangmang na mga komentarista, mga komentaristang di-makakailang tila kailangan rin ng karagdagang edukasyon? Ingat lang sa mga babanggain niyong artista—baka magulpi ulit kayo. Kahit sabihin n’yong blackbelt-blackbelt pa kayo diyan. Tandaan ang kasabihan: “Walang komentaristang matinik sa binadtrip ng Cebu Pacific.”

 

Sa usapin pa rin ng edukasyon, malapit na rin po nating ipatupad ang ating pangarap na pagamitin na ang ating mga mag-aaral ng mga electronic tablets. Sa paraang ito’y mababawasan na ang pagsalalay ng mga bata sa mga tradisyonal na aklat. This is what we mean when we say we need to bring our classrooms into the future.

 

Edukasyon pa rin ang pinakamalaking gumugugol ng pondo ng ating pamahalaan—gayunpaman ay nag-utos na rin ako ng karagdagang P10 billion na budget para sa mga susunod na taon. Ayaw ko nang makakita ng mga batang nagka-klase habang lubog sa baha. Ayaw ko nang makakita ng mga batang nagka-klase sa ilalim ng mga puno dahil puno na ang mga classroom. Ipatupad na ang starting salary na P20,000, mula sa sahod na P16,000, para sa ating mga guro. Our teachers belong here, not in other countries. Walang sing-halaga ang gawain ng paghubog ng kabataan at ng ating kinabukasan.

 

Which is why we must come up with an agenda for arts and culture for the remaining years of my administration. Indeed, what good is economic stability when the soul remains famished? Aanhin mo ang kaunlaran kung ang iyong kaluluwa ay salat naman sa kultura? Cultural propagation should begin at the highest level of government—and not merely as a by-product of its time and resources. That is why I am directing the National Commission for Culture and the Arts to double its efforts—and, of course, increase its annual funding by 15 percent. Economic improvement and cultural development must be symbiotic. There can be no real prosperity without a sense of culture and history. Ang kaunlaran na walang kaluluwa at walang sining ay parang puno na walang dahon.

 

Kaya hindi na rin puwede ngayon ang dagdag-bawas pati sa National Artist Awards. Gawain ’yan ng dating pamumuno. Dapat na ring bawiin ang titulong National Artist mula kay Carlo J. Caparas. Ibibigay natin ang parangal kay Dolphy—at para matapos na ang pagdanak ng dugo, sabay na pararangalan sa susunod na batch si Ate Guy at si Ate Vi.

 

Dapat tayong sumabay sa panawagan ni Tourism Secretary Ramon Jimenez. It is indeed “more fun in the Philippines.” Sabihin na ang gustong sabihin, pero hindi maikakailang tumaas ang dating ng mga turista sa bansa. Enero pa lang ay gumawa na tayo ng kasaysayan: mahigit 400,000 ang naitalang bisita para lamang sa buwan na iyon. It should be the responsibility of every local government, as well as its representatives, to generate the elements that would highlight its tourism potentials. So we ask Mitos Magsaysay first: Is it more fun in Zambales?

 

MAHABA ang ating kasaysayan, at ito ay maihahalintulad sa isang paglalakbay na maraming pinagdaraanan. Ilan sa mga pinakamakapangyarihang mga bansa ang nagdaan sa kanila-kanilang mga pagsubok. Let us not be trapped in the swamp of cynicism and say, “Wala, hanggang dito na lang talaga tayo.”

 

Alam kong marami pa akong hindi natalakay. Pero hindi ako magpapanggap na Diyos at magmamalaki na may solusyon para sa lahat ng suliranin ng Pilipinas. Siyam at kalahating taon tayong laging nakaririnig ng mga pangako ng tagumpay—pero ano naman ang nangyari?

 

Kung ano man ang ligalig na inyong mga nasasaksihan sa politika, mga kababayan, isipin na lang natin na tayo’y may pinagdaraanan lang. Isang madilim na tunnel, marahil. At sigurado akong ang nakalipas na siyam at kalahating taon ay nuknukan talaga ng dilim. Pero sa dulo nito ay may naghihintay na liwanag. Ang republika natin ay isandaan at labing-apat na taon pa lang. Ikumpara mo ito sa Estados Unidos, o sa Pransya at Gran Britanya. By comparison, ours is still a democracy in diapers. Having a sense of history does not merely mean the ability to look far back. It is also the ability to view things in perspective time. Maaring makita natin ang liwanag. Maaring ang mga apo at mga apo natin sa tuhod ang makakita nito.

 

Konting tiis lang, mga Boss. Makakarating din tayo sa paroroonan. Sa pag-gabay ng Diyos, darating din tayo.

 

By the way, Mitos Magsaysay, ang baduy ng gown mo ngayon.