P-Noy's Platform of Government

It's been quite sometime since my last post. The assumption of Benigno Aquino III as the country's 15th President has renewed my enthusiasm to update this site. The government's official web site (www.gov.ph) is under reconstruction so the new president's platform of government is not yet known to many Filipinos.

So for a start, here's an excerpt:

The Vision for the Philippines:

A country with…

1. A re-awakened sense of right and wrong, through the living examples of our highest leaders;

2. An organized and widely-shared rapid expansion of our economy through a government
dedicated to honing and mobilizing our people’s skills and energies as well as the
responsible harnessing of our natural resources;

3. A collective belief that doing the right thing does not only make sense morally, but translates into economic value as well;

4. Public institutions rebuilt on the strong solidarity of our society and its communities.


Our Mission:

We will start to make these changes first in ourselves---by doing the right things, by giving value to excellence and integrity and rejecting mediocrity and dishonesty, and by giving priority to others over ourselves.

We will make these changes across many aspects of our national life.

A Commitment to Transformational Leadership:

1. From a President who tolerates corruption .. > to a President who is the nation’s first and most determined fighter of corruption.

2. From a government that merely conjures economic growth statistics that our people know to be unreal .. > to a government that prioritizes jobs that empower the people and provide them with opportunities to rise above poverty.

3. From relegating education to just one of many concerns .. > to making education the central strategy for investing in our people, reducing poverty and building national competitiveness.

4. From treating health as just another area for political patronage .. > to recognizing the advancement and protection of public health, which includes responsible parenthood, as key measures of good governance.

5. From justice that money and connections can buy .. > to a truly impartial system of institutions that deliver equal justice to rich or poor.

Economy

6. From government policies influenced by well-connected private interests .. > to a leadership that executes all the laws of the land with impartiality and decisiveness.

7. From treating the rural economy as just a source of problems, > to recognizing farms and rural enterprises as vital to achieving food security and more equitable economic growth, worthy of re-investment for sustained productivity.

8. From government anti-poverty programs that instill a dole-out mentality .. > to well-considered programs that build capacity and create opportunity among the poor and the marginalized in the country.

9. From a government that dampens private initiative and enterprise .. > to a government that creates conditions conducive to the growth and competitiveness of private businesses, big, medium and small.

10. From a government that treats its people as an export commodity and a means to earn foreign exchange, disregarding the social cost to Filipino families .. > to a government that creates jobs at home, so that working abroad will be a choice rather than a necessity; and when its citizens do choose to become OFWs, their welfare and protection will still be the government’s priority.

Government Service

11. From Presidential appointees chosen mainly out of political accommodation .. > to discerning selection based on integrity, competence and performance in serving the public good.

12. From demoralized but dedicated civil servants, military and police personnel destined for failure and frustration due to inadequate operational support .. > to professional, motivated and energized bureaucracies with adequate means to perform their public service missions.

Gender Equality

13. From a lack of concern for gender disparities and shortfalls, > to the promotion of equal gender opportunity in all spheres of public policies and programs.

Peace & Order

14. From a disjointed, short-sighted Mindanao policy that merely reacts to events and incidents .. > to one that seeks a broadly-supported just peace and will redress decades of neglect of the Moro and other peoples of Mindanao.

Environment

15. From allowing environmental blight to spoil our cities, where both the rich and the poor bear with congestion and urban decay .. > to planning alternative, inclusive urban developments where people of varying income levels are integrated in productive, healthy and safe communities.

16. From a government obsessed with exploiting the country for immediate gains to the detriment of its environment .. > to a government that will encourage sustainable use of resources to benefit the present and future generations.

This platform is a commitment to change that Filipinos can depend on. With trust in their leaders, everyone can work and build a greater future together.