Tuesday 28 Jul 2015 - 12:37 Makkah mean time-12-10-1436
Manila (IINA) - Philippine President Benigno Aquino III asked Congress on Monday to pass a Muslim autonomy bill at the heart of efforts to end a bloody rebellion in the country’s south and another that aims to lessen the stranglehold on power of entrenched political families.
In his final state of the nation speech before he steps down in 11 months, Aquino summed his administration’s achievements in battling corruption and poverty — his campaign battle cry in 2010 — and thanked just about everyone who backed him, from his late parents, who are revered democracy champions, to his hairstylist. Among other concerns he raised was the increasingly tense dispute with China over contested South China Sea territories. He called on Filipinos to unite as their country confronts China, which he did not identify by name. “Our adversary, is by any measure, way ahead whether in terms of influence, economy or military force,” Aquino said in the nationally televised address. “But on the basis of reason and love for country, we’re not lagging behind.”
One of Aquino’s expected major legacies, a peace deal with the largest Muslim rebel group in the country, stalled early this year when some of the rebels from the 11,000-strong Moro Islamic Liberation Front (MILF) got entangled in a clash that killed 44 anti-terrorism police commandos in southern Mamasapano town. The brutal deaths sparked public outrage and prompted lawmakers to delay passage of a bill crafted to establish a more powerful and potentially larger autonomous region for minority Muslims in the south of the predominantly Roman Catholic nation. The Moro rebels dropped their separatist bid in exchange for broader autonomy. But the delay has set off concerns that some impatient rebels may resume armed hostilities in the south, where smaller but violent armed groups like the Al-Qaeda-linked Abu Sayyaf, continue to carry out kidnappings for ransom, bomb attacks and other acts of banditry.
In a surprise turnaround, Aquino told Congress he now backs long-unsuccessful attempts to craft a law that would restrict the number of members of influential families who can run for public office. Anti-dynasty bills, however, have not had any luck in Congress, which is dominated by millionaires who have carried the family names of dominant political clans to public office for generations.
Aquino belongs to an entrenched and wealthy landowning clan which has held power at various levels in the northern province of Tarlac. His late mother, Corazon Aquino, was catapulted to the presidency after helping lead the 1986 “people power” revolt that ousted dictator Ferdinand Marcos. “I was opposed to depriving a person of the right to run for office just because of his family name,” Aquino said. “But I thought there’s also something wrong with giving a corrupt family or individual a chance to wallow in power for life.”
On Aquino’s watch, the economy grew an average of 6.3 percent, the best 5-year record in four decades. But growth slowed to 6.1 percent last year, and could be further dampened by worries over the changing of the guard in 2016. Critics also say few jobs were created. The Philippines raised revenues to record levels by fixing tax leakages and cutting red tape, leading credit rating agencies to raise its debt to investment grade status.
Now Aquino wants to ensure his policies endure. Aquino, barred by law from a second term, is likely to announce this week Interior Minister Manuel Roxas as his party’s candidate for the May 2016 election, even if surveys show he has little support. “The next election will be a referendum for the ‘Straight Path’,” Aquino said in his speech. “You decide if the improvement we are now enjoying will become permanent, or will be considered just luck and a momentary recovery from a long history of failure.”
He stopped short of endorsing Roxas, the interior and local government secretary, as presidential candidate, but said critics sought to put him down because he was competent.
“In their continued efforts to discredit you, your critics have proven that they are afraid of your integrity, skill, preparedness for the job,” Aquino said in a speech lasting more than two hours. The polls will pit Roxas, who faced criticism over government mishandling of relief efforts after supertyphoon Haiyan left nearly 7,000 dead or missing in 2013, against Vice President Jejomar Binay, who is battling graft charges. Roxas ran for vice president in 2010 but lost to Binay, who topped surveys for presidential candidates until recently.
A few hours before Aquino spoke, left-wing activists, laborers, farmers and students carrying his effigy and calling for his resignation clashed with riot police amid a downpour as they tried to breach a barricade of barbed wire and shipping containers. Several policemen and protesters were injured when authorities used water cannon to push back the activists, who hurled rocks and bottles at the police, according to police and Red Cross volunteers.
Calling Filipinos his “boss,” Aquino said he was not perfect and acknowledged that some government officials have failed him at times. Aquino is expected to endorse a candidate for next year’s presidential elections soon. He suggested that the polls would show whether Filipinos support his reforms and urged them to choose a candidate who would continue them.
“Will everything that we have invested, everything that we have labored for, vanish in just one election?” he asked. “In this perspective, the next elections would serve as a referendum for the ‘straight path,’” a phrase he coined for all his reforms.
HA/IINA
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