State of the Nation Address (SONA) 2 Sets Clear Government Direction - Gains Praises

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State of the Nation Address (SONA) Philippines 2011 - President Benigno Aquino III

The Philippines President Benigno Aquino III delivers his State of the Nation Address (SONA) during the 15th Congress at the House of Representatives in suburban Quezon City, north of Manila, Philippines on Monday, July. 25, 2011.

The Philippines President Benigno Aquino III stressed on the economic gains and anti-corruption efforts of his one-year-old administration in his State of the Nation Address (SONA), but industry participants believe much remains to be done to sustain the country's growth.

"This is Aquino III's first year in office so he's still in the preparatory stage. But we expect that in the next few years, he will be able to improve the country's investment climate," Miguel Varela, president of the Employers' Confederation of the Philippines, said.

Varela said that with more investments, more jobs will be created, unemployment and poverty reduced.

Sergio Ortiz-Luis, president of the Philippine Exporters Confederation, also has modest expectation of Aquino's first year in office. But in the next 6 months, Ortiz-Luis said that businessmen "expect some improvements" under Aquino's leadership.

Jobless, poverty and lack of investments are some of the problems that beleaguer this developing Southeast Asian country. Aquino tackled these concerns in this year's SONA.

In his speech delivered Monday (July 25, 2011) at the opening of the 15th Congress' second regular session, Aquino said that under his term, the government was able to reduce hunger incidence, attract more investors and boost the local stock market.

Aquino said the credit upgrade extended by international credit rating firms such as Moody's, Standard and Poor's, Fitch and Japan Credit Ratings Agency is proof of the government's "prudent use of funds and creative financial management."

"These improved credit ratings mean lower interest on our debts. Our innovative fiscal approach has saved taxpayers ₱23 billion ($542.45 million) in the first four months of this year. This is enough to cover the 2.3 million conditional cash transfer beneficiaries for the entire year." Aquino said.

Aquino added that as of April this year, the unemployment rate stood at 7.2 percent, slightly lower than last year's 8 percent. He said in the past, most Filipinos foremost ambition was to work in another country. Now, Filipinos can take his pick. As long as he pursues his dream with determination and diligence, he can realize them.

However, the President pointed out problems such as job mismatch in local market. Aquino quoted figures of the Philjobnet website as saying, every month there are 50,000 jobs that are not filled because the knowledge and skills of job seekers do not match the needs of the companies, adding, "we will not allow this opportunity to go to waste."

But more than that Aquino, who ran and won on an anti-corruption platform, noted his administration remained committed in pursuing the "straight path" - of fighting corruption.

He listed down several efforts done by the government to stem corruption including probing questionable deals made by the previous administration, implementing a transparent bidding process for government infrastructure projects and improving tax management by slapping charges against tax evaders.

"We are not leaving anything to chance; good governance yields positive results. Think about it: We have realized our promise of providing the public with the services that it needs and implementing programs to help the poor without having to raise our taxes," Aquino said.

Evita Jimenez, executive director of the Center for People Empowerment in Governance, said, "it is not yet late for the President to take another route to address the strong clamor for change for which he was elected, he has five years to go in the presidency."

The President Warned China over Spratlys

President Benigno Aquino III warned China in a major national speech the State of the Nation Address (SONA) Monday (July 25, 2011) that the Philippines was ready to defend its Spratly Islands claims by acquiring more weapons and would elevate the territorial feuds to a U.N. tribunal.

In his State of the Nation Address to Congress, Aquino also announced a Ombudsman new chief anti-graft prosecutor and said his year-old government plans to file its first major corruption case this year against corrupt officials and their accomplices. He did not name the officials but vowed punishment for the guilty.

"We do not wish to increase tensions with anyone, but we must let the world know that we are ready to protect what is ours," Aquino said, drawing loud applause at the packed House of Representatives. The address also was televised live to the nation.

Aquino noted the efforts to bolster the military's capability, citing the recent purchase of a U.S. Coast Guard cutter and plans to acquire more patrol vessels, helicopters and weapons in deals he guaranteed would be aboveboard.

Aquino did not name China in his speech but clearly referred to it in laying a clear claim to the South China Sea feature called Recto Bank, also known as the Reed Bank, where the Philippines alleges China has intruded.

"There was a time when we couldn't appropriately respond to threats in our own backyard," Aquino said. "Now, our message to the world is clear: What is ours is ours; setting foot on Recto Bank is no different from setting foot on Recto Avenue."

Recto Avenue is a popular street in downtown Manila. The Philippines has said Chinese forces have repeatedly intruded into Manila-claimed areas in the sea since February, including at the Reed Bank. Filipino officials said two Chinese patrol boats threatened a Filipino oil exploration ship into leaving the Reed Bank, which 84.77 Nautical Miles territorial waters and not part of the nearby Spratlys.

Two military planes were deployed during the March 2 incident, but the Chinese boats have left by the time the aircraft reached the Reed Bank, 97.55 miles (87.77 Nautical Miles or 150 kilometers) from the Philippine coast.

Chinese officials have said there were no intrusions because those in the Philippines shore are belonged to China.

The chain of barren, largely uninhabited islands, reefs and banks in the South China Sea or West Philippines Sea are claimed entirety or partly by China, Taiwan, Malaysia, the Philippines, Vietnam and Brunei.  The Spratlys is said to be the 4^th largest oil and Gas deposit in the World and straddle a busy international sea lane.

The Spratlys have long been regarded as Asia's next potential flashpoint for armed conflict.

Washington has said the peaceful resolution of the territorial disputes and ensuring the freedom of navigation there were in the U.S. national interest, a position that irked China.

The Philippines has said it intends to bring the Spratlys disputes before the U.N.'s International Tribunal on the Law of the Sea. China opposed the plan and wants to negotiate bilaterally instead but the Philippines commented how could we sit together with China when we will face them, they will just say We owned everything the that sea.

Aquino said bringing the case before an international arbiter would ensure that "all involved nations approach the dispute with calm and forbearance."

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Clinton Said: West Philippines Sea- Spratlys is global problem

How to Discuss with China bilaterally when you sit down with them and they will say they owned everything??

The United States on Sunday (July 24, 2011) condemned acts of “intimidation” in the West Philippine Sea / South China Sea and called for greater international attention to resolve maritime disputes that threaten trade.

US Secretary of State Hillary Clinton said a deal between China and Southeast Asian nations on guidelines for future negotiations over the West Philippine Sea, also known as South China Sea, were just a “first step” toward a binding code of conduct.

“We think it was an important first step but only a first step in adopting the declaration of conduct,” Clinton told reporters in Indonesia after attending Asia’s main security forum.

More detailed negotiations are needed to unpick a tangle of maritime stakes in West Philippine Sea, which China claims in its entirety despite rival assertions by Brunei, Malaysia, the Philippines, Taiwan and Vietnam, Clinton said.

China claims all of the South China Sea, even up to the coast of Southeast Asian countries, as part of its historical territory, on the other hand, The Sultanate of Sulu slams the claim of China as the Spratlys Islands and waters is part of their Ancestral domain with bases dates back from the Mahjapahit and Shrivijaya empires, which extended from Sabah (North Borneo), the Sulu archipelago, Palawan, parts of Mindanao, the islands now known as the Spratlys, Palawan, and up to the Visayas and Manila

“There needs to be a lot of dialogue between (Southeast Asian nations) and China… and the rest of the world needs to weigh in because all of us have a stake in ensuring that these disputes don’t get out of control,” she said.

Clinton noted the West Philippine Sea carried about half of global trade and said the international community should be more involved in settling disputes, an idea China has repeatedly rejected while “guaranteeing” free navigation.

She said all territorial claims should be clearly defined and resolved according to the UN Convention on the Law of the Sea, a position shared by most of the claimants except China, which bases its stake on historical maps.

At a meeting with the 10 members of the Association of Southeast Asian Nations on Wednesday in Bali, China agreed to a set of guidelines setting a framework for an eventual code of conduct for the sea.

China and some ASEAN members hailed this as a breakthrough that would defuse the tensions, but the Philippines maintained the guidelines lacked teeth and did not specify what territory is in dispute as the Philippines want to segregate the disputed areas to non disputed areas because invaders are slowly crawling to inside the Philippines waters and creates disputes inspite of the existence of the 2002 DOC.

Clinton said there had been increasing incidents of intimidation, ramming, and the cutting of exploration cables lately – the “kind of things that will raise the cost of doing business for everyone.”

“We are strongly against use of threat or force by any nation to advance its claims,” she said.

“There needs to be very concerted effort to realize a code of conduct and there needs to be a call by the international community for all parties to clarify their claims.”

Her comments are likely to irritate China, which has repeatedly warned the United States not to interfere in its territorial integrity and rejects international pressure to resolve its maritime disputes.

Clinton met Chinese Foreign Minister Yang Jiechi in Bali last week and repeated Washington’s assertion that the United States has a “national interest” in free navigation in the sea.

Yang said later that he had reassured ministers from more than 20 Asia-Pacific countries gathered for the ASEAN Regional Forum that tensions between China and its rival claimants would not affect shipping trade.

“What I told the summit is that freedom of navigation in this region is guaranteed,” Yang told reporters Saturday.

“If there is no guarantee… how do we explain Asia contributed to half of the world’s economy recovery?”

In recent months, the Philippines and Vietnam have expressed anger over what they call China’s increasingly aggressive actions in the potentially resource-rich sea, such as harassing fishermen and oil exploration vessels.

How to Discuss with China bilaterally when you sit down with them and they will say they owned everything??

China keep on resisting against the Philippines call to raise the Spratlys issue to the United Nations (ITLOS) but the big question is none of the ASEAN countries could set beside the dragon as when you set down bilaterally, China will right away declare they owned everything.

There is no justice to happen than to call for the United Nations to mediate.

It is not only China claimed it based on history but also Vietnam and the Sultanate of Sulu (Philippines) back to Mahjapahit and Sri Vijaya empires.

Philippine Foreign Secretary Albert del Rosario said Yang’s comments on freedom of navigation offered little comfort because China maintained its position that no other country had any rights to the sea.

“How can you discuss anything bilaterally when you sit down with them and they say that they own everything?” he said in Bali Saturday (July 23, 2011).

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