ShareThis
October 1, 2010
Before he flew to the United States on September 20, President Benigno S. Aquino III sent a message to the Filipino community in the San Francisco Bay Area through a local newspaper.
In his message, the President said that the people’s victory in the last May 2010 elections is a clear indication that the whole nation is rallying behind our agenda to pursue the straight and righteous path. “Guided by the principles of competence, integrity, and compassion, we have already begun implementing policies that will allow us to transform our nation,” he stressed.
“It has barely been three months since we started, yet we have been seeing encouraging results – business confidence is high, the stock exchange is rallying to its highest levels in history, the first ever peso-dominated global bonds were thirteen times oversubscribed, and there is a newfound vibrancy emanating from our populace. Finally, a bright future is upon us.”
The President added: “This is the kind of optimism that we bring with us when we come to the United States this September. Aside from meeting global leaders, we will also be talking to investors who have expressed renewed interest in investing in the Philippines. We are expecting to generate tens of thousands of jobs during these meetings. We are also set to receive a $430 million grant from the US government’s Millennium Challenge Corporation, which will help us in fulfilling our own Millennium Development Goals.”
On September 28, the President, after spending several days in New York and two days in San Francisco and San Jose area in California, arrived back in the Philippines. Upon his arrival, he reported to the Filipino people that he had garnered for the country a total of $2.4 billion in new investments that are expected to trigger thousands of jobs for the people. The President had earlier met with company officials who wanted to expand their scope of operations in the country due to the renewed vigor and confidence of the Philippines under his administration.
“In the last week during our visit to the United States, we were able to send our message across: the Philippines is open for business,” the President added. And the results, indeed, were tremendous.
President Aquino concluded his message to the people through the same paper with the following words: “My countrymen, the Philippines has taken the first big steps towards change. We have a government that is committed to our transformation agenda and a populace that is ready to do its part. Together, let us all dream again. With the people on our side, let us now fulfill the potential of our great nation.”
Great rhetoric from a man who must now be getting a handle on his communication. Good rhetoric, however, must be matched with action if it were to have integrity. It’s only his record of achievements and fulfilled promises to the people and nothing else, that will make a difference in his country that was ravaged by decades of corruption, lawlessness and abuse of power.
Despite some unpopular positions and missteps he made in his early phase of his administration, President Noynoy still has the backing of most of those who voted for and supported him. If he stays true to his promise and continues to champion the cause of justice, and good governance, his administration will endure and the people’s dream will be alive again and refuse to die.