"Still the same as his old bosses."

"Still the same as his old Bosses..."

(Or will President Benigno 'NoyNoy' Aquino III 

justify his Disbursement Acceleration Program like any other predecessor

 in this coming State of the Nation Address)

Seems that everybody's prepared for the coming speech this Monday, as various groups are making statements all concerning the nation's plight in anticipation and response to the head of state's official speech and its supporting statements made by his clique straight from Malacanang and Batasang Pambansa.

Ranging from streamers to speeches, groups seemed to curry favor with the people whether to support or oppose the present administration with the latter being heard upon by mainstream media through a series of protests condemning controversial and unpopular policies. Those whom are in favor had to justify as much as they could the campaigns made by the present administration with its anti-corruption, anti-poverty, up to condemning those who oppose as paid hacks of the opposition without any justification except that they're opposing the administration's policies.

The administration would discuss about projects, growth, citing numbers and even more in which people likely to ridicule. However, the most expected to be discussed about in the session hall and heard by the populace will be the controversial "Disbursement Acceleration Program" (DAP) in which President Noynoy Aquino called as a stimulus package in supporting the economy.


Of failed disbursement packages 

and desperately-made alibis

Basing on his speech last time in Malacañang, he stated that even the World Bank said that the Gross National Product had rose during the last quarter of 2011 due to the program itself, as well as DAP supported various projects being bragged upon such as schools and electrification projects.

Speaking of those projects being bragged upon, he cited that from 18 out of 8000 schools according to the Department of Education, DAP had resolved a backlog of 66,800 classrooms. It is also the same DAP, made last 2012, in which 1.264 billion pesos were made available to electrify a total of 6,163 sitios—out of the 36,000 that need to be electrified.

But did it resolve the crisis? It is estimated that there is a shortage of 66,000 classrooms and 33,000 school teachers. While rotating brownouts continue especially in Mindanao. Crisis continue to prevail in spite of the programs given, with or without DAP or its predecessor PDAF.

And in spite babbling words such as development and rising GDP rates, it rather end stunted national growth by discontinuing proposed plans citing politics (like northrail), further cuts in budgets (especially in education and social services), commercializing state assets like health care and education (like UP and PCMC), and other kinds of bullshit to be justified trying to sneer people all through the ears (like DAP and its superficial 'effects'). The path that is righteous has become a road to nowhere, and with all the controversies given, the head of state has to create a series of justifications that actually made everyone think of it as washing dirty linen in front of the rest (alongside denials); they had even afford to use World Bank's statement that DAP had brought growth in its Gross Domestic Product in the last quarter of 2011, only to be respond by IBON foundation stating that Malacañang is lying in its very own statement; it said that the World Bank report actually stated about a small percentage of DAP being spent (further lowered last 2010), while Sonny Africa, also from IBON, stated that "the economic growth babbled by president Aquino didn't even create sufficient jobs, income, and increase living standards of the majority", while DAP "didn't even stimulate the economy" and Aquino's statement citing progress "isn't even felt by the people".


Still the same as his old bosses

Well, to cut this long story short, the speech will always stays the same: that President Noynoy Aquino is as same as his old bosses: neoliberal, reactionary, corrupt trying to present as reformist, righteous and progressive. He would appeal to the people as much as he can with new terms and recycled statements the way he justified DAP regardless of the intrigue surrounding the program as a "pork replacement" and used to pay legislators supporting impeachment against ex-Chief Justice Corona. He would afford to brag the projects made using that DAP like those of PAGASA's Project NOAH, but it is also the same DAP that used to pay landlords such as the contested Hacienda Luisita.

Furthermore, there are questions in which the present system has to answer (and likely not be replied): Where's the so-called progress brought by that DAP since there's no job creation nor making education and social services affordable to the common man with state colleges and universities gone commercialized and hospitals gone privatized through Public-Private Partnerships? Did that DAP also supported PhilHealth, PAGIBIG, SSS and GSIS alongside voluntary contributions? Is DAP also being used for the Conditional Cash Transfer program?

Remember, most private hospitals nowadays didn't accept PhilHealth cards regardless of the contrinutions, while UP continues its controversial Socialized Tuition Scheme that increases tuition and other fees, the CCT that was once abhorred by Aquino in his presidential campaign as a source of corruption under Arroyo is eventually being tolerated instead of being scrapped as a social welfare program.  And DAP? DAP is nothing but an extension of Pork; and like CARP, it tries to present itself as "reformed" to look more appealing to the populace no matter how illegal it is, much more that it had allowed Malacanang to juggle savings, unprogrammed funds and allocations for slow-moving projects to priority projects.

The Supreme Court, in declaring DAP as unconstitutional, also ruled that the Palace usurped the power of Congress in implementing the program. While Congressman Neri Colmenares of Bayan Muna had criticized the administration's use of the 1987 Administration Code to justify DAP as means to allocate funds:

“His use of Section 39 of the 1987 Administration Code is not even right because the section pertains to savings. The Supreme Court said that DAP was not savings, therefore Section 39 does not apply. Also, a mere administration code cannot trump the Constitution,” 

Anyways, this coming State of the Nation Address, people should know that the system is all but doing the same procedure. Alibis and justifications, paper reforms and actual reactions, rherotics primarily made merely to appease the people followed by a truncheon to justify its so-called "goals."

And its up to the people how to respond to their reactionary procedures.