By Antonio Trillanes IV
ANTI-CORRUPTION
· A bill that would reengineer government processes to reduce bureaucratic red tape and minimize the points of contact between the public official and client. This would hasten business transactions, encourage economic activities and minimize opportunities for bribery and extortion practices.
· A bill that would overhaul and rationalize the auditing processes of the Commission on Audit (COA) to make it more effective as an anti-corruption watchdog.
· A bill providing for a new and more comprehensive “Anti-Graft and Corruption Practices Act” that would promote accountability and transparency in public service(e.g. all public officials shall sign a waiver of their rights under the Bank Secrecy Law) and governance and would increase to the maximum possible extent the administrative and criminal liabilities of corrupt government officials.
· A bill that would provide for automatic and periodic wage review and increase for all government employees, which would be based on the inflation rate within every 3-year period. This is a proven effective anti-corruption policy employed by other countries. It also intends to provide for a decent standard of living for all government employees as well as to attract qualified people from the private sector to join government.
ANTI-POVERTY
· A bill creating a permanent anti-poverty commission with tenured leadership with automatic, adequate and independent funding that would draft and implement strategic, long-term and comprehensive anti-poverty and poverty alleviation programs of the Government.
· A bill providing for a comprehensive school-based feeding program in the ‘poorest of the poor’ communities of the country to fight malnutrition and poverty as well as help promote and encourage regular school attendance by poor school children.
· A bill that would promote and fund microfinance to provide small and medium enterprises, cooperatives and micro entrepreneurs with adequate and affordable credit. This would encourage economic activities and create income and employment for the poor.
PEACE & ORDER
· A bill that would define the peace & order policy of the country.
· A new AFP modernization bill that is more responsive to the needs of the organization and of the nation and which would create a leaner but more effective Armed Forces.
· A resolution that would recommend the amendments of the constitutional provision requiring all AFP officers for promotion to the rank of colonel or higher, to go through the Commission of Appointments. Instead, only the promotions for the positions of AFP Chief of Staff and the three (3) service commanders would pass through the CA. This would insulate senior officers from members of Congress who seek political accommodations and concessions in exchange for confirmation. Also included in this resolution is the fixing of the term of office of the AFP chief of staff and the major service commanders to three (3) years. This would prevent the internal politics among generals caused by the ‘revolving door’ policy employed by the past and present administrations; help restore meritocracy in the AFP promotion system; and ensure that policies and reforms are institutionalized.
· A bill that would reduce the number of AFP generals. This would significantly streamline the organization and free up more resources that could be re-channeled to operating units; for materiel acquisition; and morale and welfare needs.
· A bill that would provide for a complete reorganization, re-training and re-indoctrination of the PNP. This intends to professionalize its ranks to make it a better law enforcement arm of the State.
· A Bill that would increase the salaries of all AFP personnel to a level befitting their noble service to the country
· A bill that would increase the combat pay of AFP groud troops ( i.e. Army and Marines) from P240/month to 25% of their base pay.
· A bill that would increase the subsistence allowance of all AFP personnel from P60.00/day to at least P150/day
EDUCATION, HEALTH & SOCIAL SERVICES
· A bill that would create at least one (1) state college or university in every region to afford poor but deserving students adequate opportunities to finish tertiary education.
· A bill that would make college education more accessible to the poor by strengthening and providing more funds to the state scholarship system and to the ‘study now, pay later’ program of the Government.
· A bill that would promote, as well as regulate informal education, vocational and technical education as well as distance learning methods.
· A bill that would raise the salaries and wages of public school teachers, professors and lecturers of state colleges and universities to a level befitting the dignity of their exalted professions.
· A bill which would provide for the creation and/or strengthening of health centers in every barangay with adequate funding in order to provide basic health care services (including mandatory inoculation) as well as health education with emphasis on disease prevention, detection and control, pre-natal and child care and basic family planning education (with due regard to religious belief of the participants).
· Through the General Appropriations bill, prioritize and allocate more funds and resources for education (textbooks, school buildings, subsidy of state colleges, and hiring of more teachers), anti-poverty programs (MBN-type programs, livelihood projects, street children education and rehabilitation), health care (medicine, vaccinations, disease control and prevention, reproductive health, home for the aged/disabled), mass housing, basic infrastructure (farm-to-market roads, national highways, bridges, ports and airports) and agricultural modernization.
7 comments:
Sonny Trillanes: The Bicolano Eagle
I have had the unique privilege of observing from the sidelines the young and idealistic officers and soldiers belonging to the Magdalo Group since our law office serves as counsel for twelve (12) of these young men in the coup d’ etat case filed against them at the Regional Trial Court of Makati.
I am particularly impressed by the spokesman and most renowned member of the group, LTSG. ANTONIO F. TRILLANES IV or “Sonny” as he is called by his friends. Like myself, Sonny Trillanes traces his roots from Bicol. I understand that his father, Antonio Sr., who is a graduate of the PMA like him, hails from Ligao in my home province of Albay at the heart of Bicolandia.
What particularly impresses me about this young man is not only his strength of character, moral courage and fortitude in the face of adversity but his selfless sense of duty to country and to his fellow Filipinos.
Not everybody agrees with what they did at Oakwood on July 27, 2003 but it cannot be denied that these young soldiers stood up and placed not only their careers and the future of their families but their very own lives on the line to fight for what they believe in. I wonder how many of our politicians today will ever have the moral courage to do this.
The Magdalo Group blew the whistle on the massive, systematic and well-entrenched if not institutionalized corruption in the Armed Forces of the Philippines (AFP). Two years later, they were vindicated when this fact was confirmed with the prosecution and conviction of AFP Comptroller and Army Major Gen. Carlos F. Garcia, among others.
You will remember that despite the tense and volatile situation at the Makati Commercial Center at that time, Sonny’s group conducted themselves as the fine officers and perfect gentlemen they were, choosing to courteously escort guests out of the Oakwood Premier Hotel to get them out of harm’s way instead of trying to take advantage of them and using them as ‘human shields’.
Likewise, these soldiers even had the decency to pay for their rooms as well as the food they consumed both at the hotel and at the supermarket even when no one was looking, an admirable display of honesty which we rarely see among public servants today, uniformed or otherwise. I know not everyone would admit it but I think we were all a little amazed and extremely proud of the conduct of these soldiers when we heard about this. I am sure I was.
Indeed, they have fired-up our collective imagination and made us dream of what could be achieved if only there were more soldiers and policemen and bureaucrats and other public servants who are like them: honest, decent and upright to the end, even when no one is looking.
In the course of their ordeal during the last three (3) years, I have come to learn that numerous attempts have been made to convince Sonny and his group to capitulate, give-up their fight and just rejoin the fold and resume their careers with the rest of the apolitical, apathetic mainstream of the Armed Forces. These attempts were made with express promises of better treatment, lighter penalties and/or outright liberty. Admirably, Sonny and his group refused to be bought.
Sonny Trillanes recently announced that he is seriously considering the possibility of running for the Senate.
Again, I am sure not everyone would agree with this development. In fact, I know that many people are questioning his intellectual capacity, capability and political maturity for the position. Everyone is entitled to his own opinion.
As for me, I would rather have a political neophyte like Sonny Trillanes, whose ability to put love for country and service to the public above everything else is already proven, serving in any public office, whether the same be in the Senate, the House of Representative or the Executive and even the Judiciary, anytime rather than have someone who may be competent, well-experienced and who exudes politically savvy but whose heart is not in the proper place.
I know it is rather early but I am going to make a bold and brave prediction: Sonny Trillanes, if he ever runs for public office, would be the hottest upcoming Bicolano political rising star of the next decade.
I know he has what it takes and as long as he remains humble and success does not go into his head, he has the making of a major political persona in the moulds of Raul Roco, Blas F. Ople, Claro M. Recto and other statesmen.
In fact, if he does not change, he has the making of the first ever Bicolano President of the Republic, a true Bicolano Eagle bound to soar high into the political stratosphere of the land.
JOSELITO GUIANAN CHAN
Senior Managing Partner
Chan Robles and Associates
The Grand Alliance 2007 is a multi-secoral alliance pushing for RH, Gendern ARH and population development issues. We are happy to see that RH/FP is included in your program. More power! visit our blog at www.grand-alliance-2007.blogspot.com
I am an OFW based in Jeddah, KSA and I believe in Sonny's advocacies and proposed legislative programs. It's time we put, into the halls of the Senate, a man of courageous mind with high moral standards.
I would like to volunteer my services for the candidacy of Sonny Trillanes. I am a computer programmer and a web developer/webmaster by profession, and I believe my expertise can help a lot, especially in pursuing his campaign strategy which is to harness the power of information and communication technology to propel his campaign.
I'm reading through the legislative program and it seems that while some thought has been put into it, not much research has been done. for instance, under anti-poverrty, Trillanes calls for a permanent commission, which actually exists now as the National Anti-Poverty Commission, organized under RA8425 approved under the time of Ramos. i used to work with NAPC and in my stint there, i can see that NAPC itself has a good potential to mobilize government to really move on poverty reduction. What's important is to stop the politicking that happens inside, the power playing, the budget sniping and, god! save them from the ego-tripping.
I can say that the team I worked with before (the time of Imelda Nicolas) were tops, and we prioritized microfinance (also one of the elements in Trillanes' anti-poverty legislative agenda).
On the whole, I think the campaign needs people who can input on these technical issues, and do research on these facts.
Of course, having said that, I must admit that among the senators running now, Trillanes would have a slot on my list. Lets call it my "dark horse" vote. I usually give one everytime i vote... who knows, with everyone voting for a dark horse, he might just win.
It's time to put someone who really cares for his constituents in the senate.
I was impressed by your phone call campaign. I was impressed also by how you did not want to emulate other politicians.
Expect for my support in the 2007 elections!
JP
The list is impressive. You have my vote but we will take your word as an officer and a gentleman that you will battle corruption at all levels when you are elected into office.
The Philippines needs leaders like you and I wish you luck in your campaign.
Mabuhay!
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