Benigno Simeon "Noynoy" C.

Aquino III

Personal Information:

Date of Birth: February 8, 1960 Place of Birth: Manila Religion: Catholic Civil Status: Single

Educational Background:

Elementary: Ateneo de Manila University, 1973 High School: Ateneo de Manila University, 1977 College: BA Economics, Ateneo de Manila University, 1981

Platform:

Continuously fight for democracy

Track Record:

1998-present

Representative, 2nd district, Tarlac House of Representatives

1996-June 1998 Field Services Manager, Central Azucarera, Tarlac 1993-1996 1986-1993 Executive Assistant for Administration, Central Azucarera, Tarlac Vice President, Instra-Strata Assurance Corp

1986-1993 1985-1986 1985-1986 1983-1984

Vice President and Treasurer, Best Security Agency Corp. Assistant for Advertising and Promotion, Mondragon Philippines Retail Sales Supervisor, Nike Shoes Member, Philippine Business for Social Progress

Affiliations:

Organization

Position Former chairman

Pacific Asia Network

Philippine Cooperative Center Former chairman National Cooperative Movement Philippine Jaycees Former chairman

Former national president

August Twenty-One Movement Chairman Committees 1. BANKS AND FINANCIAL INTERMEDIARIES, Member for the Majority 2. ENERGY, Member for the Majority 3. EXPORT PROMOTION, Member for the Majority 4. PUBLIC ORDER AND SAFETY, Member for the Majority

PROMISES VS. ACCOMPLISHMENTS FOR THE FIRST 100 DAYS

The first one hundred days of a newly-installed president is said to be a reflection on how his administration will run for the next 6 years. It may be too early for some, but this tradition has become an awaited day for different sectors of the society.

As President Aquino as he reaches this milestone in his presidency, the following is an attempt to give a summary of his administrations accomplishments and recognitions of his first 100 days in office vis--vis the Social Contract he used during the election campaign period.

Out of the 16 provisions for change included in the social contract, the following has been addressed during PNoy's first 100 days:

PROMISE: (1) From a President who tolerates corruption to a President who is the nations first and most determined fighter of corruption.

ACCOMPLISHMENTS:

Implemented Executive Order # 7 which suspends the privileges of executives of 122 Government Owned and Controlled Corporations (GOCCs).

Halted anomalous government contracts and transactions (i.e. DND helicopters procurement, DPWH negotiated contracts, NAIA 3 issue, Laguna de Bay project) which saved millions of government funds from misuse.

Pursued Zero-Based Budgeting to check and audit whether proposed projects are of importance and benefit to the citizens.

DoF launched the Pera ng Bayan website which encouraged ordinary citizens to report instances of corruption in their areas and local government units.

Philippines was removed from the Organization of Economic Cooperation & Development (OECD) tax haven gray list after seeing that the country has substantially implemented the internationally-agreed tax standards by introducing new legislation.

PROMISE: (2) From a government that merely conjures economic growth statistics that our people know to be unreal to a government that prioritizes jobs that empower the people and provide them with opportunities to rise above poverty.

ACCOMPLISHMENTS:

Foreign Investments amounting to $ 2.4 billion dollars is expected to come in which will directly generate 43,600 jobs for the Filipinos.

Jumpstarted Public-Private Partnerships (PPP) which is expected to generate more jobs once bidding for the projects is done.

Strengthened implementation of conditional cash transfers, benificiaries for next year increased to 2.3 million for 2011 from 1 million families this year.

PROMISE: (3) From relegating education to just one of many concerns to making education the central strategy for investing in our people, , reducing poverty and building national competitiveness.

ACCOMPLISHMENTS:

Budget for education for 2011 is up from 175 billion pesos to 207.3 billion pesos to spend for the construction of 13,147 classrooms and hiring of 10,000 teachers.

DepEd unveiled its proposed K+12 curriculum to improve education system in the Philippines.

PROMISE: (4) From treating health as just another area for political patronage to recognizing the advancement and protection of public health which includes responsible parenthood, as key measures of good governance.

ACCOMPLISHMENTS:

Budget for health for 2011 is up from 29.3 billion pesos to 33.3 billion pesos for the implementation of a National Health Program.

DOH held the PhilHealth National Registration Day which targeted 4.7 million indigent families.

Supported distribution of contraceptives to poor couples who would request for it despite strong church opposition.

PROMISE: (8) From government anti-poverty programs that instill a dole-out mentality to wellconsidered programs that build capacity and create opportunity among the poor and the marginalized in the country.

ACCOMPLISHMENTS:

$ 59 million grant from World bank was granted to continue the KALAHI-CIDSS program which aims to help poor communities develop the necessary skills and provides them with resources to select, implement, and sustain small-scale community infrastructure projects and social services

$4 430 million grant from Millennium Challenge Corporation was approved which will be used to finance poverty alleviation, road construction and tax administration improvement projects.

PROMISE: (11) From Presidential appointees chosen mainly out of political accommodation to discerning selection based on integrity, competence and performance in serving the public good.

ACCOMPLISHMENTS:

Recalled, withdrew and revoked midnight appointees through implementation of Executive Order # 2.

PROMISE: (12) From demoralized but dedicated civil servants, military and police personnel destined for failure and frustration due to inadequate operational support to to professional, motivated and energized bureaucracies adequate means to perform their public service missions.

ACCOMPLISHMENTS:

pgraded weather forecasting facilities of PAGASA which brought more accurate and more up-to-date weather bulletins and warnings.

ECONOMIC IMPROVEMENTS

Gross International Reserves is now at an all-time high 52.3 billion dollars.

Philippine Stock Exchange Index reached its all-time high at 4,196.73 which led to recognizing PSE as one of the best-performing stock market in Asia.

PNoys CHALLENGES ON FIRST 100 DAYS

Significant improvements and accomplishments may have been achieved but several controversies also rocked President Aquinos administration which makes his first 100 days in office not a walk in the park. Do you remember the following issues?

Manila Hostage crisis, which placed the Philippines in world center stage and outraged the international community. A dismissed police officer by the name of Rolando Mendoza hi-jacked a bus full of tourists which left eight Hong Kong nationals dead.

Archbishop Oscar Cruz accused some of his trusted officials, including DILG Undersecretary Rico Puno, as protectors of jueteng operations and receivers of jueteng payola.

The Catholic Church threatened to excommunicate him due to his position to provide couples an informed choice in planning their families.

s he delivers his first State of the Nation Address (Sona) on Monday, July 26, Sun.Star outlined some of the promises he made during the campaign and even those he disclosed in his inaugural speech and what he has done in his first 100 days in Malacanang.

On education

The President has vowed not to disregard the needs of Filipino students.

We will begin by addressing the glaring shortage in classrooms and educational facilities, he said. Quality education, including vocational education, so that those who choose not to attend college or those who cannot afford it can find dignified livelihood.

One of the unpopular but distinguished moves the President wanted is the additional two years in the basic education curriculum.

While his proposal solicited oppositions from various sectors, he was apparently doing his assignment on addressing the gap of the Philippine education and among the leading countries in the world.

According to Unesco Institute of Statistics, countries with excellent education system sets three or fouryear-old entry to pre-primary education with a duration of at least three years.

The Philippines, on the other hand, sets an entry age to pre-primary education to five with only one year duration of training. While leading countries have 12 to 13 years in basic education, we only have 10.

Even if we enhance the curriculum, Aquino somehow understand the dilemma that how can we, having 10-year basic education program, could possibly compete to leading nations with more years in learning and having superior curriculums.

But he already took the first step of overhauling our education system.

Few days after, he ordered the review of the school textbooks. The move aims to prevent erroneous books that the education department had been feeding to schoolchildren in the preceding school years.

Antonio Calipjo Go, academic supervisor of Marian School of Quezon City, has been asked by Education Undersecretary Vilma Labrador to speak on a seminar to avoid errors in public school textbooks.

The Department of Education is also set to receive P10 million worth of confiscated woods from the Department of Environment and Natural resources for the construction of school furniture.

Education Secretary Armin Luistro, during the turnover ceremonies, promised that his department will address and finish all issues in education in two years.

On infrastructure

We will lessen the lack of infrastructures for transportation, tourism, and trade, said Aquino on infrastructure.

From now on, mediocre work will not be good enough when it comes to roads, bridges, and buildings because we will hold contractors responsible for maintaining their projects in good condition, the President further said.

With it, he has given a clear-cut directive to the Department of Public Works and Highways to utilize the P5-billion Motor Vehicle Users Charge (MVUC), or the Road Users Tax.

This is to improve the safety standards of national roads, said Public Works and Highways Secretary Rogelio Singson.

On labor

The goal of the Aquino government is to create jobs at home so there will be no need to look for employment abroad.

We will revive the emergency employment program established by former President Corazon Aquino. This will provide jobs for local communities and will help in the development of their and our economy, said Aquino.

He then ordered the Department of Foreign Affairs, Philippine Overseas Employment Administration, Overseas Workers Welfare Administration, and other relevant agencies to be even more responsive to the needs and welfare of our overseas Filipino workers.

He also assigned Labor Secretary Rosalinda Baldoz to prepare new measures to boost the protection of household service workers (HWS) abroad while reviving the emergency employment program established by her mother, former President Corazon Aquino.

Sana pagtuunan nya ng pansin yung kakulangan ng trabaho ngayon. Yun lang talaga ang gusto namin na magkaroon ng mas maraming trabaho para sa mahihirap, said Marieta Paredes, a 39-year-old factory worker from Cavite.

The Aquino administration launched the "Strengthening National Capacities to Support the Philippine Program Against Child Labors Vision of a Child Labor-Free Philippines" program to reduce the incidence of the worst forms of child labor (WFCL) in the country by 75 percent.

On tax collection

The President aims to strengthen collections by the Bureau of Internal Revenue (BIR), thus fight corruption in the Bureau of Customs (BOC).

With this, the augmentation and strict implementation of the countrys slumbering tax measures was his lucid order to the BIR while the hunting of smugglers was his clear directive to the BOC.

In three weeks, the government has filed tax evasion case against William Villarica, proprietor of W Villarica Pawnshop, who is faking his tax remittances, paying only P25,607.25 from 1998 to 2009 while owning multi-million real estate properties and expensive cars, among others.

The BOC also collared two companies that are using decoys in their operation in the Philippines. It charged Eduardo Saguid of Gold Mind Trading and Nestor Ignacio of Quick Flo Trading for multiple counts of smuggling.

Likewise, BIR is set to impose a 12 percent value added tax (VAT) on toll fees in all tollways across the country starting August 16.

On health

Improved public health services such as PhilHealth for all within three years was the Presidents target on health.

The Department of Health, in response, set a goal to increase to 70 percent the current PhilHealth coverage from 30 to 40 percent of a members health care expenses.

Health Secretary Enrique Ona also proposed a P9-billion allocation so the poor will be ensured of PhilHealth enrollment this year.

On security

We will strengthen the Armed Forces and the police, not to serve the interests of those who want to wield power with impunity, but to give added protection for ordinary folk, said President Aquino.

In line with this, the Philippine National Police (PNP) and Armed Forces Philippines (AFP) have been ordered by the President to look into the recent extrajudicial killings including five activists and a journalist.

Aquino has retained Director General Jesus Verzosa as PNP chief. In the AFP, there was controversy on who will be AFP chief after the President refused to acknowledge Delfin Bangit as military head.

Bangit, who was appointed by former President Gloria Macapagal-Arroyo, later decided to quit from his post. Aquino then named Lieutenant General Ricardo David as his AFP chief.

On Friday, Aquino said that politics has ceased to exist in the ranks of the military, following his assumption to the presidency.

On agriculture

To prevent the cycle of the fertilizer fund scam, which hounded the Arroyo administration, Aquino directed the Department of Agriculture to set up trading centers that will directly link farmers and consumers thereby eliminating middlemen and opportunities for corruption.

We will help them (farmers) with irrigation, extension services, and marketing their products at the best possible prices, said Aquino.

Last July 1 in a press conference, Agriculture Secretary Proceso Alcala disclosed that they are reviewing possible commodities, which could be traded in each region, promising to boost the sugar productions within five years.

In this way, funds can be shared by farmers and consumers," he pointed out.

But Yoyong Merida, chairman of the Panaw Sumilao in Bukidnon, said: "Ang pinaka gusto naming marinig sa kanya ay yung pagbabahagi ng lupa para sa mga magsasaka. Sana wag nyang kalimutan yung mga magsasaka."

Sana marinig din namin kung gaano sya kaseryoso sa land reform na ang tagal na naming hinahanap at gustong makita, Merida noted.

On peace in Mindanao

In the pursuit of peace, the Aquino government is on the final stage in the composition of the Government of the Republic of the Philippines (GRP) panels commissioned at making peace talks with the Moro Islamic Liberation Front and the New People's Army.

My government will be sincere in dealing with all the peoples of Mindanao. We are committed to a peaceful and just settlement of conflict, inclusive of the interests of all may they be Lumads, Bangsamoro or Christian, the President earlier said.

On corruption

And who would forget his campaign slogan Kung walang corrupt, walang mahirap.

During his historic inauguration at the Quirino Grandstand in Manila last June 30, Aquino bared his Truth Commission, adding that this is what he promised the Filipino people.

This is the body that I promised that will close so many issues. They will collate data and evidence and, in turn, with assistance of Department of Justice, they will prepare and prosecute the cases to make sure that those who committed the crimes will pay, Aquino said.

He appointed former Chief Justice Hilario Davide to head the Truth Commission.

But the structure of this body has yet to be finalized.

The Truth Commission is tasked at investigating cases against the Arroyo government including the ZTENBN deal, "Hello Garci" scandal, and fertilizer scam.

While all that have been mentioned are the few but notable accomplishments of Aquino in his early days in Malacanang, the truth remains that a lot has to be done.

And that the Filipino people will continue to assess the governance of the man, whose legislative accomplishments were subjected to scrutiny during the campaign period, but who he is now apparently initiating the genuine transformation this country needs.

In the words of Abdul Hamil Ulanen, a 23-year-old security guard in Maharlika Village in Paranaque City, "Dahil bago pa lang naman sya sa pwesto, hindi pa natin nakikita lahat ng ipinangako nya nung eleksyon. Pero umaasa kami na hindi na naman yun mga pangakong mapapako.

These are the events I found significant in the life of Noynoy Aquino:

1. After the murder of his father, the late Benigno Aquino, Sr. he had a short tenure as a member of Philippine Business for Social Progress in 1983. 2. Aquino was hit by five bullets, one of which is still embedded in his neck during an unsuccessful coup attempt by Gregorio Honasan in August 28, 1987. 3. He was elected in 1998 to the House of Representatives representing the 2nd District of Tarlac. 4. In May 14, 2007, he was elected to the Senate in midterm elections under the party of the Genuine Opposition (GO) 5. Calls for him to run for higher officer reached its peak after the death of President Corazon Aquino and he decided after a retreat that he would run as a candidate for the Presidency in the Philippine 2010 National Elections.

Feb. 8, 1960: Born as the only son and third of five children of Senator Benigno Ninoy Aquino Jr. and Corazon Cory Cojuangco Aquino, who will later be hailed as democracy icons for their opposition to dictator Ferdinand Marcos.

Aug. 21, 1983: Father is assassinated upon return from U.S. exile to unite the political opposition against Marcos, triggering massive protests.

Feb. 25, 1986: Mother Corazon Cory Aquino takes oath as president at the end of the four-day people power revolt that ousted Marcos, who flees with his family to Hawaii. Marcos dies in Honolulu three years later.

Aug. 28, 1987: Wounded and left for dead in an ambush by rebel troops during a coup attempt, one of seven by right-wing military officers that clobbered his mothers rule.

May 1998: Elected to his first three-year term as congressman representing his northern home district of Tarlac province. Re-elected to two more terms in the House of Representatives before winning a Senate seat.

June 2005: Joins the opposition seeking the impeachment of President Gloria Macapagal Arroyo, his former economics professor, over allegations she rigged the 2004 elections and corruption.

Aug. 1, 2009: Mother Corazon Cory Aquino dies of colon cancer. Massive outpouring of emotion for the Philippines democracy icon generates groundswell of support for Aquinos presidential candidacy.

May 10, 2010: Elected president by a landslide on strong anti-corruption platform, promising to investigate alleged wrongdoing of outgoing President Arroyo.