I was one of the millions who watched President Aquino deliver his lengthy fourth State of the Nation Address. I expected that in the end he would make a historic and brave decision that would set off thunderous applause not just from the audience but throughout the nation.
What the whole nation expected was for him to announce that he was abolishing the pork barrel system, the party-list system and the Sangguniang Kabataan and all other agencies created by past administrations, which serve only as opportunities for graft and corruption.
If the President wants his “matuwid na daan” to be genuine and realistic, he should totally abolish the pork barrel. And the Filipino taxpayers will surely rejoice for they have seen enough. Because no matter how careful the President is in releasing pork barrel funds to his selected honest political allies, he can’t really be sure because corruption is already a culture and most politicians in the Philippines are by nature corrupt.
However, big government projects amounting to hundreds of millions or billions of pesos should be given directly by the President to foreign contractors with good records but never to Filipino small contractors. Of course, foreign contractors could charge higher than local contractors, but the quality of their finished project is five to 10 times better and the projects themselves are always completely finished.
What a tragedy and great mistake it would be for the President if at the end of his term the pork barrel, party-list and SK systems remain. Then his “matuwid na daan” will be just a beautiful but unrealized dream.
—HERNANDO GORGOÑA, Mapayapa Village 3, Quezon City