Palace officials defend PNoy's SONA from critics

Criticisms that President Aquino delivered motherhood statements in his second State of the Nation Address (SONA) on Monday and that he failed to say where he is taking the country in the next five years are a “rehash," Malacañang said Tuesday. “I think that’s a broken record, that’s a rehash. If they say that our SONA is a rehash, I think their complaints and their statements are a rehash of what they expected our SONA to be," said presidential spokesman Edwin Lacierda. Aquino had a lot more important things to say than bash former President and now Pampanga Rep. Gloria Macapagal-Arroyo and her allies, Laciera said, noting the figures Aquino cited in his speech SONA were verifiable. “We will prove to the naysayers that this administration is going to change society, is going improve the lives of the people, and we are going to deliver on our promises," he added. “Mahirap kumbinsihin po ang isang nagbubulag-bulagan o nagbibingi-bingihan… The proof of the pudding is in the eating," he said. The President mentioned the Catholic bishops in his speech in order to dispel the conflict with the Church and start a dialogue with its new leadership, and was not related to the controversial Reproductive Health bill now pending in Congress, according to the Palace official. The Freedom of Information bill was not mentioned because government is still working on it, Lacierda said. Reservations over FOI bill Aquino has reservations that the proposed FOI bill can be abused, and he wants to clear the issue first before putting it the priority list, Executive Secretary Paquito Ochoa Jr. said The Legislative-Executive Development Advisory Council, which will discuss the priority bills, would probably meet in August, Ochoa said. “[The President] fully emphasized that there’s no other way for this country to go but to have a good government, a clean government, and he demonstrated his strong resolve and his firmness in really adhering to his principles in cleaning up the government. Because to him, he’s trying to convey to us the real meaning of what public service is," the executive secretary said. The slower economic growth in the first year of the Aquino administration could be due to the “transition" attitude of businessmen and investors, Ochoa said. “But it’s natural that people, investors… There’s a bit of a lull siguro na nangyari in the investing public. Medyo nanood muna at nagkaroon ng slow down a bit in the implementations of these programs dahil it’s normal, it’s not because of anybody’s fault. Merong normal transition period that really delays some of these policies," he said. The Aquino administration has been successful in encouraging investors and pushing economic growth, he added. — VS, GMA News