Tag: national budget

Will mutineer-turned-‘senator’ Antonio Trillanes IV make a good Philippine president?

November 26, 2014 benign0 20 Comments

The vacuousness of Philippine politics is on a roll, delivering yet another no-surprise revelation: mutineer-turned-‘senator’ Antonio Trillanes IV may be inching his way towards a presidential candidacy for the 2016 elections. His statements on the matter are obviously just feelers at this point. He reportedly stated in Tagalog a few days back that he is…

Crime, Government, Politics

Pork Barrel has evolved from PDAF and DAP into something that is yet-to-be-named

August 14, 2014 benign0 9 Comments

Pork Barrel, the primary feature and, to many Filipino politicians, the whole point of Philippine politics is not dead yet. It remains alive, despite the crushing of its two biggest motherlodes, the so-called Prioritiy Development Assistance Fund (PDAF) and the Disbursement Acceleration Program (DAP). The embryo for the new pork is already baked into the…

Crime, Development, Government, Politics

7 reasons why PNoy’s Disbursement Acceleration Program (DAP) is wrong

August 2, 2014October 9, 2022 Ilda 71 Comments

During his fifth State of the Nation Address, President BS Aquino appeared frustrated at having to keep defending his Disbursement Acceleration Program (DAP) to the Filipino people. At some point during his speech, he became flustered and tried to fight back his tears. A lot of those who witnessed him being emotional felt sorry for…

Crime, Development, Economy, Government, Politics

What we learned from PNoy’s 5th State of the Nation Address

July 29, 2014 benign0 32 Comments

I stand corrected. Last night I issued this rather glib tweet: “So what do we at GRP do now? We predicted EXACTLY what #PNoy was gonna say in #SONA2014. #NoChallenge”. The fact is, Philippine President Benigno Simeon ‘BS’ Aquino III, in the State of the Nation Address (SONA) he delivered before Congress yesterday, did leave…

Development, Economy, Government, Politics

PNoy’s speech should be shut down the minute he attacks the Supreme Court #SONA2014

July 28, 2014July 28, 2014 benign0 9 Comments

What further use to Filipinos is a president who had all but painted himself into a corner? That is essentially the way Philippine President Benigno Simeon ‘BS’ Aquino III will come across to the public today when he delivers his State of the Nation Address (SONA) to joint sessions of Philippine Congress. Rather than see…

Crime, Development, Economy, Government, Politics

Letting PNoy get away with the #DAP sets a precedent for future presidents to violate the law

July 25, 2014July 25, 2014 Ilda 34 Comments

Some members of the Philippine Senate have recently demonstrated how helpless the Filipino public is against the ruling oligarchy. The recently-held “question and answer” session about the Disbursement Acceleration Program (DAP) turned into an opportunity for the senators allied with President Benigno Simeon “BS” Aquino to defend the administration’s unconstitutional use of public funds. No…

Crime, Development, Government

‘Good faith’ was the farthest from the mind of BS Aquino when he came up with the #DAP!

July 18, 2014July 18, 2014 benign0 12 Comments

On one hand, Aquino apologists like to distract public opinion away from the “legalese” surrounding the debate around the manner with which the President used the DAP in order to highlight the nebulous notion of ‘good faith’. But then there is another camp (albeit the more intellectually-diligent amongst them) that invoke aspects of the law…

Crime, Economy, Government

DAP is the result of Noynoy Aquino’s lack of planning, lack of foresight and lack of vision

July 17, 2014July 17, 2014 Ilda 8 Comments

Nobody knew about the Disbursement Acceleration Program (DAP) outside of Philippine President Benigno Simeon “BS” Aquino’s inner circle. Not even the members of Congress and the Senate knew the program existed until the President was forced to defend giving additional P50 million each to the Senators who convicted former Supreme Court Chief Justice Renato Corona…

Crime, Development, Economy, Government, Politics