3rd Reaction Paper

Palace: Government focus spending on 5 key areas

MANILA, Philippines (Xinhua) -- The Philippine government will focus its spending on President Aquino's five key result areas of the Social Contract with the Filipino People in the next five years, a senior government official said today.

Budget and Management Secretary Florencio Abad lauded Executive Order (E.O.) No. 43 for providing focus in the use of government resources, ensuring the optical impact of programs, projects and activities of government.

"With our limited resources, each peso we spend should count in achieving good governance, empowering the poor, promoting inclusive growth, securing peace and the rule of law, and protecting our environment," said Abad.

"From this year until 2016, funding for all programs, projects and activities that are oriented to and aligned with these five Social Contract priorities will be scaled up. Meanwhile, those which are unaligned will be scaled-down, if not eliminated altogether," he said.

Mr. Aquino has issued E.O. No. 43, which directs all departments and agencies to orient their programs, projects and activities in pursuit of the key result areas of the Aquino Social Contract, which includes transparent, accountable and participatory governance; poverty reduction and empowerment of the poor and vulnerable; rapid, inclusive and sustained economic grow; just and lasting peace and the rule of law; and integrity of the environment and climate change adaptation and mitigation.

The president has also instructed the five Cabinet clusters, which have been organized along these five priorities, to define concrete and measurable targets for every year until 2016, in line with the Philippine Development Plan.

"President Aquino has also instructed each cluster to engage the private sector and civil society organizations in evaluating the results of their activities and in coming up with measures to improve program or project implementation," Abad said.

The 2012 national budget will be the first budget to be fully prepared, enacted and implemented under the Aquino Administration. It will also be the first national budget to be prepared after undergoing consultations with civil society organizations and other stakeholders.

http://www.philstar.com/Article.aspx?articleId=687463&publicationSubCategoryId=200

Reaction:

As i had read this article about the 5 key areas-plan that must be focus by the government in the following years, i was impressed that our president, which is Benigno Aquino III had this kind of plan to be acted for the next years to come while he is still in the position as the head of our country.

"poverty reduction and empowerment of the poor and vulnerable; rapid, inclusive and sustained economic grow", with this words that came from the mouth of my and our president, I hope that this will happen, because as I listened to the present news about the economy and progress of our country, the ordinary people can't feel this events that happening around us, in the news there are still thousands and millions of Filipino people were unemployed and underemployed in which discourage me a lot. It is because maybe after I graduate from my course that I've finished, maybe i can't find a good job which soothes me. Wages of employees and labors were still one of the problems that common people argue with, low or minimal wages that they get, if this problem will continue until I graduate, maybe were just wrong to give our hope and faith to the person who threw such beautiful lies for the good of our country. They must give jobs and wages that makes labors and employees makes them good enough and not to complain with the salaries that they receive, in which with this salary, they can give help to their families, establish an independent life for new graduates, own a small house and even afford a cheap but nice vehicle, and of course buy their necessities that they want and they need.

6 years are just enough to make our country walks with us to its progress. He must fulfill his so what he says "PROMISE of Change and Progress", because people were waiting for this words to be enacted. People will follow and do their thing if their leaders do the right thing, Filipinos were just waiting for their leaders to move, so that cooperation is successful. People especially the lower ones depends to the movement of our economy and especially to our government, jobs are always depend to the movement of the economy and the higher it rises, the higher jobs populate, and if jobs populate, no status of unemployed and underemployed in our country.

Hoping that this new program that the P-Noys Administration are planning to will succeed, I am one of those who are hoping and praying for the progress of our country.