A Social Contract with the Filipino People

THE PLATFORM OF SEN. NOYNOY AQUINO

This platform is a commitment to change that Filipinos can depend on. With
trust in their leaders, everyone can work and build a greater future together.

A NATIONAL LEADERSHIP IS IN NEED OF TRANSFORMATIONAL CHANGE

* Its legitimacy is under question;

* It persecutes those who expose the truth about its illegitimacy and corruption;
* It stays in power by corrupting individuals and institutions;
* It confuses the people with half-truths and outright lies;
* It rewards, rather than punishes, wrongdoing;
* It offers no lasting solutions for the many problems of the country;
* It weakens the democratic institutions that hold our leaders accountable.
* It hinders our local governments from delivering basic services;
* It has no vision of governance beyond political survival and self- enrichment.

A PEOPLE CRYING OUT FOR CHANGE

* Corruption robs our children of their protection, nutrition and education.

* Corruption destroys our families and communities.
* Corruption steals from our farmers and workers.
* Corruption deters businessmen from investing in our economy.
* This has eroded our spirit as individuals, as communities, as a people.
* We have lost trust in the democratic institutions we so courageously re-established after the
dictatorship.
* Our proven capacity for collective outrage and righteous resistance has been weakened.
* We have ceased to depend on the patriotism and civic engagement that used to animate
many of our efforts.
* We have become divided and alienated, focusing only on ourselves and on our individual
pursuits.
* Our moral faculties as a people have been paralyzed.
* We have retreated into a dark world of self-absorption and cynicism.
* Our collective despair has reached its lowest point.
A PEOPLE’S CAMPAIGN OF RENEWED HOPE

* Anchored on Ninoy’s and Cory’s legacy of change through the ways of democracy
* Embraces the qualities of integrity, humility and trust-worthiness in public leadership
* Recognizes the absence of these qualities in government as a major cause of widespread
poverty, misery and despair.

THE VISION FOR THE PHILIPPINES

A country with…

1. A re-awakened sense of right and wrong, through the living examples of our highest leaders;

2. An organized and widely-shared rapid expansion of our economy through a government

dedicated to honing and mobilizing our people’s skills and energies as well as the responsible
harnessing of our natural resources;

3. A collective belief that doing the right thing does not only make sense morally, but translates
into economic value as well;

4. Public institutions rebuilt on the strong solidarity of our society and its communities.

OUR MISSION

We will start to make these changes first in ourselves—by doing the right things, by giving value
to excellence and integrity and rejecting mediocrity and dishonesty, and by giving priority to
others over ourselves.

We will make these changes across many aspects of our national life.

A COMMITMENT TO TRANSFORMATIONAL LEADERSHIP

1. From a President who tolerates corruption to a President who is the nation’s first and most
determined fighter of corruption.

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.

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.
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.

5. From justice that money and connections can buy to a truly impartial system of institutions
that deliver equal justice to rich or poor.

ECONOMY

6. From government policies influenced by well-connected private interests to a leadership that

executes all the laws of the land with impartiality and decisiveness.

7. From treating the rural economy as just a source of problems, to recognizing farms and rural
enterprises as vital to achieving food security and more equitable economic growth, worthy of
re-investment for sustained productivity.

8. From government anti-poverty programs that instill a dole-out mentality to well-considered

programs that build capacity and create opportunity among the poor and the marginalized in
the country.

9. From a government that dampens private initiative and enterprise to a government that
creates conditions conducive to the growth and competitiveness of private businesses, big,
medium and small.

10. From a government that treats its people as an export commodity and a means to earn
foreign exchange, disregarding the social cost to Filipino families to a government that creates
jobs at home, so that working abroad will be a choice rather than a necessity; and when its
citizens do choose to become OFWs, their welfare and protection will still be the government’s
priority.

GOVERNMENT SERVICE

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

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

13. From a lack of concern for gender disparities and shortfalls, to the promotion of equal
gender opportunity in all spheres of public policies and programs.

PEACE AND ORDER

14. From a disjointed, short-sighted Mindanao policy that merely reacts to events and incidents
to one that seeks a broadly supported just peace and will redress decades of neglect of the Moro
and other peoples of Mindanao.

ENVIRONMENT

15. From allowing environmental blight to spoil our cities, where both the rich and the poor bear
with congestion and urban decay to planning alternative, inclusive urban developments where
people of varying income levels are integrated in productive, healthy and safe communities.

16. From a government obsessed with exploiting the country for immediate gains to the
detriment of its environment to a government that will encourage sustainable use of resources to
benefit the present and future generations.
ACTION PLAN ON EDUCATION
10 WAYS TO FIX PHILIPPINE BASIC EDUCATION

Philippine education is in crisis and we need not argue that point. What we need is a president
with a basic education agenda, willing to make the hard decisions. This is what needs to be done.

12-Year Basic Education Cycle

We need to add two years to our basic education. Those who can afford pay for up to fourteen
years of schooling before university. Thus, their children are getting into the best universities
and the best jobs after graduation. I want at least 12 years for our public school children to give
them an even chance at succeeding.

My education team has designed a way to go from our current 10 years (6 elementary, 4 high
school) to a K-12 system in five years starting SY 2011-12. Kindergarten (K) to Grade 12 is what
the rest of the world gives their children.

I will expand the basic education cycle in this country from a short 10-year cycle to a globally-
comparable 12 years before the end of the next administration (2016)

Universal Pre-schooling for All

All over the world, pre-schooling is given to all young children as the first year of basic
education. We don’t solve this deficiency by renaming day care centers as pre-schools. We need
to build a proper pre-school system and make this available to all children regardless of income.

All public school children (and all public schools) will have pre-schooling as their introduction
to formal schooling by 2016.

Madaris Education as a Sub-system Within the Education System

Our Muslim brothers and sisters ask for an education system that respects their culture while
providing a technically sound curriculum in English, Filipino, science and math. Madaris
education with subjects in Arabic Language and Islamic Values Education can be integrated in
our public school curriculum as additional subjects with the view to keeping our Muslim Filipino
children in school.

I want a full basic education for ALL Muslim Filipino children anywhere in the country.

Technical Vocational Education as an Alternative Stream in Senior High School

Half our high school graduates want to work upon graduation but do not have enough technical
education. We need to provide an education alternative to better prepare students for the world
of work. Technical, vocational education must be re-introduced in our public high schools with
trade tests and skills rating (TESDA or other acceptable work standards) as the final
examination for students looking at HS as their terminal course.
I will re-introduce technical-vocational education in our public high schools to better link
schooling to local industry needs and employment.

"Every Child a Reader" by Grade 1

At the core of our children’s non-learning problems is the inability to read properly. By the end
of the next administration (SY 2015-16), every child passing pre-school must be a reader by
Grade 1.

Essential to this, we must build a library infrastructure in our schools, procure reading books
(from our Philippine publishing industry to support local authors and publishers) and train our
elementary teachers on how to teach reading.

By the end of the next administration, every child must be a reader by Grade 1.

Science and Math Proficiency

We need a strong science and math curriculum that starts as early as Grade 1 with instructional
materials and properly trained elementary teachers. To build a culture for science and math, I
will bring back the science and math clubs movement with elementary and high school
science/math fairs.

I will rebuild the science and math infrastructure in schools so that we can produce more
scientists, engineers, technicians, technologists and teachers in our universities so that this
country can be more globally competitive in industry and manufacturing.

Assistance to Private Schools as Essential Partners in Basic Education

Private education must be a partner in producing quality education in the country. I intend to
expand GASTPE (Government Assistance to Students and Teachers in Private Education) to a
target of 1 million private HS students every year through education service contracting (ESC)
while doing away with the wasteful education voucher system (EVS) of this administration.

I will expand government assistance to private education. A strong private school system will
strengthen our public schools by providing parents an alternative and not adding to the
overcrowding.

Medium of Instruction Rationalized

UNESCO has proven that young children learn best in their mother tongue before moving on to
English in higher grades. I fully support the UNESCO-tried and tested formula on mother
tongue instruction. From pre-school to Grade 3, we will use the mother tongue as the medium of
instruction while teaching English and Filipino as subjects.

From Grades 4-6 (7), we will increasingly use English as the medium of instruction for science &
math and Filipino for Araling Panlipunan (social studies). For High School, English should be
the medium of instruction for science, math & English; Filipino for AP, Filipino and tech-voc
education.
My view: We should become tri-lingual as a country. Learn English well and connect to the
World. Learn Filipino well and connect to our country. Retain your dialect and connect to your
heritage.

Quality Textbooks

Poor quality textbooks have no place in our schools.

I will not tolerate poor textbook quality in our schools. Textbooks will be judged by three
criteria: quality, better quality, and more quality.

Covenant with Local Governments to Build More Schools

We need to address our continuing classroom shortages. And if we are successful keeping more
kids in school, the demand for more classrooms will be even greater. Here, we need a covenant
with LGUs not only to build more classrooms but to establish more schools on land provided by
LGUs. We do not need more overcrowded schools; we need more schools with smaller
populations so that teachers, students, and parents can form a real learning community.

I will build more schools in areas where there are no public or private schools in a covenant with
LGUs so that we can realize genuine education for all.

If we fix these ten concerns, we will fix most of the problems in our education system.

If we fix basic education, we fix the long-term problems of the country.

And if we fix the country’s problems, we will build a truly strong society we can proudly call the
Philippines.
ACTION PLAN ON HEALTHCARE
UNIVERSAL HEALTH CARE FOR ALL FILIPINOS

The Philippine public health system, like our educational system, is in a sad state of disrepair.
We need not repeat today the litany of causes that have led us to our present conditions, nor do
we need to hear the “horror stories” of a majority of our people, who suffer from lack or absence
of health services.

We all share a sense of urgency to fix our health system. It is time to look forward and face the
challenges of health care in the country.

Aquino Health Agenda (AHA)

Universal Health Care is the cornerstone of our health agenda.

• Fifteen years ago, the National Health Insurance Law, which created the Health Insurance
Corporation of PhilHealth, called for health insurance for all Filipinos by 2010 – this year.
• Sadly, the government is almost sure to fall short as health insurance barely protects 38% of
all Filipinos today, as noted in the National Demographic and Health Survey of 2008.
• If given the trust of the people, an Aquino administration will achieve Universal Health Care
in three years or less.
• The Aquino administration will go beyond ensuring that each Filipino has a PhilHealth card.
Universal Health Care should mean that every PhilHealth cardholder will get not merely the
card; but more important, the essential health services, basic medicines and appropriate
quality health care.
• The Aquino administration will also direct PhilHealth to expand outpatient health care
benefits as required by law.
• The Aquino administration will work with LGUs and the private health sector to make sure
that accredited services are available in hospitals and clinics everywhere.

Access to Health through Improved Health Infrastructure

• Our health infrastructure needs a boost given the gaps in health facilities. Beginning at the
barangay level we will fund 22,000 more barangay health stations, 3,000 more outpatient
Rural Health Units and at least 150 more district hospitals.
• This will ensure that health services are not only affordable but also accessible to each family
and the whole Filipino community. The Filipino people can expect this from an Aquino
administration.
• The Aquino administration will implement all the benefits stipulated in the Magna Carta for
Public Health Workers. I am prepared to work closely with LGUs to improve their health
services.
• There should be no lack of medicines and instruments in facilities with quality health
providers. The Aquino administration will guarantee that the 100 of the most essential drugs
in generics are available in every health facility all the time. The Aquino administration will
work with toll manufacturers to ensure that this will be a reality.
A Holistic and Comprehensive Health Care System

• To ensure a holistic and comprehensive Health Care System, the Aquino administration will
ensure that the national health budget will be at least 5% of the national budget.
• The Aquino administration will leverage the national health budget to increase investments
in health from the private sector.
• To these ends, the Aquino administration will establish a National Health Development
Fund.

Conclusion

The actions of the Aquino administration to achieve universal health care are as follows:

• All Filipinos will have access to essential health care, medicines and services.
• Philhealth will be a genuine social health insurance where all Filipinos are covered.

There will be universal health care for all Filipinos under the Aquino administration.

However, let us be clear and frank with each other. Our shared dream of universal health care
and the goals we aim for can only be achieved if, together, we stand vigilant and fight corruption
– the disease that plagues our government and our society.

Corruption has deprived our people life saving medicines, our children basic immunization and
other health care services.

Corruption and poverty are the root causes of our suffering as a nation. If there is no corruption,
all our goals for healthcare in our countrymen will be achieved.

In 2009 alone, 280 Billion Pesos of the national budget was lost to corruption (according to the
Center for National Budget Legislation). This does not yet include revenues lost due to
inefficiencies and corrupt practices in tax collection.

With 280 Billion, we could’ve built 560,000 health clinics around the country.

The fight against corruption is our fight. This fight should be led by the top leader of our
country. The next president should be trusted to not steal or abuse power.

I will not deliberately mislead you. I am prepared to stand by my track record in public service –
nine years in Congress and more than two years in the Senate. Before that, in the administration
of my late mother, not even once did I abuse power or authority or was I linked to any scandal.

Honesty and integrity, a clean record of public service, a clear vision, and the will to carry it out
– these are the fundamental qualities our next leader must have if we are to eliminate
corruption in our government.

Kung walang corrupt, walang mahirap!

ACTION PLAN ON JOB CREATION

The medium to long-term approach to employment generation is to nurture world-class

industries that give the Philippines comparative advantage in production and trade. The
linchpin to that program is to lower the cost of doing business and production in the country
and that immediately brings us to the overarching theme of governance and anti-corruption, the
main plank of an Aquino administration. On the positive side, we will support the lower cost of
business by building supporting infrastructure, increase efficiency of our domestic and
international sea and airports and reduce traffic through the national transportation
development program. Aside from this we will seek and support emerging industries such as the
Information Technology and Knowledge Base Industry, Business Process Outsourcing Industry,
and the Tourism Industry (with full support in government procedures & infrastructures) where
the Philippines can compete even with its present resources and promote employment through a
strong government infrastructure program. The immediate employment generation program of
the government is to provide employment biased to government infrastructure program and
procurement to provide immediate jobs, and to support local community livelihood industries
by providing the following:

• farm-to-market & other access roads

• strong microcredit and microenterprise support (former President Cory Aquino’s chosen
intervention channel).
• marketing facilities and infrastructure
• IT support such as B2B and supply and logistics portals, etc.
ACTION PLAN ON JUDICIAL REFORMS
REFORMS IN THE JUDICIARY

The Aquino-Roxas campaign stands on a firm justice agenda, which is not limited to reforms in
the Judiciary but includes the other pillars of the Criminal Justice System.

In the short term, the objectives of an Aquino-Roxas administration are the

following:

• If the post remains vacant, the appointment of a credible, efficient and fair Chief Justice of
the Supreme Court of the Philippines.
• Convene the Judicial Executive Legislative Advisory and Consultative Council (JELACC) as
the springboard for the review of the state of the justice system and the possible areas for
budgetary as well as administrative support within the first 100 days of the Aquino
presidency, and utilize this council for the submission of a justice modernization budget to
be included in the first State of the Nation address (SONA) agenda.
• Expedite the appointment of judges and prosecutors based on a system of meritocracy and
fitness for the job, and work on all pending appointments to these important posts.
• Signal the importance of jail decongestion by releasing detention prisoners who have served
their maximum terms in jail and also deserving elderly inmates who are eligible for
unconditional release due to old age.

In the medium to long term:

• Strengthen the barangay justice system through increased training, the setting up of a
system of accredited mediators and the inclusion of time served in the barangay justice
system as part of mandated legal aid for practicing lawyers.
• Reduce the vacancy of the courts and the prosecution service to single digit figures.
• Prioritize the cases of detention prisoners, through a multi stakeholder approach (national
government, LGU, civil society and business) in order to decongest our facilities and provide
speedy justice.
• The consistent use of merit and fitness in the appointment and promotion of officials within
the justice system.
• The modernization of the Philippine National Police through increased funding and training,
and the appointment of qualified and meritorious persons in the service.
• The follow through of the Salary Standardization Law that would increase the salaries of
prosecutors, public defenders and other professionals in the public service.
• Double the budget of the Judiciary to enable it to pursue its reform program and deliver
justice for all.
• Increase the conviction rate of the prosecutors from 20% to 40% by the end of the
presidential term, through the support and professionalization of the national prosecution
service, improvement of the evidence gathering techniques in collaboration with the PNP,
and the extensive use of mediation during the preliminary investigation stage, to ferret out
cases which may just settle in court during trial.
• Decrease the time when a detainee is staying at the detention facilities through increased
vigilance of public defenders, a case information system for detention facilities, and
increased participation of civil society prison support groups.
• Decrease the average length of a case in court through improvements in the prosecution
service and the public defenders, and the rolling out of various forms of alternative dispute
resolution in the courts.
ACTION PLAN ON MINDANAO
AQUINO-ROXAS MINDANAO PEACE AND DEVELOPMENT AGENDA

Peace and Security

1. Transparent and consultative peace process

Workable peace is possible only if supported by a broad, active and informed peace constituency

• I will assume direct responsibility for the revival of the peace process with the MILF.
• I will reconstitute the peace panel with men and women of integrity who will directly report
to me. There was a time when the peace process was doing well until the Arroyo Government
began to use the peace negotiation as prop to political survival. I will see counsel from peace
advocates like former OPAPP Secretary Deles, Peace Panel Head Afable and former Notre
Dame University President, Fr. Mercado to put back on track the credibility needed in the
peace process.
• I will ensure the participation of various Mindanao stakeholders – Muslims, Lumad,
Christian settlers – in the negotiating panels and working groups;
• I will create a niche for the participation of other Muslim “gatekeepers” particularly
traditional and LGU leaders, MNLF, the Ulama, Bangsamoro civil society.
• Request the Bishops-Ulama Conference to submit a report on the results of the consultations
it conducted in the aftermath of the failed MOA-AD; likewise with all known civil society
organizations and academic institutions which undertook similar consultations or
researches in the past year, such as the University Network on the Mindanao Question led by
the UP School of Law, the Consortium of Bangsamoro Civil Society, the Philippine Council
for Islam and Democracy, and the Al Mujadilah Foundation.

The results of all these processes should be collated, with key points of agreement and
contention identified for inputting into the peace mechanism, as appropriate. On this basis, a
mechanism should be devised for these groups to participate in the continuing dialogue on and
monitoring of their recommendations.

2. MNLF

• I will immediately convene the Oversight Committee on the Organic Act on Muslim
Mindanao (RA 9054) and complete a review and assessment of the implementation of the
law. I will issue an Executive Order reviving/extending the function of the Oversight
Committee, which was last convened before 2004 and which never completed its task, and
impose a deadline for the completion of its work.
• I will order the Department of Foreign Affairs, with the Office of the Presidential Adviser on
the Peace Process (OPAPP), to give a report on the tripartite review of the GRP-MNLF Final
Peace Agreement and cull the “immediate doable” measures that government can undertake.
• I will order an inventory of the backlog on assistance to MNLF rebel returnees, as the basis
for determining the requirements and timetable for addressing the gap and closing the
existing program, while a new program is crafted in cooperation with concerned LGUs and
 approximating the international standards on DDR (Disarmament, Demobilization and
Rehabilitation) of former combatants.

3. Indigenous People

• We will review the recent appointment of the Commission to ensure they are in accordance
with the law and rationalize the NCIP plantilla to professionalize the bureaucracy to do its
mandate under the law, including the delineation of ancestral domains (AD) and support the
development of the Natural Resource Management Plan (NRMP).
• I will work with IP communities and all land and resource-management related agencies for
a thorough review of all Certificates of Ancestral Domain Titles (CADTs), Certificate of
Ancestral Land Titles (CALTs), and Certificates of Free Prior and Informed Consent
(CFPICs) issued towards weeding out those issued defectively, fast-tracking decisions on all
pending applications, and providing support for development and implementation of the
ADRMP for areas covered by CADTs.
• I will ensure basic education, health, and sanitation facilities and services for IP
communities.
• I will look into the immediate situation of security of IP communities in areas of ongoing
armed conflict.

4. Internally Displaced Families

Families displaced by conflict will receive full support to be able to return to their communities
of origin, if they so desire.

• I will put up a compensatory fund which will provide shelter, food and livelihood assistance
to enable the estimated 30,000 internally displaced families to return to their homes.

5. Lawless and Criminal Elements

I will dismantle private armies and take a firm hand against all forms of lawlessness

• I will ensure the prosecution of all identified perpetrators of the Ampatuan massacre. I am
aware that the families of the victims and witnesses of the crime are vulnerable to
harassment as well as bribes to weaken the case. I will ensure that families of the victims and
witnesses of the crime will receive adequate protection and support as they work for justice.
• The Maguindanao massacre was not just a local Maguindanao problem. It was abetted by
the national government with government policies and resources. DND should submit
immediately the result of its investigation and inventory of the arms and ammunition
confiscated from the Ampatuans and identify civilian and military leaders responsible for
the build up of arsenal of the Ampatuans.
• I will revoke EO546. Never again will public funds be used to support and maintain a private
security force.
• KFR incidents are national security concerns. I will commit full budgetary support to PACER
in establishing and implementing an anti-kidnapping strategy in Mindanao; provide full
support for the filing of charges against suspected perpetrators, including full protection for
released victims and their families.
• Under my watch, I will ensure that all security forces will be insulated from partisan politics.
I will implement the Defense Reform Program started by former DND Secretary Nonong
Cruz which aimed to build a professional AFP. A professional AFP along with a professional
 PNP committed solely to defend the constitution and uphold the law is the key to the
dismantling of private armies and implementing the gun control. All forms of excuses for
self-protection can be abandoned only when citizens trust state security forces.
• We will aim to improve the ratio of security forces to our growing population.
• All appointments in the AFP and PNP will be based on merit and performance.
• Forces on the ground will be provided with adequate provisions, equipment and training to
be able to discharge their duties effectively.

Governance

1. Performance Incentives

Setting National Policy: Performance- and outcome-driven over-investments in education,

health, and employment interventions.

• I will match every peso invested by 4th and 5th class LGUs in basic education, maternal and
child health care and potable water and latrines.

Moreover, I will provide additional support to performing LGU’s so they can fast track filling the
gaps in attaining targets for their education, health and sanitation programs. In education I will
support LGU efforts to attain 100 % basic education enrolment, lowering dropout rates and
increasing completion rates.

2. Transparent and proper use of public funds

I will ensure that all fund releases to all LGUs will be transparent and its utilization fully
accounted for.

• I will support DBM’s effort started by former Secretary Emilia Boncodin in regularly
publishing and disseminating all releases to the LGUs.
• I commend COA for their fearless reports which exposed politically sensitive cases such as
the Jocjoc Bolante fertilizer scam. I will ensure adequate support to state auditors for proper
and accurate audit reports. And their reports will not end in filing cabinets. The OP will take
the necessary action on irregularities in the COA reports.

3. Free and honest elections

I will ensure free, honest and orderly elections.

• I will release the Mayuga Report to make public the findings on the role of the military in the
controversial 2004 elections.
• On the next ARMM election in 2011, I will install measures that will hold paramount the will
of the people of ARMM. The military and the police will remain strictly politically neutral.
They will ensure that the election is clean, orderly and peaceful.
Development

1. Infrastructure

To transform Mindanao into modern agricultural center and the nation’s food basket.

I will address infrastructure gap in farm to market roads, irrigation and post harvest facilities.

Corollary, to substantially reduce post-harvest losses, post-harvest facilities will be provided to

Mindanao corn, coconut and rice farmers while processing facilities will be made available to
coastal fishers and aquaculturists.

Additional irrigated farms will raise cropping intensity and hence productivity contributing in
the process to the attainment of the goal of self-sufficiency for specific commodities and
bolstering export-competitiveness for others.

• During my term, I will improve its total road network by bringing its current paved road
ratio closer to the national average. This will lower transport costs and post-harvest losses.
• Corn driers will be priority of DA under my watch. Every 1,000 hectares of corn land will be
serviced by at least 1 corn drier.
• Irrigation coverage will be expanded. Mindanao has about 700,000 hectares of farms that
need irrigation. We will expand irrigation facilities to service half of the area by the end of
my term, subject to sound cost-benefit analysis.

2. Public Investment

In areas of Mindanao where private investors are hesitant to invest due to high risk and
uncertainty, my administration will establish state enterprises that will partner with potential
private investors or extend guarantees to them to spread the risks. The purpose is to generate
investments in these areas as a way of jump-starting economic activities and providing
employment opportunities so direly needed in these communities. This will be the government's
direct assault on breaking the vicious cycle of lack of jobs, resulting to greater poverty, in turn
partly fuelling the conflict, leading to lack of investments and lack of jobs.

• Among my priority will be government investment in the development of the Halal Industry.
This, first and foremost, will answer the essential need of Filipino Muslims for access to food
and non-food products that is consistent with their faith. This will also enable local
producers, Muslims and non-Muslims, to partake of the multi-billion dollar world halal
market.
• I will encourage investments in our energy sector to tap more diverse sources of power and
lower the cost of energy in the long term. In the short term, I will support moves to mitigate
the effects of the power crisis such as:

• Leasing power barges

• Contracting additional generating capacity through cooperatives and private utilities
• Allowing the National Grid Corporation of the Philippines to use ancillary services such
as the contracting of back-up generating capacity
• Promoting demand side management
COVENANT WITH THE URBAN POOR

Our country’s most valuable resource is its people.

Every Filipino has the right to basic human needs, a decent standard of living, and the equal
opportunity to develop his or her potentials to the fullest.

In a modern economy every person must be a productive citizen contributing the best of his or
her abilities to the development of the country.

However, poverty denies many Filipinos their basic rights and the opportunities to improve
their lives and help in nation building. Bad governance and corruption are the primary causes
that subvert development and growth.

As candidates for public office, we pledge to build a just society for all Filipinos. We shall
vigorously rid our government of corruption and channel these resources to address the basic
needs of our people, especially the poor and marginalized.

We shall also implement sustainable solutions through institutionalized policies to combat

poverty and provide basic needs, including housing, health, education and jobs for the poor,
rather than the “stop gap” measures and empty political gestures of the past and present.

We commit ourselves to the following goals and principles:

1. No evictions without decent relocation.

We will end illegal forced evictions. We will not allow any public or private authority to evict
families and leave them homeless in the street. The government must provide decent relocation,
near-city or in-city, if possible, quality housing, adequate basic services and jobs.

We will not tolerate a situation where wage earners have to stay in the city to work while the
other members of the family stay in distant relocation centers. This separation weakens and
often fractures family life. We will not institutionalize such situations by building sites in the city
where they will live apart from their families. As the work force in the cities, the poor, up to the
extent possible, should be given the opportunity to stay in the cities.

We will strengthen efforts to achieve balance and equitable urbanrural development and
established sustainable livelihood activities in relocation areas to proactively address the
problems of in-migration and informal housing.

2. Provide support for area upgrading and in-city resettlement.

We will shift the emphasis in our housing program to area upgrading and in-city resettlement
through the Community Mortgage Program (CMP). We will accelerate CMP and promote its
localization (LCMP).
We will strive to proclaim land in favor of as many poor families as possible anchored on the
Comprehensive Land Use Plans of their local governments and in consultation with their
beneficiary families.

We will order a review of all Presidential Proclamations to determine the status of their
implementation. We will not revoke any Presidential Proclamation without thorough study and
adequate consultation.

3. Provide basic services that benefit poor communities.

Over the six years of our term, we will significantly increase the health and education allocations
in our national budget. This will bring us closer to the level of spending of our neighboring
countries. We will extend health insurance coverage to all urban poor people, put an end to
shifting in public schools and provide full set of quality textbooks for our public school children.

We will work with the private sector, utility cooperatives and the donor community to provide
access to water and electricity for all urban poor communities. We will encourage or public
utilities and government-owned and controlled corporations to incorporate these goals as an
integral part of their corporate social responsibility.

4. Housing budget.

Our desire is to have a government which will provide adequate housing for every Filipino and
protect their housing rights.

To this end, we are committed to support and replicate successful housing programs to cover the
estimated housing need by providing sufficient funds through the use of the Comprehensive and
Integrated Shelter Financing Act (CISFA) and other financing sources.

We will also work with the Local Government Units and the private sector, especially those in
the financial sector, in coming up with new, innovative and sustainable housing and financial
products that will provide access to housing to the marginalized and poor of our country.

We will strengthen government’s partnership with non-government organizations and support

people’s initiative to provide the poor with housing.

5. Jobs.

We will create large-scale public works programs that can generate substantial number of jobs
for poor men and women. At the onset of our term, we will emphasize labor-intensive public
works programs that can generate significant numbers of jobs for our poor people and give them
access to at least the minimum amounts of money, food and dignity needed for their daily
survival and well-being. We will help those in the informal sector to avail of relevant incentives,
services and benefits, such as access to social security and other forms of assistance.

Recognizing that the primary and most important resource of our country is its people, we will
emphasize the creation of jobs that empower the work force, jobs that build capacity and create
opportunities for the poor and marginalized. This requires advance training and preparation for
appropriate skills needed for modern economy. This also presumes sound elementary and high
school education. We promise to focus on generating jobs that will encourage entrepreneurship
including-pro poor tourism. We will create an environment that is conducive to growth,
competitiveness and full-employment.

6. Increased cooperation with local government units.

We will work with Local Government Units for the full implementation of the provisions of the
UDHA and to empower them to address the housing needs of their constituents through existing
provisions in the UDHA such as the provision of land for socialized housing and the inventory of
informal settlers within their respective jurisdictions.

To encourage Local Government Units to take the lead in addressing housing needs, we will
provide incentives to LGUs like co-financing schemes, technical assistance and other support
services so that they could take an active role in socialized housing.

We will institutionalize and strengthen participatory shelter planning at the local level and
identify other fund sources to support housing programs particularly for informal settlers at the
local level.

7. Peace.

I will make every effort possible to begin sustainable and uninterrupted peace negotiations in
Mindanao. We will not give up this peace-making effort. We will respond to the needs of
dislocated/displaced people in Mindanao due to continued conflict between Christian and
Muslim brothers.

8. Post-Ondoy Rehabilitation Program.

We recognize that most people living in risk prone areas are forced by circumstances to live in
these areas because government has failed to give them viable alternatives. This is the basic
premise of the Post-Ondoy Rehabilitation Program.

We will appoint capable persons to plan and implement intensive post-Ondoy rehabilitation
projects. We will explore new approaches that address both the housing and livelihood needs of
affected families. We will review Executive Order 854 in consultation with the affected
communities and look for appropriate solutions for the families living in Manggahan Floodway
and Lupang Arenda. We will ensure that local and international public and private efforts are
closely coordinated.

9. Appointment

The appointment of reform-minded persons is essential to the attainment of the objective of

HUDCC to institute reforms and steer this office and other shelter agencies to become more
responsive, efficient and effective agencies in the delivery of housing services to poor families.
Cabinet positions and portfolios including the Undersecretaries and Assistant Secretaries would
be distributed among the three major islands (Luzon, Visayas and Mindanao) without
sacrificing competence and trustworthiness criteria.

We will appoint a person with a track record and demonstrated capacity in delivering social
housing as HUDCC Chairperson. We will appoint NGO and PO representatives in the boards of
the Social Housing Finance Corporation (SHFC) and in the council of the Housing and Urban
Development Coordinating Council. We will also appoint an NGO representative with observer
status to the board of the National Housing Authority (NHA). We will also appoint an NHA
General Manager, the SHFC President and Chairman of the Presidential Commission for the
Urban Poor in consultation with civil society groups.

10. Participation & Stakeholdership.

We will emphasize the role of stakeholders in finding solutions to the problems that they face. In
fact, the process that we will go through to provide the details of this plan we have presented
today will be consultative and transparent.

All these goals with the urban poor will be part of our development agenda and platform to build
an inclusive urban society.