The people's president

The usual evening rush-hour traffic snarl-up at the second stop light on Financial Centre Road in Dubai reminds me of the busy roads in the Philippines.

I don’t suppose I could get away with using a “wang-wang” (siren) here, I think mischievously. The practice used to be rampant in the Philippines, with all the self-important government functionaries turning on their sirens and expecting ordinary motorists to give way.

I say “used to” because after the inaugural speech — remembered by many as the anti-“wang-wang” crusade — of Philippine President Benigno Aquino III, law enforcers are now hot on the heels of people who illegally use sirens and flashing lights on the streets, effectively putting an end to this shameful practice.

Leading by example, the new president spent his first day in a subdued presidential convoy, obediently obeying traffic lights and without using a siren. A presidential convoy stopped at a red light — it was an inspiring sight for many motorists. Of course it was a different story for Aquino’s security team.

Immediate action

Traffic police took the “wang-wang” part of Aquino’s speech seriously and immediately took to the streets of Manila to seize illegal sirens and police lights. Errant motorists were fined 15,000 pesos (Dh1,200). A congressional representative was caught on video saying she was “just in a hurry” to attend a meeting. But this didn’t stop the traffic officer from issuing her a ticket. Hurray! That’s one war won.

From day one, Aquino has emphasised that he will be the people’s president. The last time I heard this term was from my aunts, who used it to describe the late president Ramon Magsaysay who was in power in the 1950s. They said he roamed incognito on the streets of Cebu to experience for himself what common people’s lives were like. He even shared meals with farmers and travelled in a hired kalesa (a horse-drawn carriage).

Aquino hosted a free concert for the masses after his inaugural speech — a first in the Philippines — then broke away from the presidential convoy after the concert ended to take a detour to a humble restaurant in Tomas Morato for a late meal. “He came in here to order his usual two-course meal, without any air of importance,” a member of staff at the undisclosed restaurant told reporters. It’s a stark contrast to the lavish $20,000 (Dh73,560) dinner that former president Gloria Arroyo enjoyed with her entourage during a visit to the United States in 2009.

Aquino is the people’s president personified. This reflected in his State of the Nation address on Monday, in which he laid out a blueprint to solve the country’s economic and graft problems.

“For a long time, our country lost its way on a crooked path,” Aquino said in his first address after a landslide victory in the May elections. Aquino spent the first half of his nearly 30-minute speech outlining alleged anomalies during the rule of Arroyo and her administration, which he said nearly wiped out what was left in the nation’s coffers in the space of nine years.

Where did the money go? Much of it was spent on purchasing 1.8 million metric tonnes of rice in 2007, although the supply deficit was only 589,000 metric tonnes, according to Aquino. A large percentage of the supply was left to rot in warehouses, although millions of Filipinos can barely afford to eat three times a day, he said. This practice went on for years, resulting in the National Food Authority accumulating a 171.6 billion pesos (Dh13.6 billion) debt by this year.

The two billion pesos (Dh160 million) Calamity Fund was a similar disaster, with 1.4 billion pesos (Dh111 million) or 60 per cent of the money already spent before Aquino came to power. What if another typhoon hit tomorrow? Where is the next emergency fund going to come from? Did Arroyo’s administration give that any thought?

One hundred and eight million pesos (Dh8.6 million) was given to Pampanga, Arroyo’s home province, in May - election month. This was seven months after two typhoons hit the area. In comparison, the province of Pangasinan, which was badly damaged by typhoons, only received five million pesos (Dh400,000).

“This report is merely a glimpse of our situation. It is not the entire picture of the crises we are facing. The reality was hidden from our people,” Aquino said, promising that his administration would be the opposite of Arroyo’s.

Prosecuting the corrupt

Aquino has vowed in recent weeks to have Arroyo investigated and possibly prosecuted for corruption.

A “Truth Commission” will be set up to probe the alleged irregularities. “We will go after the corrupt,” Aquino said. “We will find the truth in all the hidden wrongdoing that happened in the last nine years.” Aquino also promised that this time around money would be spent on building more classrooms to boost education. My mother, a retired public school teacher, would be happy.

The Philippines’ free public education programme is so successful that schools are running out of space to accommodate the many students eager for education. When schools across the country opened last month, the lack of space was so apparent that TV reports showed that in some schools, two classes were sharing one classroom, with only a curtain dividing the room. The teachers said the noise made it difficult for students to concentrate, but that it was better than students not getting any education at all.

Aquino pledged a new era of clean government, saying that in his administration “the people’s money will be used for the people only”. “We will stop wasteful spending of public funds ... we will get rid of ill-conceived projects ... there will be no padding of contracts,” he promised.

He delivered his address knowing that he had unprecedented support from the public. A recent poll from Pulse Asia revealed that 85 per cent of Filipinos expressed trust in Aquino. This was the highest rating ever recorded by any leader since the group began its trust surveys in 1999, it said.

With Aquino’s no-nonsense, “government for the people” leadership, the Philippines looks sure to cruise along a straight road to economic recovery. Much like Shaikh Zayed Road on a fine day. I believe that’s a green light.