“If I were the President of the Philippines …”

…I will enforce a progressive reconstruction of the country. This absolute restitution would entail concentration on the renewal of the current political, cultural, industrial, educational, and public health undertakings of the Philippines . I shall be no authoritarian; nonetheless, I shall be strong on the execution of such renovation. I recognize a keen need for transformation in our country’s present situation, and I opt to act upon this need if I will be of authority.

The main objectives of the transformation are, (1) to establish an effective and impartial government system (2) to set up economic stability in the country, (3) to yield off an operational urbanized nation, and (4) to foster healthy and globally-competent Filipinos.

Form of government

If I were given the power, I will change the form of government in the Philippines completely. I have acknowledged that the country has in fact lost the essence of democracy in the government system today. The nation is seemingly becoming an oligarchic country, ruled by what has been currently acclaimed as Caciques, or local elites. Majority of the rulers of the country at present are amongst the privileged, hence, there is a deprivation of the right to be elected into office among the ordinary public. The nation appeared to have been bereaved of putting people in authority, which is, indeed, the quintessence of democracy. The run of the mill middle-class (up to the lower-class) people with good (even greater) credentials are deprived of the chance to administrate the country. I deem this faulty “democratic” supremacy as the grounds of the awfully ineffective political system in the country.

Taking the Philippines ’ existing situation into account, I, if put in authority, will transform the country from being a “democratic” state, into a federal nation. I will adopt federalism as the form of governance as I believe that it is the practical and effective way to distribute power among the public. It is fundamentally structured as a representative democracy, through which sovereignty in the country will be divided between a prime governing authority and constituent political units. The nation will be put in partition so as to be segregated into states, and a representative (governor) will be elected from each state. A sensible state division would be following the formally accepted administrative regions, and further dividing their partitions in half, thus, creating 34 contiguous states (approximately.

In the adopted federalist system, citizens are subject to three levels of government: federal, state, and local. The federal government per se is composed of three “check and balance” branches, namely, Legislative (the bicameral Congress), Executive (the president), and Judicial (the Supreme Court). The local government’s duties are split between city and municipal government for each state. Through the enforcement of the three-level government, more people will have the occasion to run for office. Also, the new form of authority will become more dispersed and mass-oriented, thus, having immediate focus on the localities in line with the states.

Economic and Industrial

If put in position, I will not drastically transform the economic system, hence, I will work on the development and further improvement of the individual important sectors of the economy. I recognize a depletion of the economic standing of the country; however, I would not at all alter its mixed economic system as I deem this system fairly effective. What the country needs is just effective manipulation and stipulation of its resources in order to acquire development in the economy.

A very substantial economic sector of the Philippines is agriculture. The agricultural sector is one of the major income resource of the country, hence, an improvement on the running of this economic area shall be necessary. The Philippines is still primarily an agricultural country despite the plan to make it an industrialized economy by 2000. Most citizens still live in rural areas and support themselves through agriculture. The country's agriculture sector is made up of 4 sub-sectors: farming, fisheries, livestock, and forestry (the latter 2 sectors are very small), which together employ 39.8 percent of the labor force and contribute 20 percent of GDP.

One of the problems experienced in this sector is the unbridled conversion of agricultural land to residential areas and leisure grounds. Small town farmers who own their land find it more profitable to sell their land to real-estate developers in exchange for money, especially since they lack capital for seeds, fertilizers, pesticides, and wages for hiring workers to plant and harvest the crops. In this regard, I shall prohibit the utilization of agricultural land by real-estate developers, and these land developers shall be incriminated if they violate this statute. I shall propose to residential builders to operate on other lands like on reclaimed areas, or construct high-rise residential communities. The agricultural land owner would be also charged if he decides to sell his farm land. I shall apportion greater subsidies and government lending firms to the farm owners, so that they may utilize and profit from their own land. This greater allocation of budget also resolves the concern that the agriculture sector has not received adequate resources for the funding of indispensable programs, such as the construction of efficient irrigation systems.

Major industries that comprise the other great income resources of the country are food processing, textile and garments, electronics and automotives, and mining. I shall allocate greater funding and a government lending office for the manufacturing companies so as to raise their capital and alleviate financial shortages. With greater capital, these companies can supply greater demands in and out of the country, as garments, electronics, and mined products (such as copper, petroleum products) are amongst the country’s main export goods. Also, by giving these companies larger subsidies as incentives, they will be encouraged to hire more employees for their manpower. Thus, this allocation of funds in the major industries will not only generate more income for the company, but for the nation (as individual citizens) as well since a lot of job opportunities were opened.

Infrastructures

As the country’s leader, I intend to transform the Philippines into a highly-civilized and industrialized nation. I also recognize the need to systematize and modernize the transportation systems in the country. I am attaching importance to the upgrading of communication systems, as well. Therefore, I shall allot enough funds for the construction of additional infrastructures and the repair and reordering of previous ones.

In the aspect of aerial transportation, I believe that improvement in the local domestic airports’ runways and facilities is necessary. The three national airports’ facilities shall be improved, albeit they are in fairly satisfactory conditions. If funding is enough, there shall be another national airport with a separate runway, so as to alleviate aircraft traffic in the sole runway of the three national airports. Concurrently, enhancement in water transportation systems is essential. Additional “Roll-on, Roll-off” ports shall be constructed and additional RoRo vessels shall be purchased to improve interisland transportations. I shall assign a new government sector that will ensure safety of commuters concentrating on those that will travel by air and by sea. This new branch of government shall conduct regular mechanic and security inspection of the airplanes and vessels to secure the wellbeing of the passengers.

I will allot great concentration on the improvement of land transportations. Highways connecting towns and states shall be upgraded to ensure the safety of travelers. Traffic problems especially in the metro will be resolved by the construction of additional freeway flyovers and underground connectors. The building of these new flyovers and underground connectors in their respective locations shall, of course, be initially analyzed to alleviate the greater traffic problem. Other ways of settling traffic problems are by appointing a stern ruler in the land transportation sector of the government, and by funding numerous road-widening projects so as to increase transportation areas.

Numerous Light Railway Transit lines shall be created, ensuring easier transportation from rural to urban areas, from one state to another. The new LRT routes shall be connecting major towns and cities throughout the nation. The addition of new LRT trains and routes shall be patterned from the MTR hauling in Hong Kong, or in Tokyo . In connection to this, I shall enhance effective communication throughout the nation by improving the country’s technological facilities. I shall entice cellular companies to further increase and distribute their cellular satellites through out the states. I will ensure efficient internet access in every state; as a result, very household shall have the right to access free internet. Proficient transportation through LRT’s/MRT’s and enhancement of communication systems will have seemed to compress time and space throughout the country, thus, being one step closer through globalization.

Education and Health

If I were to govern the nation, I would assign the highest budget allocation in education and in health. It is in one of my primary objectives that I aspire to foster healthy and globally-competent Filipinos. I believe that investing in education and in health is a very fundamental reposition so as to improve the quality of living of the people. Fostering well-nourished and well-educated citizens would be for the country’s own profit and development.

Poor quality education is one of the greatest problems our country is facing today. This predicament arises from formidable causes such as deficiency in functional classrooms, inferior quality of instructional materials, hard accessibility to schools (especially in rural areas), and remarkably high student-teacher ratio. Poor quality of education, or worse, complete denial of education, in turn, causes low overall literacy rate and incompetent and less-skilled citizens. The outward effects of inferior education to the country, such as an increase of the unemployment rate, are appalling and somewhat demoralizing. Consequently, I shall apportion a large amount of the country’s budget to education with the intention of resolving the nation’s problem in this aspect.

Bearing this problem in mind, I will oblige every child of every family to enroll and to study in an educational institution. As authority, I would inflict the strong prioritization of public schools, science high schools, and state universities. I would impose that there should be at least 40 operational public schools in each state, depending on the land area of the state. Educational facilities on existing schools (whether public or private) will be inspected and further improved to nurture classrooms that are conducive to learning. Students belonging to public schools/science high schools/state universities will be each be given stipend to motivate learning and to alleviate financial problems. Books and school materials used by public school students shall be supplied to them, as well as school lunches. Teachers in subsidized schools shall be provided with a much greater salary (than those working in private). Scholarships will be distributed evenly throughout the states, but will fairly prioritize Education majors to encourage people to teach.

The curriculum of every school (private or public) will be modified so as to nurture multi-skilled and globally-competent, yet culture-appreciative students. Technological and vocational subjects (e.g. robotics, automotives) shall be imposed on the secondary level curriculum in all schools. Also, each student shall be required to take cultural electives in order for them to appreciate and not lose the fervor of being a Filipino. They shall be encouraged to take cultural electives such as Philippine Music and Philippine Art so that they may discover their potentials as well.

Public health would be chiefly prioritized above all authority aspects. In order for a country to run in good working condition, its citizens should be in a mentally and physically healthy state as well. I decided to invest greatly in the health of the citizens because the wellbeing of the country’s human resources is the most vital component of the nation’s entirety.

The local municipalities today offer low-quality health services. Hospitals and health centers among rural towns and barangays are of substandard conditions. Consequently, people in these rustic areas cannot meet the expense of being confined in a private hospital in the nearby town. Also, citizens belonging to the marginalized cannot afford prescribed medicines and they cannot pay for being confined in a private hospital as well. Poor sanitation is another factor amongst the greatest health issues subsequently. People die of diseases caused by poor sanitation in their residence areas. In view of these alarming conditions, I will designate the largest funds in providing superior quality health care and sanitation to all.

I shall impose the provision of at least 50 enhanced quality health centers and 30 high-class public hospitals distributed per state. Private hospitals will now be partly subsidized, so that they can also cater for those in need. Every Filipino citizen is required to be a member of PhilHealth, in order that they can avail of the privileges of PhilHealth members. In turn, the benefits and rights of PhilHealth card bearers shall be increased and well-considered. Also, I shall fully negotiate with all pharmaceuticals to fully execute the Cheaper Medicines Law. Pharmaceuticals will also be partly subsidized depending on the demand of the medicines. Generics of all drug prescriptions shall now be made available in drug stores. I shall enact the Reproductive Health Bill to provide superior care for mothers and for effective population management as well. Basic reproductive health education and free contraceptives shall be made available in all health centers and public hospitals. The reproductive health education will also be made accessible through mass media –televising and printing campaigns or articles in support of a better reproductive health for families.

Lastly, I shall also invest on sanitation services as this is a major concern in affecting the health of the people. I shall ensure effective and potable water supply for each household. In acting upon this, I shall also negotiate and partly fund water-supplying companies for them to guarantee that clean water shall reach every family. Thus, reconstruction and addition of water supply pipes will be operated upon by the water companies. Refurbishment of sewerage systems will also be ensured in line with the massive water sanitation project.

Word count:

2, 327 words.

-Marielle Justine Ching

2009-10986

BA Speech Communication