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President Noynoy Aquino on Mon, Jul 27, heaped blame yet again on his predecessor, former President Gloria Macapagal Arroyo, saying corruption is the root cause of various ills his administration has been reforming in the past 5 years.
In his last State of the Nation Address (SONA), Aquino reminded the public yet again about the various corruption scandals and allegations against Arroyo including the NBN-ZTE deal, the fertilizer fund scandal, her midnight appointments, and the “Hello, Garci” wiretapping scandal that showed alleged cheating in the 2004 presidential election.
He pointed out that the debt of the National Food Authority ballooned from P12.3 billion in 2001 to P176 billion at the end of Arroyo’s term in June 2010.
Aquino said corruption is the root of the country’s problems and harkened back to his 2010 campaign slogan: “Kung walang corrupt, walang mahirap.”
He noted that personalities such as former Ombudsman Merceditas Gutierrez and former Chief Justice Renato Corona, both closely linked to Mrs. Arroyo, were impeached and eventually replaced by current Ombudsman Conchita Carpio Morales and Chief Justice Maria Lourdes Sereno.
He also praised former Commission on Audit chairwoman Grace Pulido Tan, Justice Secretary Leila de Lima and Bureau of Internal Revenue Commissioner Kim Henares for doing exemplary work in government.
“Wala silang inatrasan sa kanilang pagtupad ng tungkulin,” he said.
He said that under Henares’ leadership, the BIR was able to collect P1.06 trillion in taxes for 2012 without adding more taxes except for the sin tax.
Photo: News clip (2010)
This article has been re-published with permission from ABS-CBNnews.com.
