Of pie crusts: The campaign promises of Noynoy Aquino

I heard it somewhere, or perhaps, read, that, “Promises, like pie crusts, are made to be broken.” But I already forgot who said or wrote it. So, I Googled it. Links told me that it was from a poem by Christina Rosetti, a song lyric by Mary Poppins, or a quotation by Jonathan Swift. However, the earliest reference occurred in 1681 when Heraclitus Ridens declared “He makes no more of breaking Acts of Parliaments, than if they were like Promises and Pie-crusts, made to be broken”.

Now, I remember why the saying made such an impact on me. I thought its context was very political. I don’t intend to dwell on revealing much about Ridens and why he said the famous/infamous line. My real point has something to do with Benigno Simeon "Noynoy" Aquino III of the Liberal Party, the Philippines’ 15^th president.

Noynoy’s campaign speeches stirred emotions and made Filipino voters hope, again, for a better Philippines. That could even be one of the many factors why he won the elections. Also, obviously, his speeches became more heartfelt because they included a good dose of promises – spewed under the guise of a solid platform of government. Like any other presidentiable, he said (or, was conditioned, influenced, or forced to say, or, felt saying) “I will do that – I promise.”

When I voted last May 10, I voted wisely. It is now immaterial whether I voted for Nonoy or not. But since he is the duly elected president, then, he owes it to me and to the millions of voters out there the earnest fulfillment of his promises.

I was initially thinking of making a list of all the promises Noynoy made and I would post the list on my kitchen ref. (Excuse me but I’m a mom. Home is my comfort zone. Period.) I thought that every time I get the chance to see that list, along with the other important lists in my life, from grocery items to buy to bills to pay, I would be able to monitor Noynoy’s progress.

But later, I realized that it could be a daunting task. It would be a weird thing for me to think about Noynoy’s promises every time I go to the grocery or prepare payments to Meralco or PLDT for the next six years. Ha, ha.

So, my next option came. Whoa. I should blog about it. I should keep my list and have it on my blogsite, better on Blog Watch. In doing so, I get to encourage other people, particularly those who would access Blog Watch and my blogsite, to be more critical and watchful of Noynoy’s administration and its eventual achievements and accomplishments.

(Disclaimer: My list may be incomplete or inexact. But don’t attack me on that basis. The act of juggling between motherhood, a co-breadwinner and the desire to become socially and politically involved has some traps and limitations. Kindly educate me. It would be my privilege to “rewrite” this piece as the need arises.)

Here is my list of Noynoy’s promises, yes, in no particular order:

To support the supply chain management drive of the Department of Agriculture and to conduct a thorough review of its other ongoing initiatives;
To stamp out hunger and poverty by creating more local jobs, by constructing farm-to-market access roads, and by supporting micro-entrepreneurship.
To promote cultural and spiritual endeavors and to make them flourish under his administration;
To fix our basic educational system by institutionalizing a 12-year cycle, by introducing Madaris as our educational sub-system, by focusing on mathematics and science proficiency, by building more schools, and by providing support to private schools being the government’s essential partner in giving quality education;
To push a significant balance between our pressing need to preserve our natural resources and our urgent challenge to generate quality jobs;
To augment the budget for healthcare and social welfare by 5% and constructing much needed basic health infrastructures: 150 district hospitals, 3,000 out-patient health rural health units, and 22,000 barangay health centers;
To implement the provisions of the Magna Carta for Public Health Workers;
To institutionalize a National Health Development Fund;
To ensure that Philhealth and all other government-driven welfare programs be made available to every Filipino;
To ensure the availability of the 100 most essential generic drugs in our country;
To present family planning methods, both natural and modern, as equally viable options for responsible parenthood;
To set off an ecumenical forum among the religious groups and let serve as the people’s conscience, reminding the government to make informed choices and decisions;
To encourage every Filipino to own a home by initiating safe, decent, and affordable housing programs;
To significantly reduce unemployment in the next two years by introducing an emergency plan where investments are geared towards social services, social housing, infrastructure, and public works;
To address the deficiencies in our judicial system by institutionalizing judicial reforms;
To insulate our justice system from graft and corruption by providing its members the compensation commensurate to their performance;
To commence a transparent, inclusive, and sincere talks with all the Mindanao
To determine the possible merging of POEA and OWWA after assessing their respective performances in promoting and protecting the welfare of our overseas workers;
To uphold equal gender opportunity in all the aspects of our government programs and policies;
To review the existing provisions of the Visiting Forces Agreement.

stakeholders;

Ironically, despite my seemingly long 20-point list, I strongly feel that a number of important matters are still – missing. In his TV and radio appearances, I never had the chance to hear Noynoy say something specific about taxation, human rights, energy, peace and order, good governance, partnership for global development, or youth. They are inarguably issues of national interest, too. But don’t get me wrong here. I know for a fact the being a president is no easy feat. The responsibilities are obviously overwhelming. Everybody wants Noynoy to be on top of each situation. That’s why, I am expecting him to, perhaps, eventually, say something about the issues I raised. Those issues are too glaring to be missed.

I also firmly believe that Noynoy owes it to us to clear his position on four major initiatives, at least during his first 100 days in Malacanang.

First, I’d like to be told on how Noynoy is going to deal with the questionable dealings of the Arroyo administration. Is he going to aggressively create an independent institution to run after them? We deserve to know the truth. If the Arroyo administration took advantage of its power, they betrayed our trust. They need to be punished according to the law. If their conscience is clear, by all means, let us embrace them and thank them for serving us well.
Second, I am eager to hear Noynoy’s position on the alleged ill-gotten wealth of the Marcoses. The PCGG is currently pushing for a so-called “win-win” situation, either for a compromise or for a settlement of sort. Aside from that, three of the Marcoses have been elected in major political posts. Noynoy’s transparent stand on this issue is certainly going to say much about how he intends to run his administration. I am just worried on how the families of the victims can still claim for restitution.
Third, I am bent on figuring out how he would value the proposed charter change and the drive to seriously organize public consultations about it. His declaration could set forth the political climate in the next six years.
And finally, I’d be glad to be told about how he plans to resolve the issues related to Hacienda Luisita. Even though Hacienda Lusuita religiously complied with the CARP provisions of 1989, it had never been, to be blunt about it, exempted from it. How would Noynoy take care of the farm workers’ welfare? Is he willing to consult with the farm workers, at least, to find out how they intend to benefit from CARP? Noynoy has been serving the government for almost a decade now. Hacienda Luisita is his turf. He really could afford to avoid the issue. It is so close to his home – rather, it is his home.

Noynoy is going to take his oath of office tomorrow June 30. That’s just ceremonial. In essence, he is simply formalizing the idea that he commits to his promises and in the six years, he is going to run the government with dignity, sincerity, and honesty.

If Noynoy gets to fulfill his promises, I plan to bake him a pie (yes—I will take cooking and baking lessons in order to do that). I would personally give it to him. I would also express my sincerest gratitude for bringing back hope to a hopeless nation and making us believe that promises could be fulfilled. If he ignores his promises, I plan to send him a box of pie crust – all of them broken. I hope he gets the metaphor.

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