Noynoy’s inaugural speech should be plain vanilla

My mother was sworn president in 1986 in a packed room of a suburban club and at a time of extreme tumult. Still, the tense and austere circumstance of what was supposed to be the nation’s most glorious and most anticipated political rite did nothing to dampen the celebration and euphoria of a joyous and expectant nation. After the swearing-in, my mother just promised the basics: the restoration of democracy, the strengthening of the damaged and corrupted political and legal institutions and a leadership of integrity. She could have said anything and promised everything. At that point, what my mother represented—the face of people power and the promise of change—was more important to her euphoric countrymen than her body of promises, in reality a collection of words, to a nation just newly free. But she was fully aware of her strength and limitations, of what could be truly achieved given the nation’s state of ruin, of what her role—and legacy—would be. She delivered what she committed to do to her hopeful nation—her part of the bargain. She nurtured the broken fragments of democracy back to health. She broke a well-entrenched foundation of economic cronyism to level the playing field in business. She demanded partnership—not obeisance—from the co-equal branches of government. She unchained the press to its previous free-wheeling state—fully aware that she would be savaged—and savaged relentlessly—by it. On the day a bloody putsch nearly came to toppling our newly earned democracy, the press mocked her as a cowering leader hiding under the bed to infer cowardice of the lowest kind. Still, this did not shake her basic belief that a reckless press is much better than a chained one. On the appointed day of transferring power to the new president in 1992, my mother quietly packed her books and things and left the palace of power without much ado. And without looking back. Today is different from that swearing-in in 1986 only because there is a formal rite. And attended by the usual pomp that goes with the inauguration of a new president. And the attendees are dressed accordingly. But on the true state of the nation, on the substantial matters that have to be dealt with by a new president, very little has changed from 1986—including the crassness and recklessness of official corruption. Just like my mother, I will face an economy weighed down by unbridled corruption. The institutions of democracy have been enormously weakened by those mandated to strengthen and nurture them. There is no civil political discourse and the outgoing president is the most reviled in our recent political history.The conduct of politics has been mostly dirty, violent and disingenuous. And transactional in character.

Meritocracy has been dealt a death blow by patronage. The infrastructure of good governance that made the people see government as theirs and for them—and not their worst nightmare—has crumbled, unable to withstand the sponsored and sustained acts of recklessness and indiscretion.

Untangling the octopus-like tentacles of corruption that grew deep roots over the past years may take a political life time.But dire as things stand, this day is certainly one of hope and celebration.

From this wellspring of hope, I am committed to government of integrity, with a zero-tolerance for corruption. Whether true or fictional, there will be no Kamag-anak Inc under my administration.

With your help, support and prayers, this administration will heal and nurture the challenged institutions of democracy back to full health and strength.With the help of Congress, we will enact reform legislation to usher in an economic springtime and remove the inequities in taxation and the rules of doing business. And strengthen the social safety nets for those on the margin. The courts will be asked to host saints in robes—not hoodlums. The national budget will be mostly devoted to investments on human capital—education, health and the other vital overhead. We will invest in our farms, stop reckless food importation that are motivated by commissions and recapture the dignity and productivity of the Filipino farmers.We will strive to revive our dying core manufacturing sectors—not as a foolhardy attempt—but driven by profit and competitiveness.

We will give something back to our OFWs—our economic lifeline for half a generation.

Kung Walang Corrupt—corrupt in spirit, corrupt due to the lust for material wealth, pathological corruption, and succumbing to the temptations of absolute political power—Walang Mahirap.

Thank you and may God bless us all.

BY MARLEN V. RONQUILLO