Senator Cayetano calls on President Aquino to be a leader

MANILA, Philippines – Mr President, do you know where you’re going to?

Senate Minority Leader Alan Peter Cayetano repeatedly asked this question, and even played Diana Ross’ version of the song “Do you know where you’re going to?”, when he delivered his “Kontra-SONA” or (Counter State of the Nation Address) on Monday.

“I know the President has a vision, part of his vision he said in the SONA. In private meetings he shares with us what he wants to do. But when we say Mr. President, do we know where we’re going to, you can’t simply answer us, ‘I’ll do it my way,’” he said.

Cayetano said the people need to understand the President’s vision, plans and road map for the country.

“I do believe he has a vision but again, is it being communicated…is it being articulated?” he asked.

Cayetano said the people need a vision for what the President intends to do for the country. This includes a clear set of plans, and a roadmap to achieve this vision.

Cayetano also called on the President to display ”a factual understanding of where the country is today, a clear understanding of the past.” This, he added, should be followed by a higher standard of performance and system for feedback and monitoring, and an “organized, pragmatic and systematic way of fighting graft and corruption.”

Cayetano likewise pushed for the immediate passage of the Freedom of Information (FOI) bill and a legislation that would exempt all public officials from the Bank Secrecy Law.

The passage of the the FOI bill, the senator said, would help the President in his promise to uncover past misdeeds, and “strike fear among the incumbent officials from committing the same mistake.”

And if the Aquino administration has nothing to hide, Cayetano saw no reason why it should not support his call to exempt all public officials from the Bank Secrecy Law.