Aquino boasts of Daang Matuwid’s achievements

President Aquino expressed optimism that his administration’s “Daang Matuwid” (Straight Path) will be the roadmap that will enable the country to attain First World Status by 2030.

In his New Year’s message, President Aquino said he cannot help but be filled with pride for the country’s achievements in the last five years under his administration.

“I join all Filipinos as we bid farewell to a historic 2015 and expectantly look forward to a peaceful, prosperous 2016. Our country’s soaring economy, robust democracy, and magnified presence on the global stage not only promise a great start to the coming year but also highlight the Philippines’ ongoing narrative of resurgence under the Daang Matuwid,” Aquino said.

“Just a little more than five years ago, we faced a future full of despair and uncertainty; reports of plunder, mismanagement, and corruption dominated our headlines. Today, progress, opportunity, and growth fill news about the Philippines both here and abroad,” he said.

“Indeed, the Daang Matuwid is a roadmap that will catapult us into First World Status and make us a $1-trillion economy by the year 2030,” he added.

Aquino vowed that in the remaining six months of his term, his administration will “faithfully pursue its tasks.”

He also urged the public to maintain and achieve more for the country by choosing the right leaders in the 2016 elections.

“As long as we bear in our hearts and minds the welfare of our people, we will realize our inherent greatness and usher in a Philippines that we can proudly bequeath to the coming generations,” Aquino said.

Palace officials, meanwhile, dismissed criticisms that the Aquino administration has not achieved much in the past five years.

“We are hoping that our people will be able to persevere in securing the gains that we have achieved. The President often refers to the importance of a transformation or change in mindset among our people,” Presidential Communications Secretary Herminio Coloma, Jr. said.

“That whereas before many of our people were resigned to hopelessness or despair, it is now palpable and evident that more of our people are hopeful and optimistic about the future, what was deemed to be impossible is now deemed possible, and there is an overall upbeat mood that would be a good augury for the future of our country,” he added.

Coloma said that among the biggest achievements of the administration in 2015 include the lower number of Filipinos working overseas, saying that the administration was able to cut it by almost half a million; the lower number of Filipino families on the poverty line; as well as the lower number of out of school youths due to the K to 12 program and the Conditional Cash Transfer (CCT) program.

The Palace official also underscored the surging economy as well as the successful visit of Pope Francis last January and the APEC Leaders’ Summit last November.

In the last six months of President Aquino’s term, meanwhile, Coloma said the administration will push for stronger bureaucracy, including efforts to increase the salary scale of government employees.

“Binanggit ng Pangulo ang kanyang paghahangad na mapahusay pa ‘yung burukrasya natin kaya nga’t inaasahan din ‘yung pagbabago sa salary scale ng ating mga government employees para naman madagdagan ‘yung kanilng insentibo na pahusayin ang kanilang serbisyo at para rin makakuha tayo ng mas mahuhusay at mas may kakayahang indibidwal na magkakaroon ng kagustuhang maglingkod sa pamahalaan [The President mentioned that he wants to strengthen the bureaucracy that’s why we are hoping for a change in the salary scale of our government employees to increase their incentives and for them to improve their services. We also want more individuals to join the public sector],” Coloma said.