MANILA, Philippines--President Benigno "Noynoy" Aquino III meant to say it to her face. His first executive order would formally create the Truth Commission that would investigate corruption allegations against former President and now Pampanga representative Gloria Macapagal Arroyo.

"This week, I will sign the first ever Executive Order on the formation of this Truth Commission," said President Aquino to a clapping audience during his first State of the Nation Address (SONA) on Monday.

"We will search for the truth on the alleged wrongdoing committed in the last 9 years," he added.

It was President Aquino's campaign promise. He picked former Chief Justice Hilario Davide Jr. to head the commission.

Arroyo didn't attend the SONA, however. Former Presidential Management Staff chief Elena Bautista-Horn said Arroyo left the country to accompany husband Mike for his medical check up. The appointment cannot be postponed, she said.

More exposes

The powers of the Truth Commission remains unclear but it is reportedly intended to bypass the Office of the Ombudsman, which is currently headed by Arroyo-ally Merceditas Gutierrez. Arroyo's critics fear Gutierrez, who also served as legal counsel and justice secretary during her administration, would protect her from court cases.

Arroyo was dragged into a number of controversial deals. Among them were the botched US$379-million national broadband deal and the P728-million fertilizer fund mess.

In his SONA, President Aquino exposed more allegedly corrupt deals under the Arroyo administration.

• Arroyo's district in Pampanga received a big chunk of the calamity funds (P108 million) intended for the victims of typhoons Pepeng and Ondoy. Pangasinan, which was worse hit, only received P5 million. Aquino said it was even more suspicious because the funds were released during the campaign period.
• The Arroyo administration allegedly misused at least P480-million from the motor vehicle users' charges to fund projects that "make no sense." He said her administration did this by diverting funds for 218 priority projects of the Deparment of Public Works and Highways to 70 new projects that were not in the original plans.
• President Aquino also questioned Arroyo's policies absorbing the debt of the National Power Corporation (NAPOCOR) and the purchase of MRT by government-owned banks LandBank and the Development Bank of the Philippines. In the short term, the policies prevented further power rate and fare hikes, respectively. But the long term effects are too costly, he said. Taxpayers have to shoulder the loans and the interests.
• The Arroyo administration allegedly over-imported rice leading to National Food Authority's (NFA) current debt of P177 billion. Based on President Aquino's SONA, NFA imported 1.827 million metric tons of rice in 2007 or more than 3 times the shortage of 589,000 metric tons that year. He said the excess rice that were stored in warehouses ended up rotting.
• Under the Arroyo administration, the Metropolitan Waterworks and Sewerage Systems (MWSS) gave its employees bloated benefits almost equivalent to a 30-month pay or more than twice the benefits of a regular government employee. The salaries of the MWSS Board of Trustees is "even more shocking," he said. They get up to P90,000 a month for merely attending board meetings. This is on top of their P80,000 annual grocery incentives, mid-year, anniversary, year-end and productivity bonuses. He called on these officials to quit their posts.

Coffers nearly empty

Leaving a deficit of P196.7 billion, President Aquino said there is not enough funds to meet the needs of the country.

"Our budget for 2010 is P1.54 trillion. Of this, only P100 billion or 6.5% of the total budget can be used for the remaining 6 months of the current year. Roughly 1% of the total budget is left for each of the remaining month," he said.

He said the solution is private-public partnerships (PPPs).

"There are some who have already shown interest and want to build an expressway from Manila that will pass through Bulacan, Nueva Ecija, Nueva Vizcaya, until the end of Cagayan Valley, without the government having to spend a single peso," he boasted in his SONA.

He saiud he is also considering renting out the Navy headquarters on Roxas Boulevard and the Naval Station in Fort Bonifacio in exchange for, among others, initial payment of US$100 million and share on the profits of the businesses that would occupy the land they will rent.

"In short, we will meet our needs without spening, and we will also earn.... There have been many proposals from local to foreign investors to provide for our various needs," President Aquino said.

If successful, Aquino said PPPs could fund education, infrastructure, health, and security.

This direction  was assailed by the Freedom from Debt Coalition, however.

"We are bother that President Aquino proposed a policy which the civil society has long opposed, particularly the PPP, considering that he promised to be open to inputs and one of the inputs of the FDC was to stop these debt-creating Build-Operate-Transfer projects," said FDC secretary-general Milo Tanchuling in a statement.

"We in FDC are extremely disappointed that Aquino has decided to continue his predecessor's failed economic policies," Tanchuling added.

Department of Budget and Management Secretary Florencio "Butch" Abad said the PPPs will not happen soon.

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