Pasig cops secure venue for PNoy's 'Ulat sa Bayan'

Pasig City police on Thursday secured the PhilSports Arena where President Benigno Aquino III was to deliver his report to the nation or "Ulat sa Bayan." City police chief Senior Superintendent Jessie Cardona said he will tap the Eastern Police District (EPD) and Metro Manila police if more personnel are needed, radio dzBB's Glen Juego reported. The report quoted Cardona as instructing his men to observe "maximum tolerance," especially after Malacañang said it will not drive away protesters. However, Cardona said the EPD and National Capital Region Police Office (NCRPO) personnel are ready to respond to any emergency. For his part, city traffic and parking management sector officer-in-charge Marcelino Lugtu said there will be no traffic rerouting during the Ulat sa Bayan. Meanwhile, Aquino got a failing grade in four "subjects" from militant groups, who said the president did little to uplift the condition of the people. The Bagong Alyansang Makabayan also planned to hold a protest march to Mendiola Bridge near Malacañang on Thursday to mark Aquino's first year in office. "In his first year as president, Aquino miserably failed to live up to his own hype and 'change' rhetoric. Aquino can’t claim to be the complete opposite of Gloria Macapagal Arroyo because he merely continued many of Arroyo’s policies. Aquino’s so-called 'daang matuwid' has turned out to be one full of roadblocks, expensive toll gates, potholes, and wrong directions," Bayan secretary general Renato Reyes Jr. said in a statement posted on the Bayan website. “Despite his rhetoric of good governance, the Aquino government has not brought any charge against Arroyo for the crimes of plunder, election fraud and gross human rights violations. The economy remains in bad shape because of his failure to implement long-term programs for employment, higher wages, land reform and national industrialization," Reyes added. The grade of “4" is the second lowest grade before the outright failing mark of “5." Bayan said Aquino flunked in the economy due to increasing unemployment, rising inflation, depressed wages, and hollow economic growth overall. It added the government's "pantawid" (stopgap) programs were the most the government could offer amid the worsening economic situation, noting that the Conditional Cash Transfer (CCT) program was started during the Arroyo administration. On human rights, Bayan said Aquino has so far done very little to make human rights violators accountable. While it acknowledged Aquino’s withdrawal of charges against the "Morong 43" – 43 health workers arrested in 2010 on suspicion of being communist rebels last year – the government has yet to file charges against any military official involved in extrajudicial killings, abductions and torture. Bayan claimed such a lack of accountability has emboldened the military to "continue" its violations, citing 45 cases of extrajudicial killings under Aquino. Meanwhile, Bayan advised Aquino's advisers to show more humility in reacting to criticism. “Their can-do-no-wrong attitude will do them no good. What we’re seeing now is that Aquino can be just as callous as Arroyo. The regime also refuses to take responsibility for its own actions and failures," Reyes said. "The Aquino regime thinks it can blame everything on Arroyo. The ridiculous part is that Aquino has not really gone after Arroyo during the past year. It all been one PR after another, along with the occasional Twitter barbs, but no cases have been filed," he added. — LBG, GMA News