Manila: Philippine President Benigno Aquino will address parliament for the last time today, racing to secure fragile legacies of peace in the war-torn south and a stronger economy.
Aquino’s final “State of the Nation Address” is struggling to choose a successor for next year's elections to continue with his agendas, analysts said.
A peace treaty with the country's largest Muslim rebel group, aimed at ending decades of fighting that has claimed 120,000 lives, is in peril as a draft law granting self-rule to the Muslim minority is stalled in parliament.
Meanwhile, economic growth slowed to a three-year low of 5.2 percent in the first quarter.
Ramon Casiple, executive director of the Institute for Political and Electoral Reform said, “He should use his remaining political capital and tell Congress to pass the BBL.”
Aquino is indeed expected to urge parliament today to quickly pass the law, the main barrier to implementing the peace pact, according to his advisers.
If Aquino does succeed in finalising peace with the MILF, it would be one of the most important legacies of his presidency, according to Casiple and other analysts.
Aquino has had notable successes, with the Philippines earning investor grade credit ratings for the first time and overseeing some of the strongest economic growth rates in Asia before this year’s slowdown.
“In less than a year, the Filipino will again be at a crossroads,” he said last week.
Aquino’s preferred choice has long been seen as Interior Secretary Mar Roxas, his longtime ally, family friend, Liberal Party stalwart and reliable economic administrator.
But Roxas is languishing in surveys and there is a strong chance he would be easily beaten by the At the 2010 elections, opposition leader, Jejomar Binay, crushed Roxas in their contest for the vice presidency.
Aquino's other choice is first-term senator Grace Poe, who owes her immense popularity to being the daughter of famed, deceased movie star Fernando Poe.
“If I had my way, I (would have) announced my choice yesterday,” an exasperated Aquino said last week.AFP
