Aquino, who cited gains made in the first two years of his administration, said these must be sustained even beyond his presidency by their abiding by the principles of the Liberal Party to put the interest of the people above their own.

He encouraged the new LP members to focus on pursuing change towards sustainable progress and development.

It would be painful for our people to get a taste of change and progress, only for the nation to return to the ways of the past when he steps down in 2016, Aquino said.

He said everyday they discover problems from the past administration that have to be fixed, citing the Tulay ng Pangulo project wherein 400 prefabricated bridges were ordered for P11 billion without first getting the measurements for the rivers where they would be placed.

He said the contract for the bridges worth billions of pesos was signed during the Arroyo administration on June 28, 2010, or two days before he assumed the presidency.

It is a good thing the foreign firm contracted agreed to a request that the government only pay for the bridges they had already made, enabling the government to lessen its losses, he said.

The President contrasted his administration with that of former President Gloria Macapagal-Arroyo which “imported rice only for the grains to rot in warehouses.” On the other hand, he said, the Department of Agriculture under his term “is on its way to making the country a net exporter of rice next year.”

He also cited improvements at the PAG-ASA and Department of Social Welfare and Development that enables government to swiftly assist residents when disasters strike.

Aquino also said his administration by August will have built 8,000 houses for residents relocated from disaster-prone areas, and has provided conditional cash transfers to three million families living below the poverty line under the Pantawid Pamilya program and aims to increase the number to 4.6 million families.

The president also pointed out that the past administration said 98 percent of the country’s barangays had been provided with electricity, but it meant even if just one sitio had electricity the whole barangay was counted as having been reached.

That meant he inherited 36,000 sitios still not connected to electricity, Aquino said.

Electrification of sitios is now being undertaken at cheaper costs than in the past and when he steps down in 2016 his successor will not inherit sitios needing electrification, Aquino added.

He also pointed out that 5.2 million families are now enrolled in PhilHealth, the stock market has broken its record for the 27th time, and the country is experiencing a construction boom.

After his speech, the staff of the president instructed the media to move to a holding area for a press conference, but after a 30-minute wait, the President who met with the Negros Occidental mayors, got into his vehicle and merely rolled down his window to wave at the waiting journalists as he left.*CPG

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