Aquino appeals to NGOs: Don’t be too negative

MANILA, Philippines – He’s at it again — complaining about the complaints he gets against his administration.

Obviously at home, President Benigno Aquino III thanked a crowd of about a thousand members of friendly non-government organizations (NGOs), most of whom campaigned for him in 2010, for supporting his administration. But he railed against others who are “too negative” toward his administration.

“May hiling lang po ako: sa pagsabak natin sa mga diyalogo, tiyakin nating nakakapag-aambag tayo ng makabuluhang punto; hindi ‘yung puro papogi lang tulad ng iba. Hindi naman tamang batikos lang tayo nang batikos, pero tikom naman ang bibig sa paglalatag ng paraan upang malutas ang mga problema (I have a wish. If you criticize, make sure you are making an important contribution. Others criticize a lot with the goal to advertise themselves. But they keep quiet when it comes to proposing possible solutions.),” Aquino said in his speech at the Caucus of Development NGOs (CODE-NGO) in its 20^th year anniversary celebration on Thursday, November 22.

Members of civil society were among Aquino’s most ardent supporters in 2010. Many of them eventually joined his administration. Among them are: Department of Social Welfare and Development Secretary Corazon “Dinky” Soliman, Budget Secretary Butch Abad, peace process adviser Teresita “Ging” Deles, and National Anti-Poverty Commission head Joel Rocamora.

Aquino said he is always open to dialogue but he doesn’t appreciate those who keep on complaining but could not offer tangible solutions to problems.

“Solusyon ang kailangan, hindi po photo op, hindi negatibismo, at lalong hindi transaksyonal na politikang nagtatangka na ibalik ang dating sistema (We need solutions, not photo op. Not negativism, and definitely not the old transactional politics that others are trying to put back in place),” Aquino said.

Aquino also narrated how he would get so many complaints through SMS. “Kada magkausap po kami ulit, ite-text ako baka may puring isa at may reklamong sampu (Everytime we talk, I would get one SMS message that would praise the administration and 10 that would complain about other things),” he said.

“Sabi ko, ‘Itong mga ginagawa namin mukhang kulang. Baka may mas maganda kang ideya. Ituro mo naman sa amin para mapabilis natin.’ Hanggang ngayon ho, hinihintay ko pa ho ang tugon niya (I said, ‘What we’re doing seems to be not enough. Perhaps you have a better idea. Why don’t you teach us how to do it better and faster? I’m still waiting for his response),” he added.

In Aquino’s political career, there were many ocassions that he joined the opposition – during the Marcos and the Arroyo administrations.

What Aquino realized, he said, was how easy it is to complain. “Madali ho ang magreklamo. Mahirap po ang iyung gumawa. At kayo po, pinakita n’yong, hindi lang may reklamo, talagang kinontrahan n’yong maling umiiral na sistema, pero gumawa at kumilos para iwasto ‘yung sistema. ‘Yun po ang pinagkaiba ng sinserong talagang gustong tumulong at ‘yung nagpapa-cute lang,” he told the crowd.

Last week, the President also rued how the Philippine media tended to focus on the bad news. – Rappler.com