June 30, 2010
FNF Features “Liberal Philippines”
on Websites
The Friedrich Naumann Foundation for Liberty (FNF) congratulates
liberal President Benigno “Noynoy” Aquino as the 15th
President of the Republic of the Philippines. FNF joins the world
community in celebrating a new era of
clean and honest government
in the Philippines. In the website of its
Headquarters
in Germany and of the
Regional
Office for Southeast and East Asia, the compelling leadership
of President Aquino is highlighted.
President Aquino brings back the Liberal Party in power after 45
years since the last liberal president was elected.
The Aquino administration’s battlecry “
Kung Walang
Corrupt Walang Mahirap” (Without corruption there is
no poverty) is a resounding
message of hope for Filipinos
after nine years of misrule of the previous regime. Mr. Jules Maaten,
the Resident Representative of the Philippine Office, in his analysis
of the new government, states that “great poverty and a stagnant
economy largely because of vested interests, and the ongoing military
conflict with the Islamic separatists in Mindanao are issues the
President has to make a good progress with.” “Over the
longer term, the prospects for Philippine prosperity and the viability
of Philippine democracy depend on the
emergence of stronger
political institutions,” Mr. Maaten said further.
Click
here
to view the complete report.
FNF takes pride in the new cabinet of President Aquino. The FNF
Philippine Office has worked with a number of his cabinet members,
among them: Department of Budget and Management (DBM) Secretary
Florencio Abad who was a founding member of the
Council
of Asian Liberals and Democrats (CALD) and Chair in 1999; Department
of Local and Interior Government (DILG) Secretary Jesse Rebredo
who attended the
International
Academy for Leadership (IAF) Seminar on Political Leadership
in 2009 and who hosted an IAF Replication Seminar on New Public
Management in Naga in 2008; Communications Group Secretary Ricky
Carandang, and Manolo Quezon who were former board members of the
liberal think tank
National Institute
for Policy Studies (NIPS).
In President Aquino's
State
of the Nation Address (SONA) on 30 June 2010, he emphasized
private-public partnerships, which is believed
can spur economic growth. He encouraged open competition
in the market and promised to ensure this by eliminating monopolies
and cartels. Free market economy is one of the basic tenets of liberalism.
