Thank you. Kindly sit down. Kumusta po kayo?
Senate President Vicente Sotto III and the honorable members of the Senate; House Speaker Alan Peter Cayetano and the honorable members of the House of Representatives; Vice President Maria Leonor Robredo, magandang hapon po sa inyo --- sa iyo, ma’am, [applause] kung nasaan ka; former Presidents Fidel V. Ramos, Joseph Ejercito, [applause] Macapagal-Arroyo [applause]; His Excellency Caccia and the esteemed members of the diplomatic corps; Executive Secretary Salvador Medialdea and the other members of the Cabinet; Chief Justice Lucas Bersamin and the Supreme Court; my fellow workers in government; mga mahal kong kababayan.
Let me begin by extending my hand in gratitude to all who kept faith with me in our most trying times. Numbers speak a thousand words and tell a hundred tales. But the landslide victory of the Administration candidates as well as the latest survey results shows that my disapproval rating is 3%. [applause] I hope that the members of Congress --- sana hindi kayo included sa 3% [laughter] --- inspires me with determination to pursue relentlessly what we have started at the start of my administration.
Few men imbued with the will and the courage to do what he believes is right and just and whatever be the opposition in terms of numbers and noise, makes a majority. For it is not the eagle in the fight but the fight in the eagle that matters. [applause] Believe me, I will end my term fighting.
It has been three years since I took my oath of office, and it pains me to say that we have not learned our lesson. The illegal drug problem persists. Corruption continues and emasculates the courage we need to sustain our moral recovery initiatives.
Years ago, we saw the terrible devastation caused by illegal drugs. On May 23, 2017, our law enforcers launched an operation to serve a warrant and to neutralize terrorists. A group of armed men with sophisticated weaponry and aided by locals radicalized by extremist dogma and teachings fought our troops for weeks. During that Marawi Siege, tons of shabu worth millions and millions of pesos. Drug money killed 175 and wounded [2,101] of my soldiers and policemen in that five-month battle.
I am aware that we still have a long way to go in our fight against this social menace. Let the reason why I advocate the imposition of the death penalty for crimes related to illegal drugs. Our citizens have begun to do their part in the war against drugs, and through the barangay formation of anti-drug councils, and also actually surrendering bricks of cocaine found floating in the sea into our islands. I call this responsibility. However, the drugs will not be crushed unless we continue to eliminate corruption that allows this social monster to survive.
I respectfully request Congress to reinstate the death penalty for heinous crimes [applause] related to drugs, as well as plunder.
My countrymen, it is a sad commentary that we cannot distinguish our need from our greed, our principles from our prejudices, the real from the fake, and the truth from a lie. The reason is because that many of us, what matters above all is the “self.” It is selfishness [at] its worst for no purpose other than personal aggrandizement.
To borrow the language of F. Sionil Jose, we have not risen above and beyond the parochial interests. Our warped loyalty to family, friends and tribal kin continue to exact a heavy toll on our programs designed to uplift the poor and reassure our investors, our foreign investors local, and the business sector in this country.
The recent uncovering of the massive fraud perpetrated against the public health insurance system proves that corruption is pervasive. Huge amounts of medical funds were released to cover padded medical claims and imaginary treatment of ghost patients. I am grossly disappointed. The government is conned of millions of pesos which could be used to treat illnesses and possibly save the lives of many. Thus I ordered the NBI to arrest and cause the prosecution of those liable. I appointed a new PhilHealth President, whom I know is a man of integrity, a military man, a former military officer, and gave him marching orders to prioritize ridding the agency of corruption.
By the way, I commend the Bureau of Investigation for its handling of high profile cases resulting in the arrest and prosecution of criminals. These culprits will have their day of reckoning in court. I hope it happens during the last three years of my term.
Concerning the unscrupulous persons manning our ports and scalawags in uniform, we have been unyielding in our reforms to weed them out of public service.