Aquino: "Real democracy is freeing every citizen from hunger"

Speaking before 1,200 human resource managers, leading presidential candidate, Senator Benigno "Noynoy" S. Aquino III, vowed to prioritize job generation and reforming the education system to alleviate poverty and hunger in the country.

"I will prioritize jobs that provide the people with opportunities, that will help ease them out of poverty. In the Aquino presidency, we will make education the central strategy for investing in our people, reducing poverty and building national competitiveness," Aquino said at the People Management Association of the Philippines (PMAP) General Membership Meeting.

Aquino, the Liberal Party (LP) standard bearer, said he agreed with the PMAP National Human Resources Agenda for "people centered-development," and that this was reflected in the LP platform. He, however, stressed that no strategy to invest in people will succeed if graft and corruption are not eliminated.

"Our people cannot achieve their fullest potential with persisting and systemic corruption. This problem has deprived the poor for so long of the resources that are meant for the basic social services they so desperately need. As a result, corruption hinders the development of our people into productive members of our workforce," said he.

Aquino said he will eliminate corruption by making the bidding and procurement policies more transparent and by punishing those who will violate it. He will also shorten the approval process of government transactions, such as the payment of taxes.

Aquino ended his speech with a call to the managers to join him in the struggle against corruption.

"The real essence of democracy is in our ability to free every citizen from hunger. Taking immediate steps in lessening corruption will surely help address this crisis. Through a society free from the cudgels of excessive corruption, we can empower our people to build sustainable lives not just for their families but for future generations as well," said Aquino.