Unlike others who were underwhelmed by President Aquino’s first State-of –the Nation address because they were expecting revelations more shocking than those he had leaked while he was still finalizing his speech, I found it just okay.
Sure, a large part of his speech was a litany of Gloria Arroyo’s sins. One cannot and should never be jaded about anomalies and abuse of power. Even if you know it’s happening all the time, who would not be shocked over the gargantuan salaries of the members of the board of the Metropolitan Waterworks and Sewerage System.
He said, “Noong 2009, ang buong payroll ng MWSS ay 51.4 million pesos. Pero hindi lang naman po ito ang sahod nila; may mga additional allowances at benefits pa sila na aabot sa 160.1 million pesos. Sa madaling sabi, nakatanggap sila ng 211.5 million pesos noong nakaraang taon. Beinte-kuwatro porsyento lang nito ang normal na sahod, at sitenta’y sais porsyento ang dagdag….
