Unfazed by its dismal public satisfaction rating, Malacanang is proud of its string of modest achievements under the 10-point legacy agenda, particularly the generation of more than 14 million jobs at the end of 2009.

Press Secretary Cerge Remonde said the government has also modernized the nation with better transport and digital infrastructure, brought electricity and water to communities, improved the quality of and access to education, among others, in 2009.

The country’s first automated elections will also push through in May 2010, as promised by the President in her BEAT THE ODDS program in 2004, according to Remonde.

The government, however, stumbled on its achieving other ambitious goals, such as balancing the budget and forging reconciliation among the political forces of Edsa 1, 2 and 3.

The ambitious legacy program, which started in 2004, is targeted for completion when the President ends her nine-year reign in Malacanang in 2010.

The BEAT THE ODDS achievements, implemented through massive funds, so far involved tough policy choices and immediate, decisive actions which at times eroded the Presidency’s popularity, according to the Palace official.

“All these have since begun to prove well worth the sacrifice of short-term social desirability. For instance, the production and movement of goods and services are now much cheaper and faster; and, the wellness and rights of our neediest people, better safeguarded,” he said.

On its goal to generate six to 10 million jobs by 2010, the government was able to create 14.12 million jobs from 2004 to November 2009, mostly from micro, small, and medium enterprises, housing, agribusiness land development, tourism, mining, and information and communication technology.

The latest job generation figure was 235.30 percent of the six million minimum target and 141.18 percent of the 10 million maximum target.

A total of 3.78 million jobs were created from the construction of 505,049 housing units constructed in 2004 to November 2009.

The MSME sector generated 3.5 million jobs, surpassing the target of three million entrepreneurs from 2004 to October 2009.

Around 2.44 million Filipinos were employed from the development of 1.67 million hectares of agricultural lands from 2005 to September 2009.

From January 2004 to November 2009, the government has provided electricity to 2,870 barangays, bringing the total to 41,484 energized barangays. The figure represents 98.82 percent of the 41,980 communities across the country.

A total of 8.9 million people were also given access to clean water through the completion of the administration’s water projects.

On its goal to provide education for all, the government and the private sector have built 100,605 classrooms from 2001 to 2009, improving the classroom-to-student ratio to 1:39 for elementary and 1:55 for secondary. At least 13,750 classrooms were built alone this year, which exceeded the annual target of 6,000.

The education department has achieved its target of textbook-to-student ratio of 1:1 for all subjects in 2007 while initiated various training for teachers, and provided scholarships in high school and college. Backed by the private sector, the government has installed computer laboratories in 5,396 out of the 6,650 high schools by the end of 2009.

Decongesting Metro Manila was also hastened through the construction of transport infrastructure that linked the metropolis to nearby provinces and establishment of regional government centers.