MANILA, SEPTEMBER 30, 2010 (TRIBUNE) Today marks the 93rd day of Noynoy Aquino in the presidential office. He has only seven days left, or a week, to his first 100 days, which time Filipinos traditionally get to size him up by way of performance, actions and policy directions.
Noynoy has wasted those precious days to make his mark as President of the Republic, media honeymoon or no. It was a time for him and his administrators to prove that they could hit the ground running, showing their capability in handling the affairs of state.
To this day, there is hardly any achievement Noynoy and his administration can latch on to, in proving that competence and ability to run government and this country. There is not even any policy direction that has been given out by his administration which appears to be lost at sea, and not knowing where to steer the ship toward safe ground.
Today he brags that his claimed P25 million trip to the United States netted $2.4 billion in foreign investments plus some $435 million in millennium aid, and opened up some 45,000 jobs over three to five years, along with the claim that he has successfully projected that the Philippines is now open for business under his presidency.
Every Philippine president who comes home from a trip abroad always claims to have secured so much in foreign investments and that the country is open for business.
In truth, these are mere "commitments" to invest from US companies that in the end, do not invest that much, if they invest at all.
The claimed investment of the $1-billion power plant project which American Energy Solutions (AES) Corp., an American company, is undertaking was also a commitment of AES to invest in the country as early as 2007, under then President Gloria Arroyo. It had earlier won the bidding for the 660-megawatt Masinloc plant for $900 million. This didn't push through then, but the Noynoy propagandists are now giving him full credit for having bagged this $1-billion AES project, claiming that now the AES investment by way of its project in the country will push through, after AES was assured by Noynoy that its concerns would be addressed.
That's a cock and bull story the propagandists are handing out. Why would a big company that is said to have plans of pouring $1 billion, over a three-year period and one, moreover that also committed to invest in the country three years ago but didn't, suddenly do so, merely on assurances made by Noynoy during his meeting with American businessmen? Their confidence in him? That's hogwash. He hasn't even proved his leadership at all.
Noynoy and his administration haven't shown, in 93 days that they can hack the job and with his flip-flopping ways. Why should an assurance from Noynoy make US big business plunk tens of millions, if not billions, in investment dollars in the country?
The same goes for the Coca-Cola's $1 billion investment, which amount was also promised Gloria Arroyo, but there went the Palace propagandists, claiming that this $1 billion investment of Coca-Cola was "different" from the $1 billion investment announced last year by Gloria.
It's the same commitment and amount to invest in the country, as announced by then Executive Secretary Eduardo Ermita in August last year.
Is Malacañang saying that Coke is going to pour in another $1 billion for the next five years, as AES would? And all because they trust Noynoy Aquino due to his genes?
They didn't plunk those billions during his mother's time and there was more hope placed on her after the Edsa revolt.
And Noynoy, with only one week to go on his 100 days, hasn't shown anything to inspire confidence in him as a leader, especially after committing blunder after blunder.
Dumb, Filipinos aren't. Neither are American big businessmen.
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Chief News Editor: Sol Jose Vanzi
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