MANILA, OCTOBER 7, 2010 (STAR) By Elisa Osorio Businessmen yesterday gave President Aquino a score of eight out of 10 for his first 100 days in office.
"There were glitches but it is just part of the learning curve. We need to give him time to adjust," Philippine Chamber of Commerce and Industry (PCCI) chairman Sergio Ortiz-Luis said.
Even with the high marks, Ortiz-Luis said it is still difficult to gauge if investors will indeed come in since most of the data, including the visit of Mr. Aquino to the US, are simply commitments and not actual investments.
With regard to presidential appointments, particularly on the President's choice of his official family, Ortiz-Luis said there are some who have not performed as well as expected. He did not identify the Cabinet officials.
But on the upside, PCCI gave high marks to Trade Secretary Gregory Domingo.
"The business sector is very pleased with Domingo. Although it is common knowledge that he has some biases, he is quite candid and is open to listening to us," Ortiz-Luis said.
Ortiz-Luis also said the Aquino administration has faced many challenges during the first 100 days. Although the reactions by the administration need a lot of improvement, he said the people must allow Mr. Aquino and his Cabinet some leeway because some of the members of the Cabinet are new to government service.
"There were no major blunders. All in all we remain optimistic," he said.
On the business side, Ortiz-Luis said that it is difficult to say if the wait-and-see attitude of the investors will change.
"They would like to see real changes, especially in graft and corruption, red tape and the peace and order situation," he pointed out.
Ortiz-Luis said all the changes will take a long time to achieve but the President can show that his promise of "daang matuwid" (the right path) is consistent in his efforts to attract more investors in the country.
Ortiz-Luis said he had the impression that Mr. Aquino is laying the groundwork for change in his first 100 days in office, which is why it is not enough to see if major changes have been attained.
"During his campaign he promised to reform the perceived errors of the past administration. He has started with the basics like salaries. It is time to do the harder things," he said.
Reporting on his first 100 days in office in a town hall-style meeting aired on national television, Mr. Aquino fielded questions in his trademark baritone but had to cope with several guests heckling him.
A group of students stole the show from Mr. Aquino by demanding a higher budget for education.
"You must avoid slashing the budget for state universities. If we are really your boss as you said we are, then you must listen to us," one of the students shouted while pointing a finger at the President.
Mr. Aquino played it cool by telling the student hecklers that the government has already increased the allocation for education.
He wore a big smile even while the four students led by Cesarie Ann Santos, president of the University of the Philippines-Manila student council, were heckling him.
Mr. Aquino also told the gathering that the peso was gaining strength, local share prices were at an all-time high, and the Philippines has been removed from an Organization for Economic Cooperation and Development (OECD) blacklist of tax dodger havens.
"These show international confidence in our economy, our people and our government. And while the peso is gaining strength and the economy is expanding, prices have remained stable," he said.
Mixed reactions
Lawmakers, on the other hand, gave Mr. Aquino mixed reviews on his first 100 days in office.
House Deputy Speaker Isabelle Climaco (Zamboanga City) said Mr. Aquino showed sincerity in his first 100 days in office to serve the people and lead with available resources.
North Cotabato Rep. Jesus Sacdalan said Mr. Aquino performed well considering the many problems he has to confront.
"And this is reflected in his high popularity rating," Sacdalan said.
"We should also remember that the work of improving our country does not fall on one man alone. So if he rates high or low that appraisal collectively reflects on all of us," he said.
Maguindanao Rep. Simeon Datumanong, for his part, said the first 100 days of Mr. Aquino saw his first three executive orders being questioned before the Supreme Court.
He said those days were also marred by the bloody hostage-taking incident.
Eastern Samar Rep. Ben Evardone gave Mr. Aquino's first 100 days in office a "passing grade" and offered a detailed explanation on where his high and law marks were, including "A's" for honesty, keeping a simple lifestyle and promoting business and investor confidence.
Evardone, however, gave "D's" or what he called "balkanization" of the Department of the Interior and Local Government (DILG), failure to take drastic action against government officials linked to indiscretion and incompetence, among others.
Ang Galing Pinoy party-list Rep. Juan Miguel Arroyo said the drastic decline of Mr. Aquino's popularity only after three months in office only showed his line of governance centered on vengeance against the previous administration.
But for Diwa party-list Rep. Emmeline Aglipay, the 60 percent net satisfactory rating for Mr. Aquino in his first 100 days in office is still high.
"I don't believe that the decline in his trust rating is enough to say that people have lost trust in him. While the dip was relatively high, we should take note that there were some factors which have contributed to that, particularly the hostage-taking fiasco," she said.
Former Vice President Noli de Castro said it would be too early to judge how Mr. Aquino has performed with just 100 days in office.
"Maybe after 1,000 days or by next year then we can judge him," De Castro said. "The poor are still hoping that President Noynoy will be able to improve their lives."
For Interior Secretary Jesse Robredo, the high satisfaction rating received by Mr. Aquino in the surveys is the true measurement of how the President performed in his first 100 days.
"The most objective assessment really is that survey. It's not an assessment of mine or an assessment of a critic," Robredo said, referring to the Social Weather Stations (SWS) survey revealing the President received a net satisfaction rating of 60 percent.
In spite of some bumps on the road, Robredo said Mr. Aquino has performed very well by instituting some innovations and trailblazing initiatives during his first 100 days in office.
He said that the administration is truly focused on doing what is right and that this would translate to more changes and progress in the future.
Robredo admitted the bloody hostage incident had a negative impact on Mr. Aquino's satisfaction rating. –With Delon Porcalla, Paolo Romero
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Chief News Editor: Sol Jose Vanzi
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