MANILA STANDARD: AQUINO'S STRENGTH AND WEAKNESSES
WASHINGTON, DC, DECEMBER 29, 2010 (MANILA STANDARD) TO THE POINT BY EMIL JURADO - If you think that all the frenzy of Christmas shopping is now over, think again.
There's still the partying for the New Year, including the madness of using firecrackers, some of which turn deadly. But if cities like Makati, Davao, Muntinlupa could ban these products for the New Year celebrations, why can't the rest of the country do the same?
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With the six months of the Aquino administration drawing to a close, has the President really given Filipinos the change that he promised during the campaign?
I do admit that Aquino has given Filipinos hope and high expectations. He still enjoys that trust. But just like any other administration, this one has its strengths and weaknesses.
The economy is going strong. Gross domestic product growth will likely hit 7 percent this year. Anybody would have to be blind not to see economic progress. There is a property boom here, and it's not a bubble, either.
Foreign direct investments are also growing despite perceptions of corruption and the difficulty in getting into business.
The stock market is bullish and our gross international reserves are at an all-time high. Consumer confidence has also grown and so has the confidence of business and industry. Remittances from migrant workers have remained strong. Inflation has been held in check.
The public-private partnership program promises to create more jobs.
All these augur well for the Aquino administration. Thanks to President Aquino's economic team headed by Finance Secretary Cesar Purisima with Trade Secretary Gregory Domingo, Budget Secretary Florencio Abad, Energy Secretary Jose Rene Almendras, National Economic and Development Authority chief Cayetano Paderanga and Bangko Sentral Gov. Amando Tetangco as members.
There are also Justice Secretary Leila de Lima, Internal Revenue Commissioner Kim Henares and Customs Commissioner Angelito Alvarez. They have given meaning to President Aquino's campaign against corruption, tax evasion and smuggling.
While there are those who say that De Lima talks too much for comfort, it is evident that she's hardworking and gets things done. Then, for once, the BIR under Henares doesn't hesitate to drop the axe on VIPs, celebrities and so-called sacred cows.
Alvarez's struggle to reform his agency may take some time, but he may yet be able to achieve something which others before him failed to do.
I did not vote for President Aquino, but I am hopeful he will do better in the coming months and years. Santa Banana, we either sink or swim with him!
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And then there are the weaknesses.
There is that three-legged hydra called the Communications Group. Why should it take three Cabinet officials to do what a single press secretary has done before?
From Day One, Carandang and Coloma have been making conflicting statements on behalf of the President. Lacierda is not doing better, either. These officials belong to different factions within the Aquino camp.
There are also the deadbeats in the Aquino cabinet, like Interior and Local Government undersecretary Rico Puno who was held responsible for that hostage tragedy and who was allegedly involved in jueteng. Why can't the President get rid of him?
Then, there's acting Local Governments Secretary Jesse Robredo. He does not seem to realize that the President does not have enough faith in him so much so that he remains in acting capacity. Any other would have resigned out of self-respect. Not Robredo.
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But the Achilles' heel of the administration is its legal team, composed of Executive Secretary Paquito Ochoa and presidential legal counsel Ed de Mesa. They have been committing one blunder after another.
I don't know if the three Cabinet members who the President says may be replaced include Ochoa and De Mesa. But he should get rid of these lightweights, as Senator Miriam Santiago refers to them.
I cannot fault the President solely for these weaknesses. He still has a lot of things to learn. This is made worse by the fact that he is surrounded by seemingly incompetent individuals.
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The President should show us that political patronage and payback are a thing of the past.
I refer particularly to the three groups—the Times Group of originals, the Samar Group of Cory loyalists, and the Balay Group of Mar Roxas and the Liberal Party—that supported his candidacy. Now their infighting derails the momentum of change when the President has promised us, his bosses, no less.
The infighting has come to a point that even the confirmation of some of the competent and highly-qualified members of the Cabinet are imperiled.
This is seen with the apparent inability of Malacañang in filling up positions in government-owned and -controlled corporations.
This unfortunate squabbling will make things difficult for the President.
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Since the President continues to have the support of the people, he should drop the axe where he should.
He still has 2011 to do just that. Sooner or later, however, the popularity might wane. It is like ice cream that melts as time passes.
Sooner or later, people will start doubting whether he can really deliver.
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Chief News Editor: Sol Jose Vanzi
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