PALACE AIDE ATTEMPT TO SILENCE BISHOP BARED / TOP
TRUST RATINGS: JB, NOY, JPE
[PHOTO -Archbishop Emeritus Oscar Cruz:
Unsilenced. INQUIRER FILE PHOTO]
MANILA, JUNE 8, 2012 (INQUIRER) By Jocelyn R. Uy - A retired
Catholic archbishop and critic of the administration on Wednesday claimed a
supposed right-hand man of President Benigno Aquino's adviser on political
affairs had made inquiries on how to "keep him quiet."
Archbishop Emeritus Oscar Cruz told reporters that a staffer of Ronald
Llamas, presidential adviser on political affairs, had approached former jueteng
whistle-blower Sandra Cam sometime in March or April and asked her how he could
be "silenced" for criticizing the present administration.
Cruz identified the man who came to Cam as a certain "Zuñiga," and described
him as "some sort of right-hand man" or staff member" of Llamas.
"This man approached Cam with a question: How Oscar Cruz can be quieted,"
related the 77-year-old archbishop, former president of the Catholic Bishops'
Conference of the Philippines, and head of the Krusadang Bayan Laban sa Jueteng.
"But Sandra Cam told him that [he] cannot quiet Archbishop Cruz because he
will always say what he wants," the prelate continued, adding that the man did
not return to Cam following that encounter.
Cruz said he understood Malacañang's feelings toward him. "I know that
Malacañang hates my guts because I do not flatter it, I don't scratch its back
and I don't ask favors so when I am interviewed about my perceptions, I say what
I think although I may be wrong."
When asked why he was disclosing the incident only now, Cruz explained that
he decided not to speak about it earlier because he felt "it was not yet the
time."
"I don't think it was time for it. But now that it was openly said that the
President doesn't mind me at all and I understand that…that's why this
intervention of Llamas is not only credible but also true," said the archbishop.
Cruz said the alleged attempt to stop him from critiquing the current
administration showed that President Aquino was "really suffering from his
handlers."
"The handlers are the ones making him look ridiculous," he said. "I think the
President is more of a victim than a culprit."
Cruz has repeatedly expressed his dismay over the Aquino administration for
its failure to put a lid on the rise of "jueteng," an illegal number racket, and
its backing of population control programs, which the Catholic Church is
against.
Cruz said he had also been incensed when his anti-jueteng group disclosed in
2010—three months after Mr. Aquino assumed office—that high-level Aquino
officials were supposedly getting jueteng payoffs but the President had declared
that the issue was not among his top priorities.
Originally posted at 08:23 pm | Wednesday, June 06, 2012
Pulse Asia: Majority approve of, trust Aquino, Binay, Enrile
By Maila Ager INQUIRER.net
President Benigno Aquino, Vice President Jejomar Binay and Senate
President Juan Ponce Enrile enjoyed majority approval and trust ratings last
month, results of a survey by Pulse Asia showed.
By contrast, most Filipinos distrusted and disapproved of the performance of
then Chief Justice Renato Corona.
The survey was conducted nationwide from May 20 to 26 using face-to-face
interviews with 1,200 respondents.
Mr. Aquino scored an approval rating of 67 percent (from 70 percent in March)
while Binay got 81 percent (from 84 percent).
Corona got a disapproval rating of 60 percent (from 58 percent).
In Metro Manila, the President's approval rating dipped 11 points to 57
percent and the number of those undecided on his performance rose by 10 points
to 31 percent.
"The double-digit decline in the approval ratings of President Aquino (-11
percentage points) … in Metro Manila, as well as the double-digit increase in
the level of indecision toward presidential performance recorded among Metro
Manilans (+10 percentage points) fall short of being significant in light of the
plus-minus 6 percentage points margin of error in the different geographic
areas," Pulse Asia said.
Pulse Asia used a margin of error of plus or minus 3 percentage points for
national data and plus or minus 6 percentage points for regional data.
For his part, Binay got his biggest approval rating of 84 percent in Metro
Manila and among Class E.
The national sentiment over Corona's performance was mirrored across
geographic areas and socioeconomic classes with Mindanao giving him the biggest
disapproval rating of 67 percent.
Most trusted
In terms of trust ratings, Binay is still the most trusted among top
national officials. He got an overall trust rating of 78 percent (from 80
percent in March).
Mr. Aquino earned a trust rating of 65 percent (from 69 percent) while Enrile
scored 62 percent (from 63 percent).
Sixty-five percent expressed distrust in Corona.
By geographical areas and socioeconomic classes, a majority expressed trust
in
Mr. Aquino (from 57 percent to 68 percent), Binay (from 66 percent to 80
percent) and Enrile (from 54 percent to 76 percent).
Reacting to the results of Pulse Asia's latest survey, Malacañang noted that
no other President in recent history had enjoyed popularity and acceptance for
so long into his or her term than Mr. Aquino.
"This fact only fuels our determination to make inclusive growth a reality
for our countrymen, and to give them a government that is truly in their
service. Moving forward, our administration will remain steadfast toward
fulfilling our social contract with the Filipino people," said Edwin Lacierda,
Mr. Aquino's spokesperson.
Culture of good governance
Lacierda is unfazed by the President's approval rating going down 3
percentage points.
"The Filipino people's confidence in President Aquino remains strong. In the
recent Pulse Asia Ulat ng Bayan, the President's nationwide performance approval
rating for the second quarter of 2012 is at 67 percent while his trust rating is
at 65 percent," Lacierda said at a news briefing in Malacañang.
"This figure, statistically unchanged from the last quarter, is indicative of
public support for President Aquino's programs and initiatives, and is continued
affirmation of his efforts to establish a culture of good governance in the
public sector," he added.
Lacierda said that with what transpired in the past few months, "it shows
that the Filipino people fully support the campaign to clean up the government
and to revitalize our institutions."
"We are reaping the dividends of reform: Our country's GDP grew by 6.4
percent in the first quarter of 2012, beating the best estimates on GDP growth
for this quarter," he said.
He said government efforts to invest in Filipinos had not gone unnoticed,
noting that criticism of the President's antipoverty agenda had significantly
gone down, from 31 percent in May 2011 to just 15 percent in May 2012.
"We will not stop while we are ahead. The Department of Budget and Management
has released P5.5 billion this month for the implementation of the President's
resettlement program, which will provide for the housing requirements of
thousands of informal settlers and families living in high-risk or
calamity-stricken areas," he said.
Enrile
Malacañang is also fine with Enrile overtaking Mr. Aquino in the trust
ratings and coming second to Vice President Binay.
"It does not affect us. We are happy for the numbers of Senate President Juan
Ponce Enrile, who, by all accounts, has done a yeoman's job of handling the
Senate impeachment trial," Lacierda said.
Distrust in Corona was the majority sentiment across geographical areas and
socioeconomic classes, with Mindanao giving him a 75-percent distrust rating.
During the survey and immediately before it was conducted, the impeachment
trial of Corona resumed. He took the witness stand on May 22 and May 25 to
answer allegations against him.
Pulse Asia said all survey interviews were already completed by the time the
impeachment court voted 20-3 to convict Corona of culpable violation of the
Constitution. His conviction resulted in his dismissal from office.
The Senate, House of Representatives and Supreme Court recorded almost the
same approval and trust ratings from two months ago.
The Senate's approval rating was 48 percent in May. It was 45 percent for the
House and 44 percent for the Supreme Court.
Public trust in the Senate was 44 percent. The rating for the House stayed at
41 percent. The Supreme Court's rating was also 41 percent. Reports by Ana Roa,
Inquirer Research; Maila Ager, INQUIRER.net; and Norman Boradora, PDI
Originally posted at 12:34 pm | Wednesday, June 6, 2012
Chief News Editor: Sol
Jose Vanzi
© Copyright, 2012 by PHILIPPINE HEADLINE
NEWS ONLINE
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