The popularity of President Benigno Aquino III has remained stable based on recent surveys conducted by both the private and public research institutions. There are several instances where it tumbled a few percentage points, but other than that, the trust ratings can still be considered high relative to previous administrations.
Despite his popularity, President Aquino has one major stumbling block. This barrier remains a major factor why many critics are unperturbed in expressing their scorn and indignation at his policies. The people he appoints who are supposed to be "of unassailable integrity and good performance" are also the ones who is dragging down his leadership.
If you take a look at his "Daang Matuwid" team, you can see the head of Philippine National Police (PNP) who cannot control the disturbing crime wave despite having ground commanders that tried unsuccessfully to manipulate local crime data.
The police authorities are also having a hard time fighting the increasing number of crimes committed by those 'riding-in-tandem,' sidewalk vendors and abusive public vehicles. Seriously, have you heard any reports that says a decreasing number of those victimized by motorbike-riding-criminals?
How about this, the Board members of the Social Security System (SSS) and the Metropolitan Waterworks and Sewerage System (MWSS) that President Aquino personally appointed do not want to get away from their huge perks in the private sector and thought that it will be within their privilege to award themselves with million-peso bonuses for mismanagement. The public has expressed its objection to this blatant disregard of moral standards, but it fell on deaf ears.
The government has a transportation secretary who gave the go signal for a domestic blacklisted firm and its undercapitalized Dutch partner to produce license plates for all vehicles. There was also a Land Transport Office (LTO) chief who remained untouchable despite being caught red-handed gambling in a casino. That same LTO chief was later asked to resign to save face without any penalties or sanctions.
The current environment Secretary was tagged as a forester who allegedly lets illegal mines destroy the forests. The governor of Zambales was accused of conducting illegal nickel, chromite, and black sand extraction with some Chinese by continuously invoking his title as the President’s mother’s loyalist deputy at the Presidential Security Group (PSG).
Another despairing allegation involves the agriculture Secretary who allegedly is having a hard time stabilizing the supply and price of the Filipino staple, rice. This could be attributed, in part, to the heads of the National Food Authority (NFA) and the National Irrigation Administration (NIA) whose sole qualification for office is their closeness the agriculture boss.
Lastly, we have the President’s budget secretary, who consolidated from line agencies PhP 800 million worth of pork barrel for his lawmaker wife's province, which was considered the smallest among the 82 in the country and having a population of only 16,000. And they expect us to believe that it's equitable distribution of resources.
If we want a "Daang Matuwid", then we have to choose the most infallible officials in government first and not those who voluntarily pile excrement on themselves. It is obvious that there are still some untapped people in this country who have more talent than what the current officials will ever obtain.
Despite his popularity, President Aquino has one major stumbling block. This barrier remains a major factor why many critics are unperturbed in expressing their scorn and indignation at his policies. The people he appoints who are supposed to be "of unassailable integrity and good performance" are also the ones who is dragging down his leadership.
If you take a look at his "Daang Matuwid" team, you can see the head of Philippine National Police (PNP) who cannot control the disturbing crime wave despite having ground commanders that tried unsuccessfully to manipulate local crime data.
The police authorities are also having a hard time fighting the increasing number of crimes committed by those 'riding-in-tandem,' sidewalk vendors and abusive public vehicles. Seriously, have you heard any reports that says a decreasing number of those victimized by motorbike-riding-criminals?
How about this, the Board members of the Social Security System (SSS) and the Metropolitan Waterworks and Sewerage System (MWSS) that President Aquino personally appointed do not want to get away from their huge perks in the private sector and thought that it will be within their privilege to award themselves with million-peso bonuses for mismanagement. The public has expressed its objection to this blatant disregard of moral standards, but it fell on deaf ears.
The government has a transportation secretary who gave the go signal for a domestic blacklisted firm and its undercapitalized Dutch partner to produce license plates for all vehicles. There was also a Land Transport Office (LTO) chief who remained untouchable despite being caught red-handed gambling in a casino. That same LTO chief was later asked to resign to save face without any penalties or sanctions.
The current environment Secretary was tagged as a forester who allegedly lets illegal mines destroy the forests. The governor of Zambales was accused of conducting illegal nickel, chromite, and black sand extraction with some Chinese by continuously invoking his title as the President’s mother’s loyalist deputy at the Presidential Security Group (PSG).
Another despairing allegation involves the agriculture Secretary who allegedly is having a hard time stabilizing the supply and price of the Filipino staple, rice. This could be attributed, in part, to the heads of the National Food Authority (NFA) and the National Irrigation Administration (NIA) whose sole qualification for office is their closeness the agriculture boss.
Lastly, we have the President’s budget secretary, who consolidated from line agencies PhP 800 million worth of pork barrel for his lawmaker wife's province, which was considered the smallest among the 82 in the country and having a population of only 16,000. And they expect us to believe that it's equitable distribution of resources.
If we want a "Daang Matuwid", then we have to choose the most infallible officials in government first and not those who voluntarily pile excrement on themselves. It is obvious that there are still some untapped people in this country who have more talent than what the current officials will ever obtain.