As Mr. Aquino’s negatives pile-up
HERE’s something President Aquino and his handlers should already know. During this legacy phase of his presidency, he and they need to realize that his negatives are piling up, which could further diminish his standing among the people.
More and more citizens are voicing dissatisfaction over Mr. Aquino’s administration and his official actions. More and more media outlets have been carrying negative news.
While the President is unassailable on the personal integrity front, his administration’s performance has received much criticism for supposed ineptitude and incompetence. Unlike past presidents, Aquino stands out as personally upright, without blemish when it comes to the historical practice of stealing from the nation’s coffers or receiving money from illegal sources. On this score, the President can stand scrutiny.
But when it comes to official performance, more and more observers have been giving the President a so- so evaluation.
The country’s many problems remain unsolved. Daily sacrifices continue to be the ordinary citizens’ lot. Poverty is the greatest cross to bear for many people. Despite overall economic progress, the government has been unable to help the poor crawl out of poverty.
Daily existence is miserable for millions of us. How do you survive if you have no job? How do yo feed yourself and your family?
Consequently, many of the poor resort to crime. They break in and steal from homes. They rob innocent people even in broad daylight. They need to eat, too, they justify their wrongdoing. But where does that leave their victims? Don’t they have to eat, too?
The police can’t keep up with the gallop of crime, making life for many citizens even harder. Local governments are unable to stem the tide of criminality in their respective communities. They’re unable to come up with initiatives to improve their citizens’ lives and livelihoods.
From barangay to national level, politicians have been stealing from us and we’re only now finding out the extent of their thievery. No doubt we’ve not unearthed the whole story of how much our leaders have been stealing from us. It’s a cancer that we may not be able to excise from society altogether. This kind of ethos dehumanizes us all.
Only a few of the President’s close associates have produced sterling performances. While most, if not all, of them seem to be honest, a lot of them have been underachievers. Whether that’s because of personal incompetence or the President’s failure to inspire ( or to crack the whip on them), the blame will still fall on the leader.
The President’s firm sense of personal loyalty, while admirable under normal circumstances, has affected the people’s estimation of him. Even when some of the people around him have become albatrosses around his neck, he chooses to stand by them which, in turn, has affected his popularity.
Even after Aquino’s close associates have come up short on their respective assignments, he still keeps them around. For example, his acting health secretary does a goofy stunt by violating quarantine rules, and the President sticks with her. The armed forces chief of staff goes along with the stunt and makes a fool of himself. It takes the Ombudsman to put the national chief of police in the freezer because the President wouldn’t force him to answer allegations of corruption.
People are wondering why no Aquino allies have been put through the wringer on the pork barrel scam even though some of them have been identified as having partaken of Janet Napoles’ largesse. This puts in doubt the credibility of the probe.
As the countdown to the end of Mr. Aquino’s term nears, more and more negative commentary will continue to fill TV and radio air, and newspaper space. The President and his people should get their act together and work overtime to add to their accomplishments and beef up his resume before it’s too late.
Their time left to do that gets shorter and shorter. Before they know it, it’s time to pass their papers, finished or not finished.