Roxas supporter deserves SSS post – Daang Matuwid coalition
A supporter of Liberal Party standard bearer Manuel Roxas II was not named commissioner of the Social Security System “out of the blue,” according to Koalisyon ng Daang Matuwid spokesman Ibarra Gutierrez.
He said Eliza Bettina Antonino, who had allegedly earned close to P6 million per year from the SSS, has run several successful businesses.
“Perhaps her professional profile is available online so you can look it up,” he said.
“But what I would like to emphasize is that she was not appointed out of the blue and remained in her position because she is close to someone.
“The GCG ( Governance Commission for GovernmentOwned and Controlled Corporations) reviews her performance on a yearly basis and you should probably talk to GCG about its assessment and why they continue to recommend her appointment.”
Previous reports said Antonino is a hotel and restaurant management graduate and was just 30 years old when she was named SSS commissioner.
She was allegedly the highest paid SSS official, earning close to P6 million a year.
Antonino was seen in some sorties of the administration coalition and photos of her with Roxas and vice presidential candidate Leni Robredo have also surfaced online.
Critics have questioned her qualifications, and that her appointment reflected patronage under the Aquino administration.
Gutierrez said Antonino represented the “general public” in the SSS board.
“She joined some sorties because she belongs to a family of our leaders in Mindanao,” he said.
“As to her record, I really can’t really speak on it, I’m not familiar with her work history,” he said.
Roxas and traffic
Only Roxas among the presidential candidates can resolve traffic and problems on mass transportation, according to Transportation Secretary Joseph Emilio Abaya.
He said if Roxas loses in the elections, the next administration would not be able to continue the projects that the Department of Transportation and Communications had initiated under the daang matuwid to prioritize public interest.
“Traffic congestion, what is the answer?” he asks.
“Mass transportation system. All of our extensions in LRT: East and West, LRT- 2 and MRT- 3, I’m sure of the direction is we bid it out. Eventually bid out the O and M. Cebu BRT, Metro Manila BRT from Quezon City circle to Manila, NEDA board approval for EDSA BRT. Subway through JICA, North-South to Cavite, there are things in the pipeline,” he added.
Abaya said some of the DOTC’s projects are multibillion complex systems that take time as they are not just contracting a waiting shed.
The daang matuwid government must continue so they would have more time to pursue the projects, he added.
Abaya was cornered by reporters during the launching of the first PWD friendly point-to-point buses in Quezon City.
Asked if the pending DOTC projects would be suspended or be in any trouble if Roxas loses, Abaya said: “I can’t answer for the next president, but I can answer if Roxas wins.”