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Monday, May 30, 2011

ANALYSIS: Pinoys wait for Aquino to fulfill election promise

MANUEL MOGATO, Reuters

05/19/2011 | 11:13 AM

MANILA - The question of whether deposed Philippine dictator Ferdinand Marcos should be buried in a cemetery for national heroes is one President Benigno Aquino feels he cannot make for the nation that elected him to lead it.

So instead, people can SMS their opinion on where Marcos should be buried, like voting for an American Idol contestant, to help decide the government's position. And it's not the only decision Aquino seems to be having trouble making. PERHAPS. PRES. AQUINO NOW KNOWS WHO KILLED HIS FATHER, RATHER WHO MASTERMINDED THE KILLING - NOT MARCOS?

A reluctant president who won office in a landslide last year, Aquino has never really got out of campaign mode, fixated on pursuing the former administration PURSUING, PURSUING, NEVER CATCHING ANYBODY FOR ANY MATTER AT ISSUE and talking of major reforms STILL TALKING, EVERYONE IN HIS APPOINTED STAFF without yet delivering a substantive agenda, STILL TALKING KUNG WALANG KORAP WALANG MAHIRAP. MARAMI LALO ANG NAGHIHIRAP!!!.

The danger is that this becomes yet another lost opportunity for the Southeast Asian nation, as investors' initial optimism on Aquino fades and his main political strength of high personal support weakens.

The government is looking to raise billions of dollars WE HAVE NOT HEARD THOUGH HOW THE GOVERNMENT PLANS TO DO THIS to upgrade infrastructure around the nation of more than 7,000 islands, and says it will make the country more attractive to foreign investors HOW ABOUT US ALREADY LIVING HERE HAVE TO TRAVEL THE MUDDY, ROUGH GRAVEL AND SAND WATER-FILLED ROADS FOR THE LAST 10 YEARS i SPEND MOST OF OUR RETIREMENT YEARS IN A REMOTE BARANGAY THAT HAD NOT SEEN ANY IMPROVEMENT - LET ALONE THE CONDITION OF THE ROADS IN THE MUNICIPALITY OF BADIANGAN, PROVINCE OF ILOILO WHERE I SPEND TIME IN RETIREMENT but details are yet to fully explained.

"Aquino never really seems willing to expend any political capital WHAT FOR EXAMPLE YOU MEAN WHAT HE STANDS FOR? HE DOES NOT STAND FOR ANYTHING!! on what he believes in or claims to stand for," said Scott Harrison, managing director of risk consultancy Pacific Strategies & Assessments.

"Whether this is apathy or just another manifestation of his laziness, aversion to work and the rough-and-tumble of politics remains to be seen," WE ARE SEEING THAT NOW CAN'T YOU??? 'The said, although he did credit Aquino for instituting some ethics in governance.

The stakes are high. Asian Development Bank data shows foreign direct investment in the Philippines last year trailed well behind neighbours Singapore, Indonesia, Malaysia and Thailand. VERY COMPLICATED REQUIREMENTS FOR FILING PERMITS TO DO BUSINESS IN THE PHIL.

Weak employment THERE ARE NO JOBS CREATED LOCALLY ONLY JOBS IN FOREIGN COUNTRIES SUCH AS MAIDS AND HOUSEKEEPERSAS THOUGH THAT IS ALL FILIPINOS ARE BEING EDUCATED TO WORK AS SUCH MINDING FOREIGN PEOPLE'S HOUSEHOLDS and productivity growth means THE FILIPINOS ARE BY NATURE INDOLENT NOT KNOWING WHAT IT MEANS TO PRODUCE EVEN OWN VEGETABLES IN THEIR EMPTY BACKYARDS the country relies on exporting workers overseas, whose remitted income accounts for about 10 percent of gross domestic product. It also means poverty levels are rising, an anomaly in booming Asia.

The country ranks below most Southeast Asian countries, its main competitors for investment funds, on measures such as competitiveness, ease of doing business THERE IS CLASSIC BUREAUCRACY TO TRANSACTBUSINESS WITH GOVERNMENT, ANY LEVEL, THERE IS RED TAPE ALL OVER and corruption STILL THE MEANS OF LIVELIHOOD FOR MOST IN GOVERNMENT POSITIONS..

"Against this backdrop, one key policy challenge is for the government to sustain the higher level of investor confidence built up last year by pushing ahead with policy SIMPLIFICATION OF PROCEDURES and governance IMPLEMENTING AUTONOMOUS reforms, WITHOUT THE INTERFERENCE OF NATIONAL LEVELS IN THE HIERARCHY OF GOVERNANCE. THAT LGUS SHOULD BE ALLOWED TO INSTITUTE THEIR OWN REFORM AGENDA TO SIMPLIFY PROCEDURES NOT BE STRAPPED AND STRANGLED BY RULES AND REGULATIONS FROM THE HIGHER LEVEL OF GOVERNMENT"
the ADB said in a report last month.

"Another is to raise state revenue AS LONG AS PEDDLERS ARE NOT PAYING TAXES ON INCOME FROM THEIR COLORUM ACTIVITIES, NO REVENUES ARE FORTHCOMING. THE VENDORS, THE PEDDLERS, THE RETAILERS WHO PLY THEIR TRADE FROM HOUSE TO HOUSE, DOOR TO DOOR DO NOT FILE INCOME TAXES ON WHAT THEY GENERATE FROM THEIR TRADE - INCLUDING MEDICINES, GRAINS, FISH PRODUCTS, FARM PRODUCE, POULTRY PRODUCTS, ETC. MOTORCYCLE OPERATORS ARE NOT LICENSED TO TRANSPORT PAYING PASSENGERS so as to fund the social > development and infrastructure programsrequired to reduce poverty EMPTY TALK EVER SINCE AND NOT A DENT HAS BEEN MADE and underpin a stronger private sector." NO INCENTIVES OR GOVERNMENT SUBSIDIES.

Aquino is limited to a single, six-year term. He was elected in May 2010 and took office at the end of June.

But it wasn't until February that a committee to plan the government's agenda and prioritise bills over its term met -- and the eventual list did not include bills Aquino had championed, including reproductive health and freedom of information CONNECTING BARANGAYS TO THE INTERNET DOES NOT EVEN ATTRACT GOVERNMENT SUPPORT AND ATTENTION - IMAGINE WHAT BARANGAYS ARE MISSING JUST AS YOU WILL MISS READING STUFF LIKE THIS MINE IN THE INTERNET!!

Promises, promises

"Aquino wanted to do a lot of things, but he has not done anything to carry out these things," said Earl Parreno, analyst of Institute for Political and Electoral Reforms. HE'S GOT THE DESIRE BUT NOT THE WILL TO DO IT OR LACK THE IMAGINATION TO TRY WHAT WORKS AND DON'T!

"Now is the time for action, and yet the people has not seen anything concrete from his government. There's a growing public perception that nothing has changed from the past administration to his government."

Aquino has been dogged in his campaign to investigate his predecessor, Gloria Macapagal- Arroyo, and has made some headway with the resignation of the ombudsman, which will allow him to appoint his own graft investigator. THIS IS FOR THE COURT TO PURSUE AND LEAVE TO DECIDE BECAUSE THE LAWS ARE ALREADY THERE AS TO WHO TO PROSECUTE, WHO TO SPARE. WHO DOES IT?

But he seems to have backtracked or lost focus on other issues, and his public opinion ratings have fallen.

Apart from the budget, no major legislation has passed. Each week since July, tax evaders have been named at a weekly press conference, but so far only seven of 45 complaints have made it to court -- and no trials have begun.

Last November, Aquino told a conference of potential investors the government would put in place mechanisms to protect their contracts in infrastructure projects, which the government planned to put out from tender from early 2011.

Six months later, no contracts have been awarded, and there has been no legislation to improve protection against regulatory risk -- and so foreign investors remain wary for now.

Doubts are also emerging locally. NOT JUST DOUBTS. LOCALLY, NO CHANGE HAS BEEN INSTITUTED - THE POOR STILL REMAINS POOR, THE HOMELESS STILL THERE ARE MORE CHILDREN BORNE EVERYDAY THAN THERE ARE JOBS CREATED TO EMPLOY THOSE WHO BEAR THEM.

Aquino's purchase of a second-hand Porsche drew criticism from nearly half of people in an opinion poll, even though he used his own money to buy it.

His poll ratings on areas such as managing the economy, fighting crime and reducing poverty have all fallen, suggesting a broader discontent with his administration.

There could be some change coming. His unsuccessful running mate last year, Mar Roxas, can now join the administration after the expiry last week of the one-year prohibition of losing candidates being appointed to government jobs.HMM ARE WE PINNING OUR HOPES ON MAR ROXAS? ARE WE DREAMINGNOT WAKING UP? Roxas, an experienced operator who has served as a minister under two local media report. That could provide Aquino the political smarts he "Aquino may not be doing anything wrong, but he has also not done anything good," said Bobby Evangelista, a cigarette vendor in Manila's business district. "I haven't seen any change at all. We remain poor and he has a new car." HE NEEDS TRY DRIVE HIS NEW CAR DOWN THE ROAD I TRAVEL EVERYDAY! FOLKS LET'S MOVE TO CEBU CITY!!!!!

— Reuters

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