JV to Noy: Make sure people benefit from your gains

MANILA, Philippines - The honeymoon is over for President Aquino who, in the last two years of his term, has to ensure the people feel the benefits of whatever his administration has achieved.

Sen. JV Ejercito sent this message to President Aquino, who is now busy preparing for his State of the Nation Address (SONA) on July 28.

Ejercito said the Senate minority bloc, while severely depleted because of the arrest and detention of Minority Leader Juan Ponce Enrile and Sen. Jinggoy Estrada, would still be very active in providing constructive criticism to the President and his administration.

Ejercito, who visited Enrile at the Philippine National Police General Hospital in Camp Crame where he is currently detained, said the minority bloc is preparing for its traditional Kontra SONA or the opposition’s response to the SONA of the President.

Ejercito said one of the areas the opposition would like to focus on during the last two years of the President’s term is the effort to make the country’s economic growth inclusive.

“I just hope that the President takes this constructively, considering that he only has two years left in his term, to listen or further improve our economic situation,” Ejercito said.

Unlike the first four years where the President enjoyed a high satisfaction rating, Ejercito said he expects his ratings to go down significantly in the last two years, as the public would start to demand concrete results.

“He is lucky that the honeymoon lasted for four years... he enjoyed a high popularity rating,” Ejercito said. “But I think the people are now waiting for results. They want to see if the reforms are helping in poverty alleviation and genuine inclusive growth, which is job creation.”

According to Ejercito, the President’s satisfaction ratings would take a hit with the Supreme Court’s declaration that portions of the Disbursement Acceleration Program (DAP) were unconstitutional.

He said the trust rating of the President and his administration would continue to erode until the controversy over DAP is squarely addressed.

Ejercito suggested the members of the President’s Cabinet, led by Budget Secretary Florencio Abad, take the bullet for the President on the DAP controversy in order to prevent a further decline in his ratings.

“I think it’s about time that Secretary Abad take the bullet for the President because he should be the one shielding the President from the controversy,” he said.