Big dip

The latest Pulse Asia survey shows that 48% of respondents consider fighting graft and corruption as a top priority. It is up 17% points from the previous survey. The appreciation for the government’s anti-corruption initiatives dropped from 59% to 47%.

This puts into doubt the 79% approval rating of the President reported by Pulse Asia for its September survey. There’s also a big difference from the +49 approval rating reflected by Social Weather Stations (SWS).

The credibility of Pulse Asia is again in question, since relatives of the President are reportedly co-owners of the firm. The Administration’s rating on fighting criminality also went down.

Estrada thinks big

A new Chinatown in Binondo is on the drawing boards of Mayor Joseph Estrada’s grand plan to upgrade and improve Manila. It will have new and lively trading centers, dining kiosks and a strong security force.

Mayor Estrada got his new Chinatown vision during his recent visit to Yokohama’s Chinatown. The Mayor has also approved the reclamation of 300 hectares of Manila Bay.

Mayor Estrada is working double time as he plans to step down after 3 years.

Good job

The barangay elections have been finished except in Bohol and Zamboanga, with a small number of incidents of election-related violence, numbering only 34 in the country’s 43,000 barangays.

The barangay elections proved it is still easy to return to manual voting. Once again in 2013, charges of fraud in the automated election system have been raised. We should consider manual voting for 2016.

The TV reports showed once again that senior citizens and persons with disabilities (PWD) had difficulty climbing to precincts in 2nd and 3rd floors. VP Binay called for implementation of reforms for seniors and PWDs by 2016.

The Philippines is only one of a handful of country holding elections at the lowest village level.

Despite a few reported cases of misuse of barangay funds, barangays have generally been effective in solving problems on a local level. Barangay halls, multipurpose centers, school repairs, drainage canals, and other minor infrastructure projects have been completed by barangay officials.

Distribution of farm kits and medical kits should be done through barangays.

Congratulations and thank you to 500,000 teachers who served on the Board of Election Tellers (BETs).

P-Noy's TV address

The President delivered a 10-minute TV address on the issue of the pork barrel on Wednesday night.

The President’s credibility can be restored by announcing the following:

1. Total abolition of the Priority Development Assistance Fund (PDAF) without any realignment;

2. Total abolition of the Disbursement Acceleration Fund (DAF) and return the ‘savings’ to the original agencies given in the General Appropriations Act (GAA);

3. No releases of funds to members of Congress;

4. Relieve 3 Cabinet members whose offices were involved with Napoles’ non-governmental organizations (NGOs);

5. Release the list of beneficiaries of the Malampaya Fund and the President’s Social Fund (PSF);

6. Ask the Senate to increase the Calamity Fund to P20 billion;

7. Assign Armed Forces of the Philippines (AFP) engineering brigades to Bohol and Zamboanga.

Rep. Yap's design

Rep. Arthur Yap (Bohol, 3rd District) has come out with a housing design made of local bamboo material. The house will be 16-20 square meters each.

Rep. Yap is also pushing for the creation of a Visayas Rehabilitation Commission, with sufficient funding to handle the reconstruction of Bohol, Cebu, Negros Oriental, and Siquijor.

He estimates that it will take 5 years to complete the work. 17,000 families have been affected by the earthquake.

De Lima OKs Jinggoy's trip

Justice Secretary Leila de Lima announced that there will be no hold order for Senator Jinggoy Estrada for his planned trip to the US within the next few days.

De Lima said that as long as the Department of Foreign Affairs (DFA) has not cancelled Jinggoy’s passport, he can still leave. Jinggoy promised to return in time for the resumption of Senate sessions on Nov. 18, 2013.

The DFA has given Jinggoy and 36 others five days to give their comment on the Department of Justice’s (DOJ) request for cancellation of passports. Jinggoy has asked for an extension of time to answer the DFA’s request.

COA rips NFA

The Commission on Audit (COA) reports that the government over-imported more than 2 million metric tons of rice causing total losses to the National Food Authority (NFA) of P90 billion.

This has happened time and again in the past, but no NFA officials have been charged and convicted.

Meanwhile, Malacañang announced it is investigating the case of NFA Administrator Orlan Calayag, who is an American citizen. He is a former staff of then Congressman Proceso Alcala.

NPA steps up attacks

Two hundred New People’s Army (NPA) rebels attacked a piggery farm in Libona, Bukidnon.

Recently, NPA rebels kidnapped 6 candidates for barangay positions in Agusan Del Sur.

NPAs are active also in Compostela Valley, Surigao Del Sur, Negros Oriental, the Davao provinces, Sorsogon, Albay, and Masbate.

The AFP/PNP appears helpless in preventing the NPA attacks.

TIDBITS: President Aquino visited the tombs of his parents at Manila Memorial Park yesterday.

Twenty-seven schools are totally destroyed in Bohol; 33 others are damaged. DSWD Secretary Dinky Soliman admitted in a TV interview that more than 50,000 are still in evacuation centers in Zamboanga City.

LWUA Administrator Rene Villa admitted that he served as legal counsel of Janet Lim-Napoles for 4 years. Atty. Lorna Kapunan has withdrawn as lawyer of Janet Lim-Napoles, only in the illegal detention case.

Northern Police District (NPD) Chief Inspector Romeo Ricalde, Jr., 40, was shot dead near his house in Barangay Pansol, Quezon City.

The death toll of the Bohol earthquake is now at 222.

Happy Birthday greetings to Ka Eduardo Manalo, Rep. Noli Fuentebella and to Armida Siguion-Reyna.

Condolence to Dr. Nelson Bunye on the death of his wife in Beijing, China.