Aquino to continue to serve Filipinos through good governance and transparency

President Benigno S. Aquino’s efforts to provide a stark difference in the presidency, and new hope and trust in government were not left unnoticed early on in his administration.
A survey conducted by the Philippine Information Agency showed that nearly 7 out of 10 Filipinos gave the President a good starting score for his first 100 days in office despite a botched hostage crisis and the jueteng controversy.
The survey, which was conducted a week before the President marked his 100 days in office, showed that  69 percent of respondents across all geographical areas and sectors were satisfied with the Aquino administration’s initial performance while only 31 per cent  were dissatisfied.
The same survey also showed that Filipinos perceive the President’s credibility and simple lifestyle, good governance and strong political will, and fight against graft and corruption as his strongest marks as a leader.
Sec. Sonny Coloma of the Presidential Communications Operations Office (PCOO) credited this to the President’s unwavering commitment to good and honest leadership as embodied in his campaign slogan “Kung walang corrupt, walang mahirap.”
He added that President Aquino is focused on the work ahead and remains committed to eradicate corruption and alleviate poverty.
The policy against the use of wang-wang or sirens on the road earned for the Chief Executive highest satisfaction rating of +82. He was also rated highly for ensuring transparency (+74) and fighting graft and corruption (+52).
President Aquino gained a good rating of +34 both for reducing the budget deficit and investigating officials linked to anomalies, +28 for controlling dengue, while recording moderate ratings in the areas of jobs and livelihood (+14), education (+10), Cabinet appointments (+9), and public-private partnerships (+6).
About half of Filipinos rated the administration fairly for its efforts to alleviate poverty and control the spiraling prices of basic commodities.
On the other hand, only 17 per cent of respondents were satisfied with the government’s handling of the Manila hostage crisis last August 23 where eight Hong Kong tourists died and which made international news.
The PIA poll was fielded nationwide with 629 respondents from various sectors,including elected and appointed government officials, business groups, religious leaders, uniformed men, laborers, and members of the media. (PIA)

Government behind Comelec in efforts to make poll automation a success

THE government is throwing all its support to the Commission on Elections (Comelec) in its efforts to make the country’s first automated elections a success.

In a statement , Presidential Spokesperson Ricardo Saludo said the unwavering concerted support of the government and the people for the Comelec is crucial.

“The Comelec can count on all the instrumentalities of government to safeguard our democratic processes,” Saludo said in the wake of reports about certain technical problems being encountered during the testing of vote-counting machines or the so-called precinct count optical scans (PCOS).

In related development, President Gloria Macapagal Arroyo has directed Secretary Ray Anthony Chua of the Commission on Information and Communication Technology [CICT], to assist the Comelec on the technical hitches being encountered in the PCOS test runs.

“This may not just a problem of people but also of machines,” Press Undersecretary for Operations and Deputy Presidential Spokesman Rogelio Peyuan pointed out in yesterday’s regular press briefing in Malacanang.

Peyuan said the President had asked Chua to provide technical support to the Comelec and help provide alternative solutions, if any, to the problems with the PCOS machines.

He said Chua has been in constant dialogue with the technical experts of Comelec and SmartMatic.

Being one of those in the panel that reviewed the entire technical aspects of the poll automation project, Chua is in a better position to update the President on the actual situation, said Peyuan. (PIA-Bohol)