Aquino's rating performance, trust still high, says Coloma
President Benigno S. Aquino continues to enjoy high trust and performance ratings, according to Presidential Communications Secretary Sonny Coloma in a radio interview Tuesday morning.
In a Pulse Asia survey conducted Oct. 20-29, Coloma said Aquino’s performance rating was recorded at 79 percent, while his trust rating remained at 80 percent.
The President’s performance rating according to Coloma was highest in the Visayas at 86 percent, followed by Mindanao, 79 percent; Metro Manila, 78 percent and Luzon, 65 percent. The President rated highest in Class E (83 percent), followed by Class D (77 percent) and Class ABC (74 percent).
Coloma said 23 percent of those surveyed came from the poorest of the poor which he said will benefit greatly from the Millennium Challenge Development Corp. grant.
The bulk of this grant will be used for the construction of a highway linking Samar to Eastern Samar provinces and the others will fund the Poverty Reduction Program of the Aquino administration to address the needs of the poorest of the poor.
The grant, Coloma said, showed the trust and confidence of the US government in the current administration in terms of good governance and the decisiveness of the President to eradicate poverty.
Even the 2011 General Appropriations Act or the national budget reflects the steadfastness of the Aquino administration to lick poverty by reducing government operations expenditures and channeling the savings to poverty alleviation and social welfare programs, he added.
“Understandably, we encounter a lot of criticisms and many people are dismayed by such moves that displaces them from their usual comfort zones,” said Coloma.
The removal of midnight appointees, according to him had not gone as fast as desired because the midnight appointees refuse to vacate their positions and contest government’s actions in the courts.
Coloma who has served during the terms of President Cory, Fidel Ramos and Joseph Estrada, said the transition of appointees then was smooth and fast because the appointees immediately vacated their posts upon assumption of the new administration.(PCOO)
Traffic Summit slated Dec. 3 -- MMDA
“Ngayon, a 20 percent reduction is not necessarily detrimental, it could be beneficial even to the operators”, Said de Jesus. “It will improve their load factor kasi nakikita naman natin kahit sa mga so-called peak hours maraming bus diyan nandun sa Edsa na kalahati ang sakay o kung minsan kulang pa dun. Kaya ibig sabihin hindi natin kailangan na nandun lahat ang mga buses”, he added.
De Jesus called on the bus operators to be part of the solution rather than the problem.
“Ang appeal ko sa ating mga stakeholders, sa mga bus operators na bigyan natin ito (number coding scheme) ng chance to work. Dahil kung hindi natin susubukan kung ano ang ating magagawang solusyon, ang problema nating ito ay palala ng palala,” de Jesus said.(PCOO)
Government to prosecute erring bus operators
Erring bus operators who participated in Monday’s strike that stranded thousands of commuters, will have to face the music soon.
Presidential Spokesperson Edwin Lacierda issued the assurance after President Benigno S. Aquino III on Tuesday morning ordered the Department of Transportation and Communication (DOTC), the Metro Manila Development Authority (MMDA), and the Land Transportation Franchising and Regulatory Board (LTFRB) to prosecute erring bus operators involved in the strike.
“Let me stress that the government is pro-active in this issue. We will not allow the riding public to be prejudiced in this kind of activity,” Lacierda said.
Transportation Secretary Jose “Ping” De Jesus, in the same briefing, said that during that the President, had ordered him MMDA Chairman Francis Tolentino, and LTFRB Chairman Nelson Laluces, to continue the dialogue with bus stakeholders to find solution to the problem.
De Jesus said that what the bus operators committed on Monday is a clear violation of their mandate to serve the public.
He explained that the objective of reviving the implementation of the color-coding scheme, which started Monday, is to reduce traffic congestion by 20 percent and improve the quality of air in general.
Under the coding scheme, buses with plate numbers ending in 1 and 2 should be off the streets on Mondays, 3 and 4 on Tuesdays, and so on.
In 2004, the MMDA sought the coverage of buses in the scheme, but the Arroyo administration suspended it following protests from the operators.
MMDA Chairman Francis Tolentino admitted that 50 percent of almost 3,500 up to 3,700 buses normally plying major roads disappeared on Monday after several bus operators calling for the scrapping of a number-coding scheme, conducted a transport strike.
Tolentino stressed that the LTFRB would conduct a thorough investigation to identify bus operators who participated in the slow down.
LTFRB Chairman Nelson Laluces revealed that even without complaints from the riding public, the LTFRB can pursue the case against the erring bus operators who participated in yesterday’s strike.
Laluces reiterated that the LTFRB will impose necessary sanctions such as suspension of operation and cancellation of franchise to operate to those found involved in the strike.(PCOO)
