No need for surveys to wake us up—Palace

Presidential spokesperson Edwin Lacierda. INQUIRER FILE PHOTO

The Aquino administration doesn’t need to be nudged from sleep by surveys because it has been doing what it needs to do to make most Filipinos feel the benefits of economic growth, Malacañang said on Wednesday.

Secretary Edwin Lacierda, President Benigno Aquino’s spokesperson, was reacting to remarks attributed to San Juan Representative Joseph Victor Ejercito that the recent dip in President Aquino’s ratings should serve as a wake-up call for the administration on the need to decrease poverty and hunger.

“We disagree with the statement issued by Congressman JV Ejercito. We’ve been doing those things. Survey is just a snapshot. We are performing what we are required to do. The President has expended a lot of money towards infrastructure buildings, our [poverty] alleviation programs,” Lacierda said.

“There’s Kalahi-CIDSS, there’s [the conditional cash transfer], there’s the universal healthcare coverage. There’s [public-private partnership projects] going to be rolled out,” he added in yesterday’s news briefing in Malacañang.

“That’s why I disagree with the statement that it’s a wake-up call. We are doing what we’re required to do and doing it even further,” Lacierda said.

The presidential spokesperson also said the government’s anti-corruption efforts are also important in making lives better for Filipinos.

Ejercito was quoted as saying that the anti-corruption campaign, while appreciated, wasn’t something readily felt by the people.

“For instance, the [Department of Public Works and Highways] saved P6 billion in our fight against corruption. That money we’re able to use and place it in our social poverty alleviation programs,” Lacierda said.

“Our fight against corruption translates into assistance for our countrymen,” he added.