Is the President resigning?
President Benigno S. Aquino III. INQUIRER FILE PHOTO
President Noynoy is contemplating on resigning in the midst of the controversies surrounding his administration, chief among them the recent ruling by the Supreme Court that his Disbursement Acceleration Program (DAP) was unconstitutional.
That’s according to my little birdie in Malacañang. My little “tweet-tweet” said the President was overheard as saying he was sick and tired of all the criticisms hurled at him.
He didn’t seek the position in the first place, P-Noynoy was quoted by our source as saying.
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But Secretary Rene Almendras said in a text message to this columnist, “No, (the President) is definitely not considering resignation.”
Almendras’ message was reassuring because at this time, there is no one good enough to replace the President.
What about Vice President Jojo Binay?
Next question, please!
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A Social Weather Stations (SWS) survey for the first quarter of this year showed Vice President Binay’s rating rising to +73 percent.
The survey, sponsored by the newspaper BusinessWorld, said 82% of those surveyed were satisfied with Binay’s performance, with only 9% dissatisfied.
The ratings of other national officials declined, according to the SWS survey.
A replacement for a possible flat tire, which a vice president’s position is, always gets high ratings. Always.
Why? Because the vice president has no responsibilities and if he has—like looking after the welfare of overseas Filipino workers—it’s so minor that he can do no wrong.
Whatever he says or does to alleviate the plight of OFWs gets magnified because it’s not controversial.
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Apparently, survey respondents, like most Filipinos, take officials being rated at “face value” and don’t dig deep into their real character or qualifications.
Those excellent ratings in the surveys are translated into votes during election. That’s why the country is still in a rut 69 years after the Second World War because Filipinos vote crooks and nincompoops into office.
In the case of Binay or his family, why don’t the respondents try asking big real estate developers or condominium builders in Makati?
A national TV network doesn’t support the Binays because its owners run a condominium complex in the premier city.
They know.
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A bank wouldn’t give a loan to a friend of a city official in Metro Manila.
The city engineer’s office was ordered by the official to take a look at the lot on which the bank stands.
It was found that the bank over-extended its easement and the engineer’s office ordered the demolition of the portion of the building that jutted.
The official’s friend got the loan.
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Now, back to P-Noynoy.
If he would only remove vengeance in his heart; if he would kick out Cabinet officials who are either corrupt or incompetent; if he would only listen to advice from well-meaning relatives and honest advisers on how to deal with certain issues; if he would only take heed of the people’s sentiments which are articulated by the media instead of ignoring such sentiments; if he would only devote more of his time poring over state papers instead of roaming around like an alley cat; if he would only become humble enough to admit his mistakes since he’s only human…
Then Benigno Simeon Aquino III might turn out to be an excellent president because he’s not corrupt and has good intentions for the country.
Being honest and having good intentions are good, but they’re not enough to run the country.
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