More propaganda talk from PNoy

What do we do with Pres. Benigno “PNoy” Aquino III who continually boasts about what he has done to the Philippines? During the 41st Philippine Business Conference held at the Marriott Hotel in Pasay City the other day, Pres. PNoy said, “Even our harshest critics cannot deny that we have finished projects that have been promised for generations.” I do not believe that this is true!!

Pres. PNoy told the folks attending the Business Forum “The best is yet to come for the Philippines and that if his good governance polices are pursued, the Philippines would be nearing 1st World status. Then he highlighted what his government had done in infrastructure projects when he tripled its budget and said, “The numbers do not lie: under the Daang Matuwid (straight path) administration, the infrastructure budget has more than tripled. In 2010, we inherited an infrastructure budget of P165 million. This has increased to P570 billion in 2015,”

I do not dispute the President’s figures where he poured billions in Metro Manila simply because he believes that by satisfying the people of Manila…they would vote for his successor Manuel “Mar” Roxas. But while it is true that numbers do not lie, however the numbers that Pres. Aquino presented to Cebuanos in the Aug. 24th “Gathering of Friends” were totally inaccurate or incorrect… that when Pres. Aquino said that his government poured P23 billion in the last five years to Cebu… he was not telling us the truth. We checked this thoroughly from DPWH figures and we only saw a figure of P2.2 billion in rehabilitation projects in the last five years in Cebu.

While I do believe that “the Best is still to come for the Philippines” unfortunately for PNoy it is not because of his six years as President. However this might come true if we elect a progressive President in the 2016 presidential elections who would truly go out of his or her way to eradicate corruption and focus on improving the lives of the marginalized people who are caught in that vicious cycle of poverty.

In ending his speech, PNoy said, “From 2010 to 2014, we increased our net foreign direct investments almost six-fold. We recorded the lowest unemployment rate in a decade. Above all, we have regained the respect of the international community – from being ‘The Sick Man of Asia’ to being ‘Asia’s New Darling,” Come now, how does PNoy reconcile this talk in yesterday’s banner headline of the Philippine Star’s Business page which screamed, “Phil. Slips in WB rankings on doing business?”

I’d like to emphasize that under the Aquino Regime, the Filipino people have been bombarded with nothing but propaganda. We have a President who talks and boasts of his performance. It’s all propaganda for PNoy!

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I got this response from an old friend, former Cebu Investment Promotion Center (CIPC) General Manager Mr. Joel Yu who reacted to our article supporting the 77 Hybrid Buses that SM would launch in Cebu. Here is his letter in full. “Bobit, I write in comment to SM’s intention of fielding state-of-the-art buses as part of an overall solution to Metro Cebu’s traffic problems. The objection of bus operators to SM’s initiative is as expected as it is a no-brainer. LTFRB who will decide on the case must remember that in all cases The Consumer is King!

One of the biggest problems of the country is that almost all government regulatory agencies favor the provider over the consumer. Regulatory capture at its worst, also one of the biggest reasons why the Philippines are still a third world country. This is true when the ERC favors the electric utilities over the consumers, when CAB protects the airlines instead of the passengers. Same as MARINA.. The examples in this country are as many as there are regulatory agencies.

We will only get world-class facilities when the regulatory agencies change their mindset and give first priority to initiatives that are automatically one-sided in favor of the consumer... this has been proven worldwide. The other issue is that as a regulatory agency, LTFRB must never use financial difficulties as an excuse to allow transportation providers to use vehicles that are virtual rolling coffins, and endanger life and limb of the consumer and the public at large. Again, the interests of the Consumer must prevail over the excuses of the providers. SM’s buses must be allowed to operate and any other similar initiative from any other source to provide transport units that definitely benefit the consumer must be approved as a matter of Automatic Policy!  Your friend... Joel.” Thanks Joel for this letter it is very loud and clear that reforms in the government must be done to reverse this stupid situation.

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