DESPITE the improved performance and trust scores of President Benigno Aquino III in the recent surveys, Senator Ferdinand Marcos Jr. on Saturday said the administration’s shortcomings cannot be concealed.
Marcos said that polls results are just a reflection of people’s opinions, and not facts.
“These are the facts: MRT (Metro Rail Transit) service breaks down practically every day; monstrous traffic jams are now the norm, not the exception; brownouts continue to plague a large part of Mindanao,” Marcos said in a statement.
Marcos, in rating the administration’s performance, said he lamented the continuing congestion in the country’s airports and seaports that affects the business sector and economy.
The senator also noted that the government’s underspending hampered country’s economic growth, with 5.2 percent in the first quarter, the lowest since 2012.
Data from the Department of Budget and Management showed that only P65.8 billion were used on infrastructure and other capital outlays during the first quarter of 2015, down 11 percent from P77 billion in the first quarter of 2014.
The first-quarter infrastructure expenditures were 27.3 percent lower than the P94.3 billion that the government had programmed to spend from January to March.
Marcos said had the infrastructure projects been implemented, the government would have spurred the economy growth and would have generated more job opportunities for the poor.
In the Social Weather Stations survey, the Aquino administration recovered by 10 percent from a previous record low, from 47 percent in March to 57 percent in June.
Pulse Asia survey also showed that Aquino registered improvements in his approval score (from 38 percent in March to 54 percent in June) and trust score (from 36 percent in March to 50 percent in June).
Marcos, however, said the Palace should also consider the result of the IBON survey last May, where seven of 10 Filipinos believed their family situation was poor.
The survey also showed that some 56.4 percent of the respondents said that health services were not enough, higher compared to 45.7 percent in the previous survey. (Sunnex)