Juan Country » Noynoy Aquino

Noynoy Aquino fails to keep his promise with FOI Bill

Carlo Ople — Mon, 14 Feb 2011 11:10:15 +0000

President Noynoy Aquino recently said 17 bills will be certified as urgent by the Palace. The list does not include two landmark bills that Aquino categorically said he would support: the Reproductive Health Bill and the Freedom of Information Bill. There are more than enough people already taking up the cudgels for the RH bill. I would like to make a stand today and say that I will fight for the FOI bill to get certified and passed. I personally believe that the bill needs to get passed if we want a government that will forever be held accountable to the people.

Here’s an interview of Aquino where he said he would make the FOI bill one of his very first priorities as soon as he became President.

He even said that he would see if he can just issue and executive order instead of passing a law to make sure it gets done ASAP. Here’s an excerpt from his interview defending himself from dropping the bill:

Aquino stated in an interview that transparency in the government is still of utmost importance and will still be promoted and upheld by his administration despite the fact that the FOI bill has been sidelined in favor of the 17 bills that made it to the priority list. “We have not avoided any question that has been thrown our way. So even in the absence of any Freedom of Information Law, we have been trying to be transparent to the utmost level possible,” he maintained.

Aquino said that several provisions included in the bill, specifically those that tackled “raw reports”, still need to be studied before the bill can be finalized.

“We still need to work on [the FOI bill]. We’re still fine-tuning exactly how it will be, the details, of this FOI bill,” he said when asked about the aforementioned bill’s exclusion.

In the words of Mr. Fu… Chos.

Sec. Ricky Carandang on Juana Change Porche Video

Carlo Ople — Thu, 03 Feb 2011 08:45:01 +0000

“I haven’t seen it and I don’t care. She says she is a supporter. Then you have that (video). Hindi ko alam. We don’t know what her perspective is right now. I can’t respond to everybody who criticizes the President. I don’t give it a lot of thought. There are so many other more important issues. So I’m not going to be upset about another critic of the President.” – Sec. Ricky Carandang (Source)

Juana Change hits Pnoy on his Porche

Carlo Ople — Tue, 01 Feb 2011 16:02:20 +0000

Activist and celebrity Mae Paner (Juana Change) just released a video on Youtube which brutally rips into Pnoy’s recent Porche purchase. In the video she lambasts the President for his poor choice at this time when all the prices of public transportation are going up. With all the bad press the government is getting the last thing the people need to hear is that the President just got a luxury car (regardless if it was second hand, third hand, etc). Check out the video below.

What’s interesting to note is that a lot of the allies of Pnoy are defending him for his purchase saying that it’s well within his right to buy the car.

Agree. His right. His money. His car… his fault for the bad PR he’s getting.

PNoy, why are you slashing government hospital budgets?

Carlo Ople — Tue, 21 Sep 2010 18:16:25 +0000

I recently read that President Noynoy Aquino submitted the 2011 budget to Congress that slashed the maintenance and other operating expenses (MOOE) for the major government hospitals by P70.8 million. I know I promised that I would refrain from writing negative entries but this really hit me hard. They say that this administration is open to feedback and that they value the two-way interaction of social media. Let’s put that to the test now. I am humbly appealing to whoever concerned to scrap the slashing of the budget of government hospitals and even increase it drastically. I am speaking from personal experience.

A few years ago I was shot twice in the chest by a 45 caliber pistol and the bullets grazed my lungs. I was brought to the East Avenue Medical Center (a government hospital) and I was literally traumatized with the treatment. They opened me up and punctured my lungs with a tube without any anesthetics. They sutured (sewed) my open wounds in the corridor as well (and yes, no anesthesia). When my auntie asked them if they had any anesthesia, the nurse just looked at her blankly and said “May dala po ba kayo? (did you bring any?)” I screamed like a baby that night and the pain still haunts me to this day.

Last year, my driver, Nilo, had a massive stroke and was brought to the Manila Doctors Hospital. He was already fighting for his life and what really got me depressed was that the hospital didn’t have any available rooms or automated respirators. His family had to take turn for three days helping him breathe by pumping some sort of contraption which was connected to his lungs through his mouth. Nilo eventually passed away.

I want to blame the doctors, nurses, and the government hospital administrators for what happened but I really can’t. They don’t have the support or the resources from the government. They are understaffed, underpaid, undermanned, and just generally ignored.

With the recent outbreak of dengue in several communities, I can’t help but wonder what possessed the President to think about slashing the budget of government hospitals for 2011? It just defies logic. Maybe his team doesn’t see this as an important issue because they always to to 5-star hospitals like St. Luke when they get fever? Maybe they have no clue as to what is really happening in PGH or East Avenue?

The government has so many programs and road rehabilitation projects lined up but with every new lamp post, foreign trip, shed, basketball court, or whatever, we are denying humane basic health services to our countrymen. There is no greater social injustice than dying in a state hospital because the patient was ignored or the staff was ill-equipped. I will not stand for this and I hope that you don’t too.

I feel bad for DILG Secretary Jesse Robredo

Carlo Ople — Wed, 08 Sep 2010 11:11:06 +0000

DILG Secretary Jesse Robredo is one of the most competent, moral, and righteous leaders that I’ve seen the Philippines produce in the last few decades. His achievements as the Mayor of Naga City are phenomenal and have brought him various awards and recognition. At the age of 29, Robredo was elected mayor in 1988. In 1995, Robredo was elected as the President of the League of Cities. In 1999 Naga was cited as one of the “Most Improved Cities in Asia” by Asiaweek Magazine. A lot of people are saying that Robredo was also the primary force in taking out Jueteng in Naga City.

In terms of major awards, he’s received over a dozen! Here’s a some of the major ones:

2000 Ramon Magsaysay Award for Government Service
1998 Konrad Adenauer Medal of Excellence as Most Outstanding City Mayor of the Philippines
1996 Outstanding Young Persons of the World (TOYP) Award
1990 The Outstanding Young Men of the Philippines (TOYM)
“Dangal ng Bayan” Award of the Civil Service Commission.
2008 Honorary Doctorate of Humanities degree by the Far Eastern University in Manila.

He’s also one of the founders of KAYA NATIN, together with Grace Padaca and the Ateneo School of Government.

Before Politics

Prior to his career in politics, Robredo spent a couple of years in the corporate world. He was with San Miguel Corporation in 1980 and got promoted quickly in just six months. He transferred to the Finance Division shortly after. His next job would be with Magnolia Ice Cream where he was with logistics planning and was even the assistant of the Physical Distribution Director.

In terms of education and training, Robredo has degrees in Industrial Management Engineering and Mechanical Engineering from De La Salle. He also studied later on in the Kennedy School of Government which got him Masters of Public Administration.

If you take a look at his experience, skills, competence, and moral compass, you can really say that he’s a well rounded executive and any company or government agency would be remiss in not getting him on board.

Why Pnoy? Why?

Which brings me to my main point in this article. I feel bad for Jesse Robredo. I don’t know why he decided to accept the DILG post with so many restrictions and conditions from the President. Yes, he had the title. Yes, he was in charge of the LGU’s. However he wasn’t given the authority and the mandate to also govern over the PNP. This was given instead to Pnoy’s longtime friend, Rico Puno. In the interview in the Hostage Crisis investigation, Puno said that he had no training with hostage negotiations and that he was appointed mainly because the “President trusts him”.

In an ambush interview, President Aquino revealed that Robredo is “acting secretary” only because he had differences with his work ethic during the campaign season. Whoa. Here we have a person who’s only claim to fame is that he’s the son of two legends and he goes off questioning the work ethic of a multi-awarded government official? I don’t understand what your criteria is for picking your officials Mr. President but you seriously have to re-evaluate it.

Robredo has the title of DILG Secretary but without full authority. The sad part is that since he has the title, he has to suffer the consequences. He’s drawing so much flak lately and it’s sad that people are not seeing how great this guy really is. If there’s one mistake Robredo made, it’s that he accepted the post with the power-sharing agreement.

My hope is that Robredo will solider on either as DILG Secretary or some other government post where he can be of service. I believe he has the necessary skills and experience to turn the DILG into a positive force in the country but if he doesn’t get the post FULLY then he should just resign. I pray that the Filipino people will see the good in the guy and that he’ll be given the chance to prove himself on a national (even global) scale.

Huwag masyado asahan si Noynoy

Carlo Ople — Mon, 26 Jul 2010 10:29:37 +0000

I watched President Benigno “Noynoy” Aquino’s State of the Nation Address (SONA) this afternoon and it pretty much was what a lot of us expected. He lambasted the previous administration and talked about potential solutions for the current problems of the Philippines. One thing is crystal clear: our problems will not be fixed overnight. It will take a lot of time, effort, and resources to turn this country around. If there’s one thing I appreciate in Noynoy’s entire SONA though it’s when he mentioned that the government’s primary responsibility is to make sure that everything is fair for everyone, especially in business. Ang problema kasi ng maraming Pilipino ay inaasa lahat sa gobyerno. Pati’ ba naman distribution ng condoms, problema ba ng Philippine government? Pati ba naman “spiritual corruption” gusto ng Catholic Church ayusin ni Noynoy? If your problem is specific to your vocation or industry, wag mo asahan si Noynoy diyan. He has enough problems to deal with already. Instead of whining, complaining, and doing nothing you should just offer solutions. Better yet, be part of the solution. You don’t have to be in government to make a difference or help others out.

What this country really needs is to raise the level of basic services. Our government hospitals are dismal. I would rather the Department of Health divert their “Condom” budget to making sure that we have properly trained medical staff and average equipment than run nationwide condom distribution and awareness campaigns. This topic is very close to my heart because when I was shot a couple of years ago and brought to a government hospital, I got my lung opened and inserted with a tube to drain the blood WITHOUT anesthetics because the hospital didn’t have any. When my former driver was dying in another government hospital there was no respirator so his family had to take turns squeezing an oxygen bag for 3 days straight.

Huwag na natin ibigay ang lahat ng problema natin kay Noynoy. Let’s let him work on the basics and let’s try to do our part as well in building the country.

President Noynoy Aquino’s “Cute” Mistakes

Carlo Ople — Sat, 03 Jul 2010 19:21:41 +0000

President Noynoy Aquino made several “cute” mistakes during his first few days in office. The one that got the biggest media attention was his alleged “palpak” Memorandum Circular which was signed by Executive Secretary Ochoa. Another follow-up mistake would be Lacierda’s boo-boo with the Malacanang Press Corps when he had them waiting while giving an exclusive interview to ABS-CBN’s news channel, ANC. What got my attention the most though was when President Aquino attended a military ceremony function. First, he was half an hour late because he refused to use the Wang Wang and the usual counter flow (which I love about him). Next, his timing was off in the customary salute and lastly he used the wrong podium during his Presidential address. Here’s the video from the GMA news website:

For the latest Philippine news stories and videos, visit GMANews.TV

And here’s the video from ABS-CBN news about the Memorandum Circular:

I actually find these mistakes a bit endearing because it just shows that we have a human President. It’s a totally different matter though when this happens again 3 months from now (that’s incompetence already). I’ll be praying for President Aquino and his cabinet. Hopefully his administration will usher in a new era for the Filipino people.

Should Noynoy stop smoking?

Carlo Ople — Sun, 30 May 2010 09:33:08 +0000

Senator Noynoy Aquino is being criticized left and right because he hasn’t stopped smoking. He said later on in an interview that he hopes that people will let him keep that one tiny freedom. Should Noynoy Aquino stop smoking? Absolutely. But it should be on his terms and his own time. If you try to ram this down his throat he’ll probably just fake it or it might even affect his decision making capabilities once he’s President, lol.

I genuinely hope though that he knows that smoking is bad and that it can cause damage to himself and to those around him.

Congratulations to President Noynoy Aquino!

Carlo Ople — Wed, 12 May 2010 09:26:08 +0000

All of Senator Noynoy Aquino‘s opponents for the Presidency, with the exception of former President Joseph “Erap” Estrada, have already conceded. It looks like that Aquino will win with a landslide based on the latest results from PPCRV and the COMELEC. I have doubts that Estrada can still catch up especially since the remaining provinces that have yet to be counted are mostly the “balwartes” of Aquino and Roxas. I just want to take this opportunity to say thank you and congratulations to Senator Manny Villar for his campaign. It was a good fight and my respect for you grew even more when you decided to concede to Aquino. In your statement you also said that you will make an effort in the coming days to clear your name. I pray that you will do just that so people will see the “real” you.

With regards to the tight race between Senator Mar Roxas and Makati Mayor Jejomar Binay for the Vice Presidency, it looks like Binay has a very comfortable lead but the Liberal Party is saying that Mar’s strongest provinces haven’t been counted yet and that would be enough to give him a very slim lead at the end of the counting. Hopefully the agony will end in the next few hours and we’ll find out who will be the partner of President Noynoy Aquino in the next 6 years.

Lastly, I hope that all the supporters and fans of Aquino now drop their “fanboy” status and start to monitor and hold Aquino accountable for all of his promises. We can’t afford another 6 years of corruption and incompetence.

Again, congratulations and good luck to President Noynoy Aquino!

What is Off Limits in a Campaign?

Carlo Ople — Sun, 28 Mar 2010 08:44:39 +0000

A few weeks ago, Kris Aquino publicly cried on national television when her personal marital problems would be used to drag down the name of his brother, Senator Noynoy Aquino. A lot of people called that off limits since it was “personal”. Even before that though, the daughter of Senator Manny Villar was also publicly chastised as she gave away scholarships and prizes during a Villar-sponsored concert. Off limits? But wait, there’s more. I just saw a tweet linking to an article on the Philippine Star wherein the author of the piece actually researched the statements made on Villar’s ad with his brother Danny dying due to lack of funds. According to the article, this wasn’t true.

In a political campaign, what’s off limits and what’s fair game?

There’s really no sure answer but ultimately politicians fail to realize that they are the ones who are drawing first blood when it comes to engagements like this. You use your daughter, sister, and even your dead brother on a political campaign then they become fair game. The moment you have them prance around the stage, you are exposing them to a world of hurt, humiliation, and scrutiny.

It’s basic competitive marketing 101. You have a claim, then make sure that it will stand against criticism. The problem here is that instead of hyping on product benefits, politicians prefer to shove their loved ones in the line of fire. Since their competitors can’t hit on product benefits, they will tear down at the people in front of them. This is the sad and brutal truth of politics.

Don’t just think twice, think a million times before you ask your children or your loved ones if they want to participate in your campaign, especially if it’s a heated contest. And before you start pointing at your competitor for going to “off-limits” areas, look at yourself first and ask yourself why those people are in the ring anyway.