Business groups hail president

Philippine business leaders on Friday gave a “high mark” to President Benigno Aquino 3rd for his first 100 days in office, welcoming his early moves to curb corruption, slash red tape and boost the economy.

President Aquino deserves credit for his campaign against graft, for an efficient bureaucracy and for efforts to improve the business climate, said Francis Chua, the head of the Philippine Chamber of Commerce and Industry (PCCI), the country’s main business group.

“The chamber gives the President a high mark for his performance,” Chua told a press conference.

Business confidence in Mr. Aquino is surging, according to PCCI Vice President Samie Lim, citing the stock market hitting record highs this week and the rise of the peso to two-year highs against the dollar.

Lim, whose specialty is tourism, expressed confidence that tourist arrivals could double from 3.5 million last year to 7 million by 2016, the end of President Aquino’s six-year term.

“The President has planted very good seeds. There are very positive signs in terms of confidence of business,” he said.

The President had demonstrated his popularity with the public by weathering the storm over the botched hostage incident on August 23 that left eight Hong Kong tourists dead, said Donald Dee, the vice chairman of the chamber.

“Clearly, the charisma of the President has deeply embedded itself in society. Despite the problems . . . his support has held,” he added.
Dee also cited a recent survey showing a 71-percent approval rating for Mr. Aquino despite the apparent bungling of the hostage situation.

“He is carrying the ball and has the support [of the people.] He has the opportunity to make dramatic changes,” Chua said.

The business group said that it would formally propose to the President next week a road map on tackling the country’s most pressing problems, including high power rates, environmental protection and population growth.

In a speech on Thursday, Mr. Aquino said that his 100-day-old campaign against graft had restored business confidence, yielding tens of thousands of new jobs and better economic growth prospects.

But critics have said that it is too early to tell if the President will deliver on his promises and have scored his handling of the hostage crisis that cooled relations with China and Hong Kong.

Rights group dismayed

Mr. Aquino was also criticized by Amnesty International Philippines (AIPh) for not promoting or protecting human rights during his first 100 days in office.

“During his first 100 days in office, [the President] highlighted serious human-rights issues in the Philippines, but is yet to take concrete action [on] them,” AIPh Director Aurora Parong said in an e-mailed statement also on Friday.

She added that while the President made “thoughtful comments” about human-rights issues during his June 30 inaugural address, he “failed to translate his words into action.”

The group said that Mr. Aquino missed opportunities to end human-rights abuses by government security forces and private armies, and to take steps to prevent extrajudicial killings.

It added that the President did not ratify the “International Convention for the Protection of All Persons from Enforced Disappearances,” which could have given him a high mark where human rights are concerned.

But even with the “missed opportunities,” AIPh said that Mr. Aquino made progress in institutionalizing human-rights protection in governance through Justice Secretary Leila de Lima, the former head of the Commission on Human Rights.

AIPh hailed de Lima’s appointment to the Department of Justice because of her “strong commitment to human rights.”

On top of that, the human-rights group hailed the President for renewing the Mindanao peace process.

Overall, AIPh’s report card on Mr. Aquino’s first 100 days in office gave him a passing mark.
Parong said that the President still has many chances to improve his record in addressing human-rights violations in the country.

“In losing his father [Sen. Benigno ‘Ninoy’ Aquino Jr.], President Aquino has personal experience of a grave human-rights violation,” she added.

“The President is now in a position where he can help protect the human rights of all Filipinos,” Parong said. –Cris G. Odronia And Jomar Canlas Reporters, Manila Times