“The Presidency”

According to its ostentatiously unrevealing Web site, the Makati Business Club was founded by the late Don Enrique Zobel in 1981 as a “forum for constructive ideas”. Today it boasts the membership of hundreds of “captains of Philippine business”, who intersperse their professional networking and social schmoozing with periodic manifestos on the state of the…

MANILA, Philippines – The Aquino administration maintained a “good” net satisfaction rating in the latest survey by the Social Weather Stations (SWS). The SWS poll, conducted from June 3 to 6, found 62 percent of respondents satisfied and 17 percent dissatisfied with the performance of the administration for a net score of +45 percent.

The Inquirer looks back at the promises President Benigno Aquino III made to the Filipino people during his campaign for the presidency, in his Inaugural Address on June 30, 2010 and in his first State of the Nation Address (Sona) a month after.

The word “Aquinomics” has gained some popularity among people who think and talk economy, business and finance since former Economic Planning Secretary Cielito Habito used it in an opinion article last month. He said it’s two things: the rise in total private investment even as foreign investment and government spending drop, and (related to the…

Manila, Philippines – A group of good governance advocates gave the Aquino administration a grade of 4.78 out of 10 points for its first year in office even as it sought the need to address challenges in raising state revenues, improving health services, and providing infrastructure.

A year into the administration of Benigno Simeon Aquino III, “Aquinomics” is the buzzword of his economic team. At the heart of this, Finance Secretary Cesar Purisima told us the other night, is that “good governance is good economics.” The focus is not so much on the amount of government resources but how it is…

AHEAD of President Benigno Aquino 3rd’s second State of the Nation Address (sona), foreign business executives lauded efforts to combat corruption in his first year in office, but admitted that a great deal of work remains to attract long-term investments into the Philippines.

“Leadership without vision is treachery to the governed. Integral leadership also means setting the path toward the future.” Thus intoned youthful Lingayen-Dagupan Archbishop Socrates “Soc” Villegas, the incoming Vice-President of the Catholic Bishops Conference of the Philippines (CBCP), in a speech he delivered before members and officials of the Rotary Clubs of Pangasinan last week.…

Expected to be highlighted in his State of the Nation Address (SONA), the President’s brand of economics is merely repeating the “failure” of national economic managers since 40 years ago, an economists’ group said Wednesday.

Last of two parts ARE there in fact similarities between Arroyo and Aquino? PNoy has certainly continued several major programs of his predecessor. Thanks to her tax 2005 tax reforms, his administration has reaped the gains with continued growth and this year, credit rating upgrades.

First of two parts Nagpapasalamat na lamang po ako sa pag-amin ni Ginang Arroyo na ‘di umano’y kabaliktaran raw niya ako. Sa wakas, magkasundo rin po kami. Talagang magkabaliktad po kami. (I can only be thankful for Mrs. Arroyo’s admission that I am her exact opposite. Finally, we can agree. It is really true that…

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After President Benigno Simeon Aquino assumed office on June 30 last year, several significant events happened abroad concerning overseas Filipino workers and migrants. These are some of the most popular PINOY ABROAD stories that have appeared on our site during Aquino’s first year in office: 1. After convictions, PHL off US human trafficking watch list…

MANILA, Philippines – President Benigno Aquino III blamed again the past Arroyo administration on the desperate economic state of the country as he delivers his Ulat sa Bayan (Report to the Nation) this afternoon at the Philsport Arena in Pasig City. “Isang taon na ng tapusin natin ang pamahalaan na bulag at pipi sa pangangailangan…

Urges action on corruption, criminality RECOMMENDATIONS FOR AQUINO. Days before President Aquino’s State of the Nation Address, the Management Association of the Philippines has come up with over 200 recommendations for the enhancement of the country’s competitiveness.

MANILA, Philippines—Benigno Aquino III won the presidency on a battle cry to crush corruption and ease deep poverty, but a year into his term he is seen by many to be straining under the weight of his own promises.

MANILA, Philippines – Businessmen disclosed yesterday that they are giving President Aquino a “barely passing mark” for his first year in office because although the new administration started on the right foot with the anti-wang-wang (siren) campaign, several administration officials got involved in controversies.

NIXES 3 SECRETARIES WHO ALWAYS GIVE HIM ‘BAD NEWS’ President Aquino may be far removed from the reality of numerous problems the country faces, and the reason nothing moves in Malacañang. He yesterday bared in a speech of “two or three” of his Cabinet members who have brought him nothing but problems and “bad news,”…

PRESIDENT Benigno Aquino III’s closest ally and Liberal Party spokesman, House Deputy Speaker Lorenzo Tañada III, has attributed the President’s declining popularity to a “lack of clear direction, coherent economic road map and failure to stop the increase in the prices of basic commodities such as petroleum products.”

MANILA, Philippines – Two of the country’s most influential business groups said they’ll give President Benigno Aquino III a pass on his first year but expect action in the next. Aquino marks his first year in office next week and the country’s two biggest survey organizations say his numbers have dropped about 10 points from…

MANILA, Philippines – President Aquino’s approval and trust ratings slightly declined in the past three months, a new Pulse Asia survey revealed yesterday. Pulse Asia’s Ulat ng Bayan survey, conducted from May 21 to June 4, found 71 percent of Filipinos expressing approval and trust in the President.

MANILA, Philippines –  President Aquino signed into law yesterday the bills extending for 10 years the subsidy on electricity charges for poor households, providing mandatory immunization to infants and children, and lifting the prohibition for women night workers.

MANILA, Philippines –  President Aquino’s public approval rating continues to drop as he prepares to mark his first year in office. A recent survey by the Social Weather Stations (SWS) showed the President’s net rating slipping from a record high of 64 in November last year to 46 this month, with 64 percent of Filipinos…

MANILA, Philippines – President Benigno “Noynoy” Aquino III signed into law several pro-poor bills, including the mandatory immunization for children and the extension of the lifeline electricity rates for poor consumers.

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‘CONGRESS NOT A VENUE FOR CHARACTER ASSASSINATION’ Fearing a congressional investigation of the presidential KKKs, President Aquino yesterday again meddled in the affairs of the House of Representatives as he gave his marching orders to congressmen to stop any and all congressional investigations of his Kaibigan, Kaklase and Kabarilan.

MANILA, Philippines – As the first 365 days of President Benigno Aquino III in office draws near, the proverbial question “What has the Aquino Presidency achieved?” is once again raised.

Senate President Pro Tempore Jinggoy Estrada advised President Aquino to act decisively and avoid giving his allies caught dipping their fingers into irregularities a kid gloves treatment to get through a hail of criticisms over the “KKK” or his favored Kaibigan (crony), Kaklase (classmates) and Kabarilan (target range shooting buddies).

BLASTS BISHOP FOR CALLING ON NOYNOY TO RESIGN President Aquino and his Palace aides have turned paranoid, saying they have detected a “pattern” of destabilization through a “pattern” of demonization of the current chief executive which they claim is being hatched by the opposition forces, following the series of criticisms leveled against Aquino’s leadership and…

In our December 30, 2010 column, we raised 16 major concerns the then six months old Aquino government must attend to. As President Aquino is about to complete one year of his term, let’s review his performance on the 16 major concerns.