The first 100 days of any administration are crucial. Also called the “honeymoon period”, it is the transition of an old government to a new one with the hope of a change in the way the country is governed. The new administration is at the height of its popularity, hope, trust and optimism. What it does in the first 100 days is not necessarily final for the remaining six years and, to be sure, just so much can be realistically done in so short a time. Yet the first 100 days offer important insight into the character of the new administration and go far in establishing the directions of governance.[1]
What makes the honeymoon period crucial? It is during this period that the President-elect organizes his Cabinet and appoints key executive officials. His choice of people to help him run the government will speak a great deal about the policy direction that his administration would likely take during its term. Aside from the appointments that the new President will make, his first policy moves or pronouncements will be anticipated and carefully scrutinized as well. These things serve as helpful indicators on what the people can expect from the administration.[2]
In the 2010 elections, Benigno “Noynoy” Aquino III took the place of Dr. Gloria Macapagal Arroyo and was elected President of the Philippines. The two leaders are often compared to each other in a reason unknown. One of the things compared between the two of them, however, is their first 100 days of office.
Gloria Macapagal-Arroyo served as President of the Philippines from January 21, 2001 to June 30, 2010. She was already serving the unexpired term of former President Joseph Estrada, who was ousted by a Supreme Court ruling after days of public protest for his resignation and impeachment. Prior to that, she was the Vice President and DSWD Secretary.
In her first 100 days, she established numerous projects that would improve the education, social status, and poverty of the nation. Some of these projects are Ahon Bata sa Lansangan, a project that seeks to strengthen and speed up past and present attempts to address the difficulty of street children; Ahon Bayan, a resource generation project for social welfare services; Ahon Pamilya, a community based plan of preparing family members to protect themselves against violence and manage resolution of disagreement within the context of family members; and Quick Reaction Time Pamilya, an instrument that guarantees immediate response to the needs of sexually abused women and children.[3]
PGMA started a health revolution by implementing various projects and policies. Some of the projects are the measles elimination campaign for Filipino children, food enrichment program, reducing the price of drugs and medicines by fifty percent (50%), Sentrong Sigla health centers, and execution of programs against emerging diseases. She also planned to put forth several advancements in the country’s infrastructure by plan of decongesting roads. There was also the plan of electrification of barangays which aims to provide electricity to 1,513 barangays all over the country.
President Noynoy Aquino was elected in a landslide victory of a margin of more than 3 million votes versus his nearest rival in 2010. He was an extremely popular candidate in the election unlike Arroyo who won in an alleged vote-rigged election in 2004, which elected her to a full term in 2004. Like PGMA, PNOY is an ecomomist; he was even a student of Arroyo back in Ateneo de Manila University.
Many criticized the honeymoon period of the 15th President of the country. According to a commentary by IBON Foundation, the new Aquino administration is showing few signs of conviction and a real reform agenda. It has not used its first 100 days to establish any real momentum for the economic and political reform that the country has long needed– belying its promise of real change. The Malacañang released a statement that they gave the president a passing rate. According to them, PNOY has been prioritizing two major projects to fight corruption and poverty alleviation. Retired Archbishop Oscar Cruz, a well known anti-jueteng advocate, described the performance of PNoy as weak and has given its administration a passing mark of “C” or 75. The former Archbishop tagged Presidential friend and DILG Undersecretary Rico E. Puno as one of those who received payola from jueteng operators. The militant group, Bagong Alyansang Makabayan described the first 100 days of the Noynoy Administration as a “disappointment.”[4]
Although the feedback in the first 100 days was not as good as it should be, the Aquino administration implemented several projects to uplift the present situation of the country. It carried out the Anti-Wang-Wang policy. It requested the review of weather forecasting methods for better prediction of the weather. It strived to bring out the truth in plunder cases. Even as it promised not to impose new taxes, the Aquino administration has pushed for additional tax like the collection of the 12% VAT on toll. It signed Executive Order (EO) No. 8 to attract foreign capital and give them guaranteed and almost limitless opportunities to profit from the country’s infrastructure. The Philippines received a $434-million Millennium Challenge Corporation (MCC) grant from the US government.
The Aquino administration presented few concrete plans for the country while the Arroyo administration showed promise in its first 100 days. Ironically, in a survey conducted by the Social Weather station using face-to-face interviews of 1,200 adults in Metro Manila, the Balance of Luzon, Visayas, and Mindanao, the results show that 71 percent of 1,200 respondents satisfied and 11 percent dissatisfied with the performance of Aquino in his first three months in office, for a net satisfaction rating of 60 or “very good.” This means that 7 out of 10 Filipinos are satisfied with his performance. On the other hand, 42 percent of the 1,500 respondents satisfied and 18 percent dissatisfied with the performance of Arroyo, for a net satisfaction rating of +24 or “moderate.” This implies that 4 out of 10 Filipinos are satisfied with her performance.
Both administrations changed the nation in different ways. The citizens can only hope that these changes would help improve the status of the country, and not worsen it.
[1] Text available at <http://bulatlat.com/main/2010/10/09/first-100-days-few-signs-of-real-reform/>
[2] Padilla A, 2010, ‘1st 100 days: What can the people expect from a Noynoy presidency? (Part 1)’, viewed 10 March, 2011
[3] Information available at <http://www.philippinecountry.com/philippine_presidents/President_arroyo/initiatives.html>
[4] Information available at < http://www.yousaytoo.com/first-100-days-of-noynoy-aquino-iii-administration-passed-or-failed/420217>
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