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Farm sector says Keeping Customs leadership intact a letdown.
Farm sector says keeping Customs leadership intact a letdown

http://newsinfo.inquirer.net/451403/farm-sector-says-keeping-customs-leadership-intact-a-letdown

Dati hindi makapal ang mga mukha ng mga tiga Customs, ngayon kumapal na. Siguro sya ang dapat matanong. Lahat ng Sr. Officials appointee nya!

TRIBUNE: UNA: Retaining Biazon sent conflicting signals
- The double standard of President Aquino's "daang matuwid" became too glaring in the made up melodrama of Customs Commissioner Rufina "Ruffy" Biazon's alleged resignation and the immediate rejection of the offer by Aquino social media Twitter shortly after Aquino's stinging rebuke of the Bureau of Customs in his state of the Nation Address (Sona).

ANC: ROQUE STATEMENT ON SONA
It was very sad that Pres Noynoy Aquino, for the first time in his SONA, did not have anything to say about the Maguindanao Massacre. As Chief Executive, it is still his duty to prosecute and cause the punishment of the perpetrators of the massacre. We are also hoping that with recent information that some of the victims almost entered into a compromise with the Ampatuan, the President will squarely address the issue of compensation to be given to the victims of the single most murderous attack against journalist in history.

PHILSTAR: Marivic Raquiza, co-convenor of Social Watch Philippines, can't understand why the government is raising the budget of a supposed anti-poverty program that has failed to address poverty. "Majority of CCT household-beneficiaries included in the study expressed the belief that access to regular employment is the most important way for them to get out poverty," she said, adding that the government needs to improve rural incomes and creating jobs in the manufacturing sector.

INQUIRER: PH medical group questions Philhealth data in Aquino Sona
- The Philippine Medical Association (PMA) on Tuesday expressed doubts over the claim of the Philippine Health Insurance Corp. (PhilHealth) that 81 percent of Filipinos had so far been enrolled in the government's universal healthcare program.

PHILSTAR: "It is unfortunate that no mention was made of poverty and labor data because these two are indicators of the progress we made towards inclusive growth," said Cid Terosa, vice dean of the School of Economics at the University of Asia and the Pacific.

"saan kayo kumukuha ng kapal ng mukha?" must be Pnoy talking to himself in front of a mirror. how can he report with a straight face the gains of his presidency while acknowledging the corruption of his agencies? how can he ask for a bigger CCT budget when high poverty and unemployment data released by his own agencies speaks of the program's failure? SINO ang "makapal ang mukha"?

ABS-CBN News: Tiangco hits PNoy for rejecting Biazon's resignation. Says Biazon did the right thing
- President Benigno Aquino III failed to "walk the talk" when he refused to accept the resignation of Bureau of Customs (BOC) chief Ruffy Biazon, United Nationalist Alliance (UNA) secretary general Toby Tiangco said Tuesday.

ANC: UP political Jean Encinas-Franco also noted the "long, boring" speech that did not dig deep into issues that really mattered. For instance, there was no discussion on how he would generate jobs for Filipinos, she said. "There was not anything about job creation, rights of labor." She said Aquino reiterated too much on the conditional cash transfer program even if it can't solve poverty. "Let us be reminded that the budget for the [CCT] is from a loan from the World Bank... It's not the end all and be all to end poverty," she said.

ANC: Ernesto Pernia, economist at the University of the Philippines Diliman, stressed that Aquino's pinpointing of Augusto Syjuco, former head at the Technical Education and Skills Development Authority, was not essential to the President's SONA. "I would have wanted to hear him say about the Freedom of Information bill and something on mining because he has to be clear on what he wants with mining because investors are waiting on the wings... and he could have mentioned the RH law, which has gone through a long, torturous process," he continued. "I think a SONA is essentially to report where we are now, and how we are going to proceed in the future... how to sustain the [economic] growth rate, how to improve poverty reduction," Pernia said.

ANC: Leonor Briones, analyst and professor emeritus at the University of the Philippines Diliman, stressed branding only a handful of corrupt institutions is unfair as there are other agencies known for illegal practices. "Meron pang ibang agencies na dapat pang ipahiya. Ibig nating sabihin napakalaganap ng corruption dito sa ating bansa na hindi dapat magpipick up ka ng tatlo, kasi sasabihin ng iba na unfair dahil bakit ang nangyayari sa DOTC, bakit ang nangyayari sa DFA (Department of Foreign Affairs) [hindi sinita]," Briones told ANC's Headstart. Briones, for her part stressed "He (Aquino) mentioned inclusive growth as a goal but there were no details on how could details on how we could achieve it."