MANILA TIMES: AMERICANS HAVE 9/11, FILIPINOS HAVE 11/8 by YEN MAKABENTA 11/8 is a grim reminder that nations do not choose a president for the good times. The good times can take care of themselves. ?We elect a president for troubled times,? says the writer Ellen Goodman. ?We pick the man who will be waked up in the middle of the night with decisions to make.? Sadly, we don?t have that kind of president today. He is busy. He?s having a coughing fit. Bahala na tayo sa ating sarili. We are on our own.

MANILA STANDARD: JOJO ROBLES - A CRYING SHAME For a presidency that has already wasted more than half of its time pursuing its political vendettas and conducting damage control after natural and man-made disasters, two years will go by in the bureaucratic equivalent of a blink of the eye. And what will Aquino have to show for his entire term, some achievement that is his alone and that will stand the test of time? Nothing, really, except probably his ban on sirens ? and even that could be gone even before he leaves. What a waste. What a crying shame.

ARCH OSCAR CRUZ: ?AQUINO BIGGEST PROBLEM OF 2013? Cruz, who is dissatisfied with Aquino?s administration, sees a brighter 2014 if Aquino will resign for the sake of the Filipino people who suffered a lot because of his leadership since he was elected as the president of Philippines three years ago. For Cruz, the Aquino administration was like a ?big joke.? ?First, he does not know how to lead. He is not capable of leading. Second, the country had become more problematic when he became the president,? he said. ?I?m sorry, I hope I was, but I am not,? the bishop said when asked if he was satisfied of Aquino?s presidency.