The Philippine Online Chronicles

The first 100 days of a new administration is 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 of apparent President-elect Benigno “Noynoy” Aquino III.

But the people are getting mixed signals from the Aquino camp. On the one hand, Aquino himself appears really serious and determined to fulfill his biggest campaign promise, which is to pursue the prosecution of his predecessor President Gloria Macapagal-Arroyo for her alleged misdeeds while in power. For many Filipinos, this is a breath of fresh air as Mrs. Arroyo, her relatives, and allies were not really subjected to any credible or exhaustive probe on their alleged illegal activities in the past nine years. Mrs. Arroyo has successfully evaded four attempts by her political opponents to impeach her over allegations of corruption, electoral fraud, and human rights violations, among others.

On the other hand, critics note that in terms of socioeconomic reforms, Aquino’s campaign pronouncements and the possible composition of his Cabinet indicate that the country will probably see more of the same (and flawed, these critics claim) policies that have to a large extent failed to address joblessness, landlessness, hunger, and poverty. A major issue that is closely being watched is the controversial Hacienda Luisita where there is an ongoing labor and agrarian dispute between the farmers and farm workers and the Cojuangco-Aquino clan. The case of Hacienda Luisita is considered by many as a litmus test for Aquino’s sincerity and capacity to uplift the dismal living conditions of millions of Filipinos.

Economic team

Just a day after the automated elections and with Aquino garnering an insurmountable lead based on the partial and unofficial tallies of the Commission on Elections (Comelec) and the poll watchdog Parish Pastoral Council for Responsible Voting (PPCRV), local and foreign business groups have started to rally behind Aquino and expressed enthusiasm to work with him. But industry leaders warned that the quality of Cabinet appointees of the apparent President-elect will determine whether or not the new government can deliver on the country’s much needed economic reforms.

“We are waiting to see who is on his team. That will set the tone for his government,” Robert M. Sears, executive director of the American Chamber of Commerce of the Philippines, was quoted in a report as saying.

From the business community’s point of view, which is looking for predictability and continuity in economic programs, Aquino could be on the right track. Francis C. Chua, president of the Philippine Chamber of Commerce and Industry (PCCI), said in a report that the business sector does not expect too much of a problem under the Aquino administration as far as the economy is concerned. “The new administration will just have to sustain the momentum,” the business leader said.

Aquino’s likely economic team is composed of people who have served as former economic managers and advisers of incumbent President Arroyo. Erstwhile Lakas-Kampi-CMD stalwart and reelected Albay Governor Joey Salceda, for instance, was considered as among the top economic advisers of Arroyo before he moved to the Liberal Party (LP) of Aquino during the campaign.

The LP, which as a campaign strategy packaged its image as the total opposite of the Arroyo administration, denied that Salceda will form part of Aquino’s economic team and refuted as well that the LP will just continue the economic policies of Arroyo. “He did not join to become Sen. Noynoy Aquino’s economic adviser… We will not adopt the current administration’s economic policy. No, we intend to change it”, Senator and LP vice presidential bet Manuel “Mar” Roxas II said about the defection of Salceda. Roxas issued the denial in the thick of the election campaign and was made in response to the press offensive of Aquino’s fiercest rival, Nacionalista Party (NP) standard-bearer Senator Manuel “Manny” Villar that Arroyo’s economic managers, blamed for policies that hurt the poor, are now with the Aquino camp.

But it’s not only the presence of Salceda which shows that the Aquino administration will not veer away from Arroyo’s economic policies, according to Noynoy’s critics and foes. They noted that Roxas himself was a former Secretary of the Department of Trade and Industry (DTI) under the Arroyo administration. Another ex-Trade Secretary of Arroyo and former Nestlé Philippines chairman and chief executive officer (CEO), Johnny “Juan” Santos, is also now with the Aquino camp. The same is true for the main architects of the hugely unpopular reformed value added tax (VAT) law (that raised the VAT rate from 10 percent to 12 percent and expanded to include oil and electricity, among others) in 2005 – returning Senator-elect Ralph Recto, Arroyo’s former National Economic and Development Authority (NEDA) chief and Cesar Purisima, former Secretary of the Department of Finance (DOF).

Meanwhile, Roxas, an economist by training and a staunch advocate of neoliberal free trade, will play a major role in the Aquino administration whether he wins or lose in the vice presidential race, said the LP standard bearer. Among the major feats of Roxas is the contentious Japan-Philippines Economic Partnership Agreement (JPEPA), whose ratification by the Senate in 2008 he vigorously pursued despite strong opposition from affected marginalized sectors and groups.

Photo from PIA website and Blogwatch.ph. Some rights reserved.