MANILA, Philippines - Senator Ferdinand "Bongbong" R. Marcos, Jr. gave the Aquino administration a passing but unflattering performance rating of a "poor six" out of ten scale.
In a radio interview, Marcos said that Aquino's lackluster Cabinet performance was one reason for the poor rating.
"No matter how good you are, and even if you possess a vision for the country's development, your good plans would amount to nothing if your team can't execute them," Marcos said.
Marcos, who is the Chairman of the Senate Committee on Public Works, pointed out the deterioration of the country's transport infrastructure system as proof of the government's inability to deliver basic services and the lack of a long-term plan for the development of the country.
"We are the first country in Asia to have a Light Railway Transit system. Look at the situation of the LRT today. In the past, we had a good mass transit system so we were not experiencing the massive traffic jams we now have to endure everyday," Marcos noted.
The lack of infrastructure projects also worsened congestion in airports and seaports, while the failure to construct new power plants could lead to a power crisis.
"What any Cabinet should do is plan not only for what we need today but also for what we would need in the future," Marcos said.
Marcos lamented the failure of the current administration to spend an estimated P400 billion that Congress earmarked for various infrastructure projects.
Had those projects been implemented, Marcos said they would have spurred the growth of the economy and generated more jobs, which could have, in turn, helped improve the lives of the poor. The data from the Department of Budget and Management shows the government disbursed P68.5 billion on infrastructure and other capital outlays during the first three months of 2015, down 11 percent from P77 billion in the first quarter of last year.
Likewise, the first-quarter infrastructure expenditures were 27.3-percent lower than the P94.3 billion that the government had programmed to spend from January to March.
As a result of government underspending, Marcos noted that economic growth slowed to 5.2 percent in the first quarter, the lowest since 2012.
Asked for his unsolicited advice to the President, Marcos said: "Improve your advisers and be more effective."
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| Sen. Bongbong Marcos to PNoy: "Improve your advisers and be more effective." |
"No matter how good you are, and even if you possess a vision for the country's development, your good plans would amount to nothing if your team can't execute them," Marcos said.
Marcos, who is the Chairman of the Senate Committee on Public Works, pointed out the deterioration of the country's transport infrastructure system as proof of the government's inability to deliver basic services and the lack of a long-term plan for the development of the country.
"We are the first country in Asia to have a Light Railway Transit system. Look at the situation of the LRT today. In the past, we had a good mass transit system so we were not experiencing the massive traffic jams we now have to endure everyday," Marcos noted.
The lack of infrastructure projects also worsened congestion in airports and seaports, while the failure to construct new power plants could lead to a power crisis.
"What any Cabinet should do is plan not only for what we need today but also for what we would need in the future," Marcos said.
Marcos lamented the failure of the current administration to spend an estimated P400 billion that Congress earmarked for various infrastructure projects.
Had those projects been implemented, Marcos said they would have spurred the growth of the economy and generated more jobs, which could have, in turn, helped improve the lives of the poor. The data from the Department of Budget and Management shows the government disbursed P68.5 billion on infrastructure and other capital outlays during the first three months of 2015, down 11 percent from P77 billion in the first quarter of last year.
Likewise, the first-quarter infrastructure expenditures were 27.3-percent lower than the P94.3 billion that the government had programmed to spend from January to March.
As a result of government underspending, Marcos noted that economic growth slowed to 5.2 percent in the first quarter, the lowest since 2012.
Asked for his unsolicited advice to the President, Marcos said: "Improve your advisers and be more effective."
