The findings of Pulse Asia’s survey on most urgent national concerns should be of interest to candidates in the 2016 elections.
Last month, Pulse Asia listed several national issues and asked 2,400 respondents nationwide to name three that the Aquino administration should act on.
They were also told to include other concerns that were not in the list.
The findings would be a helpful guide not only on how the candidates would conduct their campaign but also how they could chart their program of governance if they win.
Never mind Pres. Aquino. If he was not able to address these issues in the more than five years that he was in Malacanang, there’s no reason to hope that he would have the genius to solve them in his last eight months in office.
Pulse Asia said the most often cited urgent national concerns among Filipinos are workers’ pay (47%) and inflation (46%).
These are working class concerns. Which, in a way is a good indicator that the respondents were working .Their concerns are not basic survival like roof over their head or where to get their next meal. Their problem is how to make both ends meet that’s why they are concerned about inflation which erodes the purchasing power of their money.
The second cluster of urgent national concerns include graft and corruption (39%) and jobs (37%).
Candidates should be forewarned of this major concern about graft and corruption. Filipinos care about how their tax money is being used.
This is why Vice President Jejomar Binay’s ratings plunged when the Senate investigation lead by Sen. Antonio Trillanes IV exposed massive irregularities in Makati’s building and other projects.
Thirty-seven percent of Filipinos of Filipinos are concerned of creation of more jobs. This indicates that Filipinos do not shirk from work. But it conveys a yearning for jobs in the country where they could be with their families.
Pres. Aquino’s spin in his last State- of-the-Nation address that an indicator of improved economy was the reduced number of Filipinos going overseas to work is not quite true. The number of overseas Filipinos went down because many Filipinos workers were forced to come home because of hostilities in the host country. Think of Syria.
Pulse Asia said 32 percent of Filipinos are concerned about extreme poverty in the country and the need to reduce it. Related to this are their concerns about criminality (25%) and lack of peace (18%) in some parts of the country.
Kung sa ibang lugar ang ganyan na may mga paninda sa kalsada tiyak marumi ang kalsada. Pero sa Davao iba, hindi puwede magkalat sa kalsada ang mga basura dahil pangit tingnan. Talagang disiplinado ang tao sa Davao. Tama talaga ang sinabi ni Marcos “Para sa ikauunlad ng bayan ay disiplina ang kailangan.” Ngayon para umunlad talaga ang bayan at bansa dapat si Duterte ang manalo pagka pangulo para lahat ng lugar magkaroon ng disiplina sa sarili.
Noynoy Aquino has not done anything to address issues haunting our country. He is always missing in action. I don’t think he is working at all. He must be busy playing video games. For sure Roxas will lose the election as people do not want to continue the reign of LP.
Tandaan na hindi si Tolentino ang choreographer sa sayaw ng playgirls kaya hindi siya dapat pag initan. Hindi siya ang nagturo na gumanun ang playgirls. Mga epal na matatawag ang mga tao na sinasakyan ang ganun na isyu. Nariyan ang mga sumasali sa beauty contest na halos hubot hubad na ang katawan ,pinipicturan pa bakit hindi umaangal ang Gabriela. Imbistigasyon kay Janet Napoles hindi umangal ang Gabriela, dahil ba babae si Napoles. Isyu patungkol sa spratly island hindi umaangal ang Gabriela, hindi pumupunta sa mga kalsada para mag rally kontra china. Gumawa ng kabutihan si Pnoy para sa bansa ay batikusin. Kung wala namang gawin ay batikusin din.
arvin at #3 at least Tolentino has the decency to apologize for the act of the Playgirls that are paid professional entertainers…and may lost his chance in a promising political career…for a lapsed of sound judgement…that something that should have done in strict privacy, (which is no longer respected in this country, and still wondering why there is no great respect for the media as well) but what has been done, can no longer be undone…so the lesson is still can not be learned…it is bound to be repeated and repeated again…otherwise we be no longer discussing this kind of Trivia…
If I were to be asked which concerns need to be addressed by the incoming administration, I would give only one answer:
The high cost of utilities and its being under the control of a few private conglomerates.
The cost of electricity in the country has not improved any and continues to be the biggest burden against attracting new businesses that will provide the much needed jobs to turn the tide of the Filipino diaspora. Overseas employment also threatens and weakens family values and morals since parental supervision has been surrendered to secondary guardians, leaving the children without the necessary guidance of strong figures that mold their character. We’ve seen that though these generations have become more self-dependent, other aspects of their beings need to be nurtured more.
Practically 2 or 3 companies have the monopoly of utilities. In water, it’s Ayala and Pangilinan. Lopez, Aboitiz and Pangilinan control the energy sector, Ayala and Pangilinan in Telecoms. Pangilinan and Cojuangco control gas and petroleum; Pangilinan and Cojuangco and lately, Ayala, dominate our paid superhighways. Even our broadcast media is controlled by Lopez, Pangilinan, Gozon and until recently, Tieng. Notice anything peculiar? Pangilinan has practically total control over our lives. We know he is but a pawn of his Indonesian masters and as a businessman, I am definite that when things turn sour, these businesses will be liquidated in time. Why is this even allowed? Pangilinan also has a standing offer to purchase MRT (and maybe LRT, too) which is currently owned by Sobrepeñas.
By the way, our sealanes used to be controlled by William, Gothong and Aboitiz (WG&A) but bought by Negros Navigation to form NENACO until its controlling interest was bought by a private equity fund fully-owned by China! Soon, our passenger ships will be ordered by the “owners” to stay away from West Phil. Sea.
It does not help that the same people compete in every project, less competition means more expensive to consumers and poor service. We are worse-off today than in the 70s when every utility was owned by government. Our expensive cost of energy makes it imperative for businesses to cut the cost somewhere else. So it is impossible to raise salaries without being priced out of competition now that Asean products will start bombarding our markets starting this quarter. And the end result? Companies moving more factories out of PH meaning lesser jobs, therefore more OFWs, more social ills.
Thankfully, the United Nations has gate-crashed into the party and will finance and construct our biggest utility-grade solar farm in Bulacan next year. I presume this is their way of telling Pangilinan and his gang to shape up or else more people will be going off-grid and start generating their own electricity.
I checked Ellen’s list again and just by addressing these problems brought about by post-Marcos cronyism, we will begin to solve all of the concerns of the people surveyed, EXCEPT graft and corruption.
#5 Agree.
Sa radyo narinig ko na ang TONGONAN POWER PLANT sa kananga leyte ay 2nd highest power plant sa buong mundo. Ibig sabihin pangalawa sa buong mundo na malaki ang proproduce ng enery na power plant pero bakit daw mataas ang singil ng kuryente dito sa leyte iyon ay dahil naging privatized na. Samantala noon ay gobyerno ang humahawak. Ang sobra daw na enerhiya ay ibinenta sa ibang bansa yata at doon sa napagbintahan ay mababa ang singil ng kuryente samantala na dito sa pinanggalingan ay mataas ang singil ng kuryente. Kapag private na ang may ari puwede talaga na magpataas ng singil. Panahon ni Marcos ay gobyerno pa ang may hawak ng tongonan power plant.
These Oligarchs (Lopez, Ayala, Aboitiz, et. al.) are shoving to our throat Grace and Chiz who they can manipulate just like the Aquinos. We were better off before the ascend of the Yellows.