Human rights advocates gave him low marks, and infighting within his inner circle is threatening to derail his reform agenda. Overall, however, President Aquino is marking his 100th day in office today still with a lot of public support. Aware that a hundred days is too short to pass judgment on a new administration, the public is still ready to give him room for mistakes. The President must not waste that narrow window of public forbearance.
On the eve of his 100th day, the President, in a report to his “boss” the people, reiterated his campaign vow to work for transparency and honesty in government. He said the country is ready for takeoff, noting renewed investor confidence and the international goodwill enjoyed by his administration. With the end of his honeymoon period with media critics, he also urged the people to rally behind him, saying he and the people are kasangga or sparring partners.
That is no idle call, if the people expect this government to succeed. The system President Aquino is trying to change has many beneficiaries, a number of whom are still in a position to block his reform agenda. Public support is indispensable for defeating these forces.
What the public now wants is direction, if not vision, for the rest of his presidency. The past 100 days have also shown that while the President himself continues to enjoy public support, the same cannot be said of some of the individuals he has chosen to serve his government. The mishandling of the Aug. 23 hostage incident is just the worst manifestation of the weak spots in his administration.
For all the weaknesses that have been exposed in the past 100 days, the President remains true to his promise of promoting transparency and good government. He is the first Philippine president to open himself to anonymous and often vitriolic heckling through social media. He continues to receive text messages – and text back – friends and journalists who have known him for many years. He is leading by example, a constant reminder to civil servants that public office is not an entitlement but a public trust. For this, most Filipinos are still ready to be his partners.
