Govt won’t close Noynoy Facebook page despite flood of criticism

The Facebook page of President Benigno Aquino III won’t be taken down despite being flooded by mostly negative comments on the government’s mishandling of the August 23 hostage tragedy. Presidential Communications Operations Office head Herminio Coloma said the government will continue to maintain its account with the world’s most popular social networking site, saying it is part of their feedback mechanism and efforts toward a transparent government. “Iyon namang website ay isang channel of communication. Sa pamamagitan nito, nakakakuha ng feedback. And hindi naman natin mapipigilan kung merong ibang pananaw na lalahok din dito dahil demokratiko po iyong tinatawag nating cyberspace," Coloma said in an interview by radio dzAR. (The website is a channel of communication. Through this we are able to get feedback. And we can’t stop other views from joining in, because there’s democracy in cyberspace). Coloma added that the Palace welcomes the negative criticism against the President since that is part of reality. Aquino has been the subject of a flurry of criticism questioning his ability to lead the country following the hostage-taking last week, which resulted in the deaths of eight Hong Kong tourists. Negative comments about the President’s shortcomings include allegations that he was busy attending to a private concern during the hostage-taking incident, and that his Cabinet was hobbled by competing factions among its members. The President, through his Facebook account, meanwhile urged the public to continue to trust his administration. “Manalig po kayo. Nasa likod ninyo ako at ang aking administrasyon (Have faith. I and my administration are behind you)," Aquino said in his Facebook page. Amid the continued debate among users who expressed differing opinions on how Aquino handled the hostage drama, the administration reminded users to engage in a peaceful and harmonious exchange. "It is important for us Filipinos to take stock of ourselves as a people — of who we truly are as a people. It is important that we remind ourselves who the Filipino really is, before our young children believe all this negativity that they hear and read about the Filipino," Aquino added via Facebook, quoting defeated senatorial candidate Alex Lacson’s book, “12 Little Things Every Filipino Can Do To Help Our Country".—Jerrie M. Abella/JV, GMANews.TV