Joker gives Aquino 'high marks' on his first 100 days

A senator who is a known critic of the current administration has surprisingly praised President Benigno Simeon Aquino III for his supposedly "good" performance in his first 100 days in office. "Notwithstanding the inadequacies and the unimpressive performance of the President's ministers, President Aquino unqualifiedly deserves high marks because the enormous trust and faith of the people in him remains steadfast and unwavering," Senator Joker Arroyo said in an interview. "That is something. This is, after all, true measure of leadership, this augurs well for the country," added Arroyo, who served as executive secretary during the early years of the incumbency of Aquino's late mother, President Corazon Aquino. Earlier, Arroyo raised doubts on the capabilities of Aquino's advisers after his first four executive orders were questioned at the Supreme Court. He had likewise said that the Aquino administration was running the country like a student government after it supposedly made mistakes in preparing the proposed 2011 budget. It was also at the time that Arroyo criticized the administration for its decision to present the Incident Investigation and Review Committee's report on the August 23 hostage tragedy first to the Chinese authorities.
'Not worth rating' "Proximity is power. They're (Aquino's advisers) the ones nearest [to] the President. It's important that those around him are good, not non-performing assets," said Arroyo. However, he refused to specify any of Aquino's advisers. He likewise refused to rate them. "They're not worth rating," Arroyo said. Arroyo likewise said the real challenge is whether Aquino will maintain the public's faith in him. "The people continue to have faith in him, well and good, if not, then, that’s when he should start to look out and watch out," he said. On Monday, Senate President Juan Ponce Enrile and Senators Loren Legarda and Franklin Drilon said that 100 days is not enough time to judge the President's performance as the head of the country. On the other hand, Senate Majority Floor Leader Vicente "Tito" Sotto III gave Aquino's 100 days a rating of 7.5 out of 10. He said he initially wanted to give Aquino a rating of 9 if not for the president's "controversial appointments." However, Aquino said that he will continue performing his duties as he sees fit regardless of what critics may say of his performance during his first 100 days in office. —RSJ, GMANews.TV