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Aquino's New Year's resolution: Exercise regularly


Expect a more physically fit president next year. With the year 2011 just days away, President Benigno Simeon "Noynoy" Aquino III, a 50-year-old bachelor and a known smoker, said his New Year's resolution is to be more fit. "Kung meron pang paraan na madagdagan pa ang ginagawa natin, sana mahanap natin ang lakas para magawa yun. To that extent magkakaroon na tayo ng exercise regimen rin na mas sa regular, I’m taking up biking," Aquino said in an ambush interview in Manila on Thursday. (If there is a way to increase my activities further, I hope I will have the strength to take on all of them. To that extent I will have a more regular exercise regimen. I'm taking up biking.) Aquino said he will spend the New Year studying various documents including the yearend reports of all government departments and agencies. "Andami kong backlog sa materials that have to be read (I have a huge backlog in the materials that have to be read)," said the president, adding that he has yet to finish about two-thirds of the year-end reports. Aquino said he is looking forward to improving the economy further by decreasing the unemployment and underemployment rates in the country. He is hoping that disturbances in the world market would be mitigated and have "little" effect on the Philippine economy. Aquino, who ran and won on a platform of eliminating corruption to reduce poverty, said he believes his six-month-old administration contributed to Filipinos' optimism about the coming year. A recent Social Weather Stations survey said 93 percent of Filipinos are entering 2011 with hope. The figure is higher than 2009's 89 percent and is near the record-high level of 95 percent set in 2002. – VVP, GMANews.TV

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