PNoy gets thumbs up from bishops for 1st 6 months

Despite clashing with him over reproductive health issues, Catholic bishops gave President Benigno Aquino III high marks for his first six months in office. Former Manila Bishop Teodoro Bacani Jr. gave Aquino a grade of 90 percent for his campaign to eliminate corruption in government. “I’m convinced that his leadership has been effective this year," Bacani said in an interview on Church-run Radio Veritas. “Why? Because people look up to him. We cannot say the same thing for the previous leadership, which the people did not trust. They thought they were always being taken for a ride (by the previous administration)," the prelate added. “I will personally give Aquino a grade of 90 percent," he said. Excerpts of the interview were posted at the Union of Catholic Asian News website late Thursday. Aquino came under fire from Catholic bishops after he expressed openness toward the use of artificial contraception. The Catholic Church frowns on all forms of artificial contraception and favors natural methods of family planning. Bacani said the President would have to work hard in the new year to promote economic development. For his part, former Catholic Bishops' Conference of the Philippines president and Jaro (Iloilo) Archbishop Angel Lagdameo also gave the President positive marks. UCAN quoted Lagdameo as saying Aquino "tends to compensate for his lack of experience by surrounding himself with a lot of people with different backgrounds and expertise." The President could also get better as he gains experience, Lagdameo said. Auxiliary Bishop Francisco de Leon of Antipolo said Aquino was doing good on the issue of human rights. “There are good signs, like the appointment of Secretary Leila de Lima to the Department of Justice and the creation of human rights desks. This is good because these are the people who will set the agenda to address human rights issues," De Leon said. Meanwhile, Basilan Bishop Martin Jumoad said Aquino still has to do more to curb corruption. “I hope the president will really make good on his promise to do away with corruption, particularly here in Basilan. We continue to have an absentee mayor and that’s not good," Jumoad said. A Social Weather Station survey conducted from Nov. 27 to 30 had 93 percent of Filipinos saying they were entering 2011 with hope, up from 2009’s 89 percent. Aquino admitted his administration will not be able to immediately lift Filipinos from poverty in six years, but vowed to work hard to make sure his successor will have enough resources to turn the country’s economy around. —DM/KBK, GMANews.TV