Category: Charter Change
Inflation, workers’ pay, corruption? PNoy scores low approval ratings
THE ADMINISTRATION of President Benigno S.Aquino III failed to score a majority approval rating on any of the 12 “urgent national concerns and issues” on which it is performance was rated in March 2015 by the creditable pollster Pulse Asia Research Inc.
However, it scored a big plurality to near majority approval ratings on seven national issues: promoting peace in the country (40 percent), enforcing the rule of law (41percent), fighting governmental corruption (42 percent), defending national territorial integrity (43 percent), fighting criminality (45 percent), protecting the environment (48 percent), and addressing the needs of calamity victims (49 percent).
But disapproval was the plurality opinion that the Aquino administration got on the top three urgent national concerns of Filipinos, notably “controlling inflation,” “improving/increasing the pay of workers” and “controlling graft and corruption in the government.”
CONTROLLING inflation was the most urgent national concern based on the results of the Ulat ng Bayan survey of the Social Weather Stations on the urgent national concerns and performance ratings of the national administration. Photo shows a shopping list of a mother-sugarworker in Negros Occidental during the tigkiriwi or the off-milling season | Photo by Julius D. Mariveles
Pulse Asia said the administration’s disapproval rating also remained the dominant sentiment as far as its efforts to reduce poverty at 40 percent.
Field work for Pulse Asia’s latest Ulat ng Bayan survey on “Urgent National Concerns and the Performance Ratings of the National Administration on Selected Issues” was conducted from March 1 – 7, 2015 using face-to-face interviews.
The major events that transpired during the last four months included the January 25, 2015 encounter in Mamasapano, Maguindanao.
IMPROVING / increasing the pay of workers was the second most urgent concern, the Ulat ng Bayan survey results show | Photo by Julius D. Mariveles
The survey, Pulse Asia said, “showed that the administration scored almost the same approval and indecision figures for its initiatives to create more jobs (37 percent versus 33 percent) and control population growth (37 percent versus 33 percent.)”
Public opinion, meanwhile, is split three-ways with respect to its performance in the area of increasing the pay of workers – 33 percent approval, 35 percent indecision, and 33 percent disapproval. However, appreciation is the plurality view concerning its anti-corruption work (42 percent).
These scores, Pulse Asia said, showed that “public assessment of the national administration’s performance remains largely unchanged” between November 2014, when it last conducted its Ulat ng Bayan survey, and March 2015, the date of its latest survey.
According to Pulse Asia, “for the most part, the performance ratings of the Aquino administration in March 2015 do not differ significantly from those recorded four months ago. ”
The only exceptions to this observation are, it said are the following: “decline in approval for the administration’s initiatives to defend national territorial integrity (-7 percentage points); (2) decrease in the level of ambivalence regarding its work in the area of enforcing the law equally on all citizens (-8 percentage points); and (3) increase in disapproval for its efforts to enforce the rule of law (+8 percentage points) and promote peace (+8 percentage points).”
FILIPINOS expect the Aquino administration to fight graft and corruption in government. This is the top three most urgent national concern. Photo shows a child with her mother who was working in a canefield in Negros Occidental | Photo by Julius D. Mariveles
The March 2015 Ulat ng Bayan Survey revealed that “Filipinos continue to be most concerned about economic-related issues; their sense of urgency regarding selected national issues remains unchanged between November 2014 and March 2015 as well as year-on-year.”
“In March 2015, the leading urgent national concerns among Filipinos are controlling inflation (46 percent), increasing the pay of workers (44 percent), and fighting corruption in government (40 percent), the report said.
“A second set of urgent national concerns include poverty reduction (37 percent) and job creation (34 percent) while a third cluster is comprised of criminality (22 percent), peace (22 percent), and rule of law (19 percent). Filipinos are least concerned about environmental degradation (13 percent), population control (9 percent), national territorial integrity (5 percent), terrorism (5 percent), and charter change (4 percent),” it added.
REDUCING poverty of many Filipinos was the fourth most urgent concern, the Ulat ng Bayan shows | Photo by Julius D. Mariveles
These overall figures are “essentially the same as those recorded by Pulse Asia Research a year ago as well as in November 2014.”
In the different geographic areas, Pulse Asia said only two issues were cited as an urgent national concern by majority of residents – “inflation (52 percent in Mindanao) and low workers’ pay (53 percent in the Visayas).”
In Metro Manila, it added that, “the most often mentioned urgent national concerns are low workers’ pay (41 percent), inflation (43 percent), and corruption (49 percent).”
In the rest of Luzon, the top concerns deemed urgent by residents are creating more jobs (37 percent), fighting governmental corruption (38 percent), reducing poverty (41 percent), controlling inflation (44 percent), and increasing the pay of workers (48 percent).
Class ABC “are most concerned about corruption in government (37 percent), poverty (37 percent), low workers’ pay (42 percent), and inflation (49 percent).”
Class D rated its leading urgent national concerns to be low workers’ pay (43 percent), corruption (43 percent), and inflation (45 percent).
Class E cited its most concerned to be poverty (41 percent), job creation (42 percent), low workers’ pay (46 percent), and inflation (47 percent).
Across all geographic areas and socio-economic classes, however, “the least often cited urgent national concerns are territorial integrity (3 percent to 7 percent and 4 percent to 6 percent, respectively), terrorism (3 percent to 8 percent and 4 percent to 7 percent, respectively), and charter change (3 percent to 6 percent and 4 percent to 5 percent.”
As in its previous surveys, Pulse Asia’s latest was “based on a sample of 1,200 representative adults 18 years old and above” and “has a ± 3% error margin at the 95 percent confidence level.”
“Subnational estimates for each of the geographic areas covered in the survey (i.e., Metro Manila, the rest of Luzon, Visayas and Mindanao) have a ± 6% error margin, also at 95 percent confidence level.” It added.
Pulse Asia said its pool of academic fellows “takes full responsibility for the design and conduct of the survey, as well as for analyses it makes based on the survey data.” Most important of all, “in keeping with our academic nature, no religious, political, economic, or partisan group influenced any of these processes.”
“Pulse Asia Research undertakes Ulat ng Bayan surveys on its own without any party singularly commissioning the research effort,” it said.
15 years ago: Erap’s all-out war
INFOGRAPHICS by Cong B. Corrales
Click on the infographics below to read our 2012 article, “The Hidden Costs of War in Mindanao.”
INFOGRAPHICS by Cong B. Corrales
4 out of 10 Pinoys want PNoy to stay
But buck passage of BBL
By Julius D. Mariveles
President Benigno S. Aquino III presents the Operational Controlled Unit Officer of the Year Award to Maj. Lourdes Imperial during the 29th Founding Anniversary of the Presidential Security Group (PSG) at the PSG Grandstand, Malacañang Park in Manila City on Tuesday (March 10, 2015). This year’s celebration has for its theme: “Kalasag ng Pangulo: Kaagapay Tungo sa Pag-Unlad at Malawakang Pagbabago.” The PSG is the lead agency tasked in providing security to the President of the Philippines and the First Family, as well as visiting Heads of States and diplomats. (Photo by Gil Nartea / Malacañang Photo Bureau)
EVEN if they are not satisfied with his explanation on why the Mamasapano operation failed, most Filipinos want President Benigno S. Aquino III to stay in office amid calls by some sectors for his resignation following the botched operation that killed 44 members of the police Special Action Force (SAF), 18 members of the Moro Islamic Liberation Front (MILF) and five civilians.
In the latest Pulse Asia Ulat ng Bayan survey, 42 percent of the respondents disagreed that Aquino “should resign as President of the Philippines now.” Only 29 percent agreed that he should resign. However, majority of those surveyed – eight out of 10— also think that President Aquino’s explanation on the Mamasapano operation is not enough and that he should have attended the arrival honors for the fallen SAF troopers at the Villamor Airbase on January 29, 2015.
SOURCE: Pulse Asia
Too, 44 percent of the survey respondents said they don’t want Congress to pass the Bangsamoro Basic Law (BBL), a top priority legislation of the Aquino administration. Only 21 percent agreed that Congress should pass it while the remaining 36 percent were undecided. The proposed BBL would provide the framework for self-governance in the country’s Muslim south after a final peace agreement was signed between the Philippine government and the separatist MILF last year.
SOURCE: Pulse Asia
The survey also revealed that a great majority of Filipinos have heard, read or watched something about the BBL (88 percent) and virtually every Filipino knows about the Mamasapano incident (99 percent). Nine out of 10 Filipinos knew that Aquino failed to attend the January 29 arrival honors for the slain SAF troopers.
Ironically, more people in Mindanao are opposed to the passage of the BBL (62 percent), followed by those in the National Capital Region (52 percent), the Visayas (43 percent), and the rest of Luzon (32 percent). Sentiments for the passage of the BBL, on the other hand, was strongest in the balance of Luzon at 25 percent.
SOURCE: Pulse Asia
Opposition against the passage of the BBL was highest among the poor – economic Classes D and E – at 45 and 43 percent, respectively, with only 37 percent expressing opposition in Classes ABC.
Meanwhile, most people in the NCR (45 percent) and the rest of Luzon (47 percent) are opposed to the call for President Aquino’s resignation while only 39 percent of the people in Mindanao and 34 percent in the Visayas have the same sentiment.
SOURCE: Pulse Asia
The Mamasapano operation and related developments dominated the news headlines before and during the face-to-face interviews conducted by Pulse Asia from March 1 – 7, 2015.
These included:
- The declaration by President Benigno S. Aquino III of 30 January 2015 as National Day of Mourning for the fallen officers;
- The President’s absence during the arrival honors for the 42 of the 44 fallen policemen whose bodies arrived at the Villamor Air Base from Maguindanao on 29 January;
- President Aquino’s conferment of the Medalya ng Katapangan upon the 44 slain PNP-SAF policemen during the necrological services held as part of the National Day of Mourning;
- The conduct of several investigations to shed light on what really transpired in Mamasapano and who should be held accountable for the death of the 44 policemen;
- A proposal for the creation of a still another body – an independent truth commission – to conduct a probe into the incident;
- Amidst the unresolved questions surrounding the Mamasapano incident, calls for the resignation of President Aquino by several senior bishops belonging to the National Transformation Council (NTC), student groups and other militant organizations;
- The statement by the Catholic Bishops’ Conference of the Philippines (CBCP) that it is not supportive of such calls even as it favors the creation of a truth commission; and
- The expression by several business groups of their continued support for President Aquino and his administration’s peace initiatives in Mindanao despite the events in Mamasapano.
Other developments during this period that are connected to the Mamasapano encounter were:
- The removal of PNP-SAF Commander Getulio Napeñas who was removed from his post on 27 January 2015 following the death of 44 of his men during the Mamasapano encounter;
- The resignation of PNP Director General Alan Purisima on 05 February 2015 amidst reports that he was involved in the decision-making process related to the police operation in Mamasapano whilst under preventive suspension resulting from a graft and corruption charge;
- Reports that disgruntled members of the country’s armed forces are planning to stage a coup against President Aquino in the aftermath of the Mamasapano incident and expressions of loyalty to the Philippine government by high ranking military and police officers who say that they still have to verify such reports; and
- Military operations conducted toward the end of February 2015 by the AFP against the BIFF and the Abu Sayyaf in certain areas of Mindanao reportedly to reduce these groups’ ability to carry out violent attacks against civilians. The military offensive has resulted in casualties on both sides as well as the evacuation of thousands of civilians.
Mamasapano, once over: TOT, lowbatt, soaked radio, no signal
PRESIDENT Benigno S. Aquino III condoles with the family of the fallen Philippine National Police-Special Action Force (PNP-SAF) Troopers during the Necrological Service at the NCRPO Multi-Purpose Center of Camp Bagong Diwa in Bicutan, Taguig City on Friday (January 30, 2015) | Photo by Gil Nartea / Malacañang Photo Bureau
By Julius Mariveles
ALTHOUGH POLICE Director Getulio Napeñas knew there would be fatalities in carrying out what is now revealed as ‘Oplan Exodus,’ he estimated that there would be only 10 deaths among his men.
In the end, 44 members of the Philippine National Police Special Action Force (SAF) units that were sent to accomplish the mission last January 25 in Mamasapano, Maguindanao lost their lives, along with those of 18 rebel fighters and at least five civilians.
Napeñas has since suggested that there would have been fewer deaths had the Armed Forces of the Philippines (AFP) responded earlier to rescue the SAF troopers. But among the findings of the Board of Inquiry (BOI) formed by the PNP to look into the Mamasapano incident are two key factors that probably contributed to the delay in AFP aid.
The first is the insistence of the PNP officials who put together ‘Oplan Exodus’ to stick to “time on target” or TOT in executing the mission. In truth, resigned Police Director General Alan Purisima had mentioned the phrase several times during the Senate hearing on the tragedy, using it as an explanation why he did not inform the AFP in advance about the mission.
PRESIDENT Benigno S. Aquino III offers prayers to the remains of slain Marine Corporal Josen Mias and Sergeant Francis Jeffel Flores during the wake visit at the Fort Bonifacio Naval Station Mortuary in Taguig City on Monday afternoon (March 16, 2015). President Aquino recognized the heroism of the two marines killed in encounters with Bangsamoro Islamic Freedom Fighters (BIFF) in Maguindanao | Photo by Benhur Arcayan / Malacañang Photo Bureau
The BOI said the application of the concept meant that information would be disclosed only to a limited number of persons “until the target is engaged.” In this case, the targets were Zhulkifli Bin Hir alias Marwan, Ahmad Akmad Batabol Usman alias Usman, and Amin Baco alias Jihad, all of whom were on the U.S. wanted list for terrorism. Only Marwan was killed in the SAF assault; Usman and Jihad remain at large.
In theory, the report said, the TOT concept is “alien” even to the Armed Forces and is against all established standard operating procedures of the Armed Forces. Within the PNP itself, the TOT concept is applicable “only to ordinary police operations” and “does not conform to the established and acceptable operational concepts and protocols of the PNP,” the BOI said.
But when President Benigno S. Aquino III instructed Purisima and Napeñas to coordinate with the AFP, Napeñas had replied that the operation might be compromised due to “intermarriages of some AFP personnel with local people,” noted the report. Napeñas also cited previous operations of the SAF against high-value targets that failed because they coordinated with the AFP, a view shared by Purisima and Intelligence Group chief, Senior Supt. Fernando Mendez.
THE participation of resigned PNP chief Alan Purisima violated the PNP’s chain of command, the BOI report said.
According to the report, Aquino had “remained silent” when Napeñas proposed the adoption of TOT for Oplan Exodus.
The use of TOT for the mission, however, meant that the AFP could not immediately provide support like artillery or close air support to the SAF units carrying out Exodus since these would require preparations.
It is also because of the TOT concept that the ceasefire mechanisms in the peace pact between the government and MILF were activated late – hours after the fighting between the SAF and various armed groups had already started. The BOI noted that based on the experience of the AFP, it would take at least five hours for a total ceasefire to be implemented once a gunbattle starts.
Yet one of the survivors, Supt. Raymund Train of the 84th Special Action Company, the attack unit, told the BOI that they had expected indirect artillery support from the AFP in case of heavy enemy fire.
ARTILLERY support for the SAF troopers came when 44 were already dead on January 25 | Photo from Zombie Wiki
That kind of support did indeed come – in the early evening of January 25, when most of the fighting was done and 44 of Train’s comrades were already dead.
Another crucial factor that seems to have complicated the AFP’s extension of help was the apparently inadequate communication equipment used by SAF during the mission.
Indeed, while the SAF troopers were armed with expensive rifles, night-vision googles, and other high-tech equipment on a par with elite units of advanced countries, the communication equipment most had on them were two-way radios that were not designed for military use. According to the report, these were not “compatible with AFP radios for interoperability” or could not communicate on the same radio frequency.
AN EXAMPLE of a Harris radio used by two US forces | Photo from tacrep
Worse, the radios had old batteries that could not retain power for a long period of time. “The batteries,” said the BOI, ” had poor power-retention capability due to wear and tear.” In simple terms, they went “lowbatt” quickly.
The SAF troopers used two brands of radio: the Harris Tactical Handheld Radio and the Motorola Ultra High Frequency transceivers. Only several units of the Harris radio were deployed to operators, and were used to relay information to the tactical and advanced command posts.
While the Harris radios worked, the Motorola units commonly used by policemen in urban areas constantly malfunctioned after being soaked in water. The batteries of those left functioning lasted for only several hours, the report said.
Such was the lack of communication among the SAF troopers battling it out with hundreds of armed men that they had to rely on gunfire to determine each other’s locations.
And as the operation unfolded, short-message service or text via cellular phones became the main mode of communication. But, said the BOI, texting “fell short of what were needed to relay real-time information and coordination of activities to and from the chain of command.”
It said that based on standard practice in conducting military operations “communications conducted through text messages do not connote urgency to respond or react.” The act of typing a text message alone indicates “that the sender has enough time to construct the message and wait for the recipient to reply at his available time,” said the report.
Yet there was Purisima sending a text message to Lt. Gen. Rustico Guerrero at around 7:57 a.m. of January 25, during what the BOI report said was the “crucial stage of the crisis: “Baka pwede artillery support sa AFP (Maybe the AFP can provide artillery support).”
Guerrero, also through texting, had earlier told Purisima that “tank and artillery support are made available” but were not yet necessarily deployed for the pinned down SAF troopers. Still, the BOI said, “Even if the response was ambiguous, (Purisima) failed to clarify its deployment by, for example, calling Guerrero.”
The report also mentioned that Napeñas tried texting Purisima several times to update him about the situation on the ground but because of poor network signal, some of his messages could not be sent.
Police Officer 3 Lloyd Tano Ensoy, one of the radio operators who bridged the communication between the 55th Special Action Company and the Tactical Command Post, also told the BOI that at around 1:00 p.m. of January 25, Napeñas himself heard Senior Insp. John Garry Erana shouting over the radio:”Mauubos na kami dito! (We are about to be all killed here!)”
That last message was followed by radio silence.
At around 1:26 p.m., said the report, Napeñas texted PNP Officer in Charge Leonardo Espina. Napeñas’s message was that the SAF had only wounded personnel. – PCIJ, March 2015