Aquino-Obama comparison 'premature,' Palace says

It's too early to say that President Benigno Aquino III will likely fail in delivering his promise of change, Malacañang said Thursday after a US-led think-tank made a study saying that Aquino's administration will be similar to that of US President Barack Obama. The Philippine Daily Inquirer earlier quoted Pacific Strategies and Assessments (PSA) as saying that "it appears that the bubbles of expectations around Noynoy is beginning to burst" and that the current "dynamics are not too dissimilar to the shared doubt being cast on US President Barack Obama because he simply has not lived up to the hype and soaring-oratory expectations of those who voted for him." Deputy presidential spokesperson Abigail Valte, however, said the PSA conclusion was premature, adding that "it’s too early, we are four months going into five into the administration." “Marami pa po tayong dapat gawin. Marami pa po tayong kayang gawin and … parang ‘yung 100 days lang din po na meron pong judgment, meron pong mga batikos, meron naman din pong puri," she said in an interview with reporters. (We have a lot more to do. There's still a lot that we can do. It's like the 100 days where there is judgment: there are criticisms, but there are also praises.) "That being said, itutuloy lang po natin ‘yung reform agenda po ni Pangulong Aquino," she added. (That being said, we will simply continue President Aquino's reform agenda.) Parallels and differences Valte also said there are differences in the political systems of the United States and the Philippines so the two presidents' performances cannot be compared as simply. Obama has been in office for two years, while Aquino took his oath of office only last June 30. Obama replaced George W. Bush, who was famous for leading the "global war on terror" that was either supported or criticized by various countries. Aquino, on the other hand, replaced now Pampanga Rep. Gloria Macapagal-Arroyo, whose administration was credited for having improved the economy but was tainted with several corruption scandals. Aquino, the son of democracy icons Benigno Aquino Jr. and Corazon Aquino, ran on a platform of good governance and the promise of change, also like Obama. Obama's Democratic Party, however, has gradually lost steam, losing its leadership over the US House of Representatives and narrowly winning the majority in the US Senate during their recently concluded mid-term elections. In comparison, Aquino's performance during his first 100 days elicited mixed assessments. Some of his first major moves, like cutting government executives' excessive allowances and ending abuses of authority on the road like the overuse of sirens were generally well-received. However, the Aquino administration was also widely lambasted for its poor handling of the August 23 hostage crisis where eight Chinese nationals were killed. Valte also said the Obama administration's experience is something that the Aquino government can learn from, but stressed that the Philippine government can also learn from the governments of other countries. PSA paper Pacific Strategies & Assessments (PSA), the group that prepared the paper quoted by PDI, describes itself on its website as a “leading business risk consultancy" that “specializes in Asian risk." Maintaining offices in Hong Kong, Manila, Shanghai, Beijing, Bangkok, Milwaukee and Sydney, the PSA claims to provide “security consulting, crisis management, business intelligence, investigations, and background screening services." According to the PDI news item published Thursday, the October 2010 paper titled “Chasing a Legacy: Assessing Aquino’s Ability to Impact Change" was prepared by PSA for unnamed clients, one of which furnished PDI a copy.—JV, GMANews.TV