On Marcos’ 100th day in office, Hontiveros asks: Is the president really at the helm?

"Is the President really at the helm?"

Opposition Senator Risa Hontiveros posed this question on President Ferdinand "Bongbong" Marcos' 100th day in office as she said that the Chief Executive has not set a tone of bold leadership and management to date.

In a statement released Friday, Hontiveros mentioned that the 'first 100 days' was conceptualized by President Franklin Roosevelt during the time of the Great Depression to set the tone of bold leadership and management in the midst of crises.

"To this day, that tone has not been assumed," the senator said.

"When he should have taken on the reins of governance, President Marcos seems to have taken only a slack hold. Is the President really at the helm? Or does he expect the ship to sail itself?" she asked.

Hontiveros said after 100 days, Malacañang "seems to be scared to look itself in the mirror" as the public is starting to feel the "trouble" that is happening in the Palace.

"The President’s lack of management skills and a topsy-turvy bureaucracy are blockages in government functions," Hontiveros said.

"These are shown in the non-handling of sugar import fiasco in the middle of the recession, leadership issues in different government offices, resignation of two Cabinet officials and chairperson of the Commission on Audit, and the pending appointment of a Health secretary who will address the pandemic, as well as a different Agriculture secretary who will face the current food shortage," she added.

The minority senator also mentioned the latest Pulse Asia survey which showed that 42% of Filipinos disapprove of the administration's performance in addressing inflation.

The same Pulse Asia survey, however, said the Marcos administration received majority approval ratings on 11 of 13 key national issues affecting the Filipinos.

"Bagamat nakapag-appoint siya ng mala-Avengers na economic team, hindi pa rin malinaw ang direksyon ng pagbawi ng ating bansa mula sa recession. Kung yan ang basehan, masasabing walang bakas sa First 100 days ng pagbangon ng ekonomiya ang itatampok ng administrasyong ito," Hontiveros said.

While she said that the administration is not expected to solve all the country's problems within 100 days, Hontiveros reminded Marcos that the Philippines does not have "the luxury of time."

"Ang daming kailangang ayusin. Ang daming nangangailangan ng tulong. The President should have taken control of the wheel 100 days ago. But since no one can turn back time, he needs to put his back into the real work now," she ended.

GMA News Online sought Malacañang's comment on Hontiveros' statement, but the Palace has yet to respond as of posting time.

'Best and brightest'

But on Wednesday, Marcos said his administration has managed to find the "best and brightest" officials to help and serve in the government during his first 100 days as president.

Marcos was asked during the President’s Night organized by the Manila Overseas Press Club (MOPC) on what he considered as his accomplishments and things that he could have done differently to mark his 100th day in office.

The President said he remembered the first time this was asked during the campaign period.

"And I said, well the first 100 days will be finding the best and the brightest to help and serve in government, I think we have managed to do that. I think we have. I am always very grateful to ...our economic managers, to those experts who have come and decided to join the government because we know that they are very successful and this is a sacrifice for them," Marcos said.

"It is really all about the service on their part. We're always grateful for their talent. And to have them in place already I think gives us distinct advantage as we try to transform our economy for the next few years," he added.

For their part, Senate President Juan Miguel Zubiri and Senator Robin Padilla said Marcos was doing a good job in his first three months in office.

"I think he is doing a good job. First of all, he jump started it with several Cabinet [meetings] on a daily basis. He chose a very good Cabinet team, outstanding economic team," Zubiri said in an interview with reporters.

"A good start...During his first 100 days, the President - aside from assembling a powerhouse team of economic managers - has personally taken the role of 'traveling salesman' in attracting investments from other countries," Padilla said in a statement. 

On Saturday, Senator Ronald “Bato” Dela Rosa said that he was happy with the performance of the President, particularly on several key issues such as addressing corruption and COVID-19 response.

“Overall, maganda naman ang responses ng kanyang gobyerno sa lahat ng particular na issue. No. 1 corruption, lahat naman ng napapansin natin na may kulay na corruption iniimbestigahan. Sa health, okay naman ang patuloy niyang programa sa COVID response. Sa food sufficiency, siya mismo ang nag head sa DA (Department of Agriculture). [Sa] peace and order okay naman maganda rin,” Dela Rosa said in a radio interview. 

(Overall, his government's response to all particular issues is good. On corruption, we noticed that those who have issues with corruption were investigated. In terms of health, his ongoing program in the COVID response is sufficient. In food sufficiency, he himself headed the DA, and in peace and order, it's okay, it's also good.)

Asked for his comment regarding the three government officials who recently resigned, Dela Rosa said, “Normal lang ‘yan sa isang gobyerno na dynamic (That is a normal dynamic in government), you can’t be too rigid to fix.”

Senator Jinggoy Estrada said that he believed Marcos was heading in the "right direction."

“Ako naman naniniwala ako, mahirap ang tungkulin ng Pangulo. Lalo na mataas ang presyo ng langis, unemployment, maraming walang trabaho, tumataas pa ang halaga ng dolyar. Mahirap isolve ang maraming problema sa loob ng 100 days,” he said in an interview.

(I believe that the role of a president is difficult. The price of oil is high; unemployment is high; many do not have jobs; the value of the dollar is increasing. It is difficult to solve many problems in just 100 days.)

“I believe so nasa tamang direksyon ang Pangulo (The President is headed in the right direction),” he added. —with Richa Noriega/RSJ/VBL, GMA News