In his column, “The problem is poverty” (Opinion, 11/8/18), Peter Wallace said something about the “ineffectual rule” of the last administration, referring to former President Noynoy Aquino, while heaping praises on President Duterte.
In the same column though, he said poverty in the country “has changed very little—21 percent in 2015 from about 25 percent in the late ’90s.” He did not say anything about poverty in Mr. Duterte’s time.
In another column, “It’s not as bad as it looks” (Opinion, 11/15/18), Wallace did mention about how, in the latest Social Weather Stations surveys, the ranks of families who considered themselves poor have swelled further “to a totally unacceptable 52 percent, its highest since the third quarter of 2014,” to use his own words.
In other words, poverty has worsened even more under Mr. Duterte.
Now, Mr. Wallace, let me ask you this: Who is more ineffectual, Aquino or your idol Mr. Duterte?
I suppose you don’t need to travel, as you said you had been doing, to know the answer.
ERNIE ADAYA,
ernie_adaya@yahoo.com