Despite the clear drop in President Aquino’s satisfaction rating as reflected in Social Weather Stations’ September survey, presidential spokesperson Abigail Valte nonetheless thanked 68 percent of the respondents who, according to her, were “the great majority of our countrymen who have not been swayed by the enemies of reform.”
It won’t take an expert analyst to understand the underlying message in Valte’s statement. She was simply saying that those who are no longer satisfied with the Aquino administration have either been brainwashed or have become enemies of reform, while those who stay satisfied are the true advocates of reform.
This kind of thinking reflects a lot the mindset of the people in Malacañang. Instead of bringing the Filipinos together in the fight against corruption, this administration is trying to divide them into two opposite sides, with the dissenters being painted as
enemies of reform.
What reform are they talking about anyway? Because as far as the people see, corruption has not been addressed by this administration after almost four long years of so-called reform. If there is anything that the SWS survey suggests, it is that the people are already seeing the truth that corruption still pervades under the Aquino administration.
—GUS LIM,
guslim37@gmail.com