Malacanang welcomed a recent Pulse Asia survey showing President Rodrigo Duterte having the highest public approval and trust ratings out of the four most recent chief executives.
“Ito po ay magsisilbing inspirasyon sa ating Pangulo at sa mga miyembro ng Gabinete na mas lalo pang galingan ang trabaho at tutukan ang mga reporma na ipinangako ng ating mahal na Pangulo nung kampanya noong 2016,” Communications Secretary Martin Andanar said in a radio interview Saturday, November 11.
“Kami po ay, of course, natutuwa at lahat po ng mga supporters ng ating Pangulo. And rest assured that we will even work harder para ma-deliver na po ‘yung iba pang mga commitment lalong-lalo na sa infrastructure,” he added.
As of September 2017, President Duterte got an 80 percent trust and approval rating, higher than any rating received by his predecessors Joseph Estrada, Gloria Macapagal-Arroyo, and Benigno Aquino III.
Andanar, who arrived from Viet Nam last night, also gave a recap of the President’s visit to Da Nang, where the Chief Executive pushed for equal opportunities among nations.
President Duterte met with Vietnamese President Tran Dai Quang and congratulated him over Viet Nam’s successful hosting of the Asia-Pacific Economic Cooperation (APEC) Summit 2017.
“And, of course, napag-usapan din doon ‘yung mga commitment po ng dalawang bansa enhancing cooperation in sectors of agriculture and fisheries, food preparation, consumer products services and industrial manufacturing,” Andanar said.
The President also met with Papua New Guinea Prime Minister Peter O’Neill who will host the APEC next year. The Philippines-PNG bilateral trade relations was discussed by the two leaders, according to Andanar.
President Duterte also had a meeting with Russian President Vladimir Putin with the two leaders tackling political, security and economic cooperation.
The Philippine leader expressed his gratitude to Putin for Russia’s support in areas of defense and security. Russia sent weapons to the Philippines while the government was fighting ISIS-linked Maute group in Marawi City.
Govt addressing traffic woes
On the domestic front, Andanar also mentioned the government’s thrust to address worsening traffic situation in the country.
“You know, we recognize the traffic situation in the Philippines, which stemmed from decades of neglect, particularly in the National Capital Region (NCR), is something that must be immediately addressed,” he said.
“This problem cannot be solved with one solution alone. This cannot be addressed in a single year either,” he added.
While the executive department’s request for an emergency power is pending, Andanar said they created the Inter-Agency Council on Traffic or i-ACT composed of different agencies.
This is the closest thing to a single traffic authority to address the traffic problems in the NCR, which must be done with unity and inter-agency cooperation, he said.
He also noted that Task Force Alamid of the i-ACT conducts rigorous road clearing operations everyday to clear sidewalks and Mabuhay lanes of obstructions to ensure that road space for vehicles are sufficient.
The government also put up a 14 point-to-point (P2P) bus routes including Cavite and Clark, with around 150 bus units.
Similar system is also being organized so that P2P buses could ply Pangasinan, Zambales, Bulacan, Nueva Ecija, Andanar said, noting they see the P2P concept as one of the solutions to the major gridlock in Metro Manila.
For the medium- and long-term, the administration proposed a Build-Build-Build Infrastructure Plan to reduce congestion and improve the traffic flow in the country.
“We also started transferring government offices to other regions such as the successful transfer of DOTr to Clark, which we believe, would decongest traffic congestion, and will likewise spread developments in other areas,” Andanar said. PND
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