Malacañang on Sunday 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 [This will inspire the President and his Cabinet to do a better job and focus on the reforms promised during the campaign],” Communications Secretary Martin Andanar said.
The executive branch and the President’s supporters are likewise elated by the survey result and will work even harder to deliver Duterte’s other commitments, especially those on infrastructure, Andanar 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 Sunday from Vietnam, also recapped the President’s visit to Da Nang, where he pushed for equal opportunities among nations.
Duterte met with Vietnamese President Tran Dai Quang and congratulated him over Vietnam’s successful hosting of the Asia-Pacific Economic Cooperation Summit 2017.
They discussed their respective commitments to enhance cooperation on 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 Summit next year. The two leaders discussed the Philippines-PNG bilateral trade relations, according to Andanar.
Duterte also met with Russian President Vladimir Putin, with the two leaders tackling political, security and economic cooperations.
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.
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, 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,” Andanar added.
While the executive department’s request for an emergency power is pending, Andanar said the President 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.
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, Andanar said.
The government also put up 14 point-to-point bus routes including Cavite and Clark, with around 150 bus units.
A similar system is also being organized so that P2P buses could ply from Pangasinan, Zambales, Bulacan, Nueva Ecija, Andanar said. He noted 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.
