MANILA, Philippines - Malacañang should be worried by the latest survey that showed 42 percent of Filipinos do not want President Aquino to resign instead of bragging about it, the independent bloc in the House of Representatives said yesterday.
Leyte Rep. Ferdinand Martin Romualdez, leader of the bloc, said more than half of Filipinos either want Aquino to resign now or are ambivalent about his performance in office based on the latest Pulse Asia survey.
“There’s nothing to crow about,” he added. “Resigning or impeaching him is actually the easy way out for him.”
He also said Malacañang and its allies in Congress are trying to put a spin to the survey by saying it reflected support from Filipinos. Many lawmakers, including those in the opposition, while very disappointed with Aquino’s governance, do not want him to resign but to finish the remainder of his term.
“Why should we let him (Aquino) off easily from all his failures and blunders? He’s now washing his hands of many tragedies, including this Mamasapano incident, but he should take both the good and the bad that accompany any presidency,” the House leader said.
Romualdez likened Aquino to a child who puts too much food on the plate and refused to finish it after eating only the delicious portions.
“Eat your veggies. You signed up for all these when you filed your certificate of candidacy. Don’t say you didn’t want this job when you ran, and that you ran because of the clamor. When you ran for president, you wanted it,” Romualdez said.
Buhay party-list Rep. Lito Atienza said he also does not support calls for Aquino to resign but warned that he should shape up.
“There are many like me who are concerned with the natural flow of the constitutional mandate. But he should make major improvements because we also don’t want him to cause any further damage even if he’s already a lame duck,” Atienza said.
Philstar
