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Ph government “serious” in addressing cronyism

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QUEZON CITY, Philippines – Malacanang said it is serious in addressing cronyism in the country and battling it is part of ongoing reforms in the bureaucracy.

“All of us are against cronyism. That is why the President’s position is: we will free agencies of regulatory capture. That has always been the position taken by this administration,” Presidential Spokesman Edwin Lacierda said in a press briefing in Malacanang on Tuesday.

A new poll by the Social Weather Stations has found that one out of five Filipinos still considers cronyism a “very serious” problem under the watch of President Benigno S. Aquino III.

Respondents were asked the question: “Cronies are those who use their friendship with the President to enrich themselves in improper ways. How serious, in your opinion, is the cronyism in the present administration?”

The survey found that 20 percent of respondents consider cronyism “very serious,” the same level as in March 2012.

About 40 percent said cronyism is “somewhat serious.” This figure is higher than the 37 percent posted in March 2012.

Some 17 percent of those surveyed said cronyism is “a little serious” while 22 percent said it is “hardly serious.”

The SWS however said the public’s perception of cronyism in the present administration has no correlation with their satisfaction with the performance of President Aquino.

The survey, with 1,200 respondents, was taken from March 27 to 30. It has a sampling error margin of ±3 percent for national and ±6 percent for area percentages.

Criselda Cabangon David, a happy mother of two kids, is a full-time Sociologist at the City Government of Lucena, Quezon Province. She is currently the Managing Editor of Ang Diaryo Natin Sunday News, a weekly local community newspaper in the Philippines and an active member of the National Union of Journalists of the Philippines.