Time to call 'Housekeeping'

Given how he and his administration scored in the latest survey, plus a couple of love letters from concerned groups regarding impeachments and budget cuts on the military, now would be the right time for President Ferdinand Marcos Jr. to do the necessary "housekeeping" among his non-performing appointees or NPAs in government.

- CITO BELTRAN

The President should also revisit his plans of "right-sizing" the government. The Marcos Jr. administration is well on its way towards sinking the Philippines back in the quicksand called foreign debt faster than his father did in two administrations and 17 years of martial law.

PBBM and his PR crew may be tempted to ignore the survey results, but he ought to know that the rumblings go far deeper than percentile scores in front-page news stories. There are several departments and many agencies that are beyond non-performing; some are accused of corruption, red tape, or non-delivery of services.

PBBM could enlist the services of the UP or DAP to conduct the review or study. At the very least, start 2025 with a customer satisfaction survey of every department and each of its agencies to determine if people even know who is in-charge, if people are satisfied, or what their complaints are.

If the President wants to cut flesh, he can invite people from the academe and the media to form a separate focus group that can conduct or submit a more informed evaluation, especially of those in the leadership and senior administrative level. An independent private sector review could fairly gauge "job descriptions" versus outputs and accomplishments.