PNoy jokes: Cabinet execs becoming 'very erratic'

MANILA, Philippines - Are the Cabinet members doing a good job? For the President himself, these high-ranking officials are becoming "very erratic," but for the good reasons.

President Benigno Aquino III on Tuesday said in jest that some of his Cabinet officials are "very erratic" as they surpass their targets in fulfilling their mandate.

"Going beyond expectations have become so common in our administration that I sometimes joke that some of my Cabinet members are becoming very erratic," Aquino said in his speech at the Euromoney Philippines Investment Forum in Parañaque City.

"They keep giving me targets but they almost always end up exceeding them. So I guess they are hedging their promises," Aquino added, drawing laughter from the audience.

The President cited the case of Education Sec. Armin Luistro who reported that 66,813 public school classrooms had been built as of 2013.

This surpassed the backlog of 66,800 classrooms in 2010, according to the Chief Executive.

Aquino said Luistro also erased the backlog of 62 million books and 2.5 million chairs in public schools nationwide.

The President's praises for his Cabinet came a week after a survey showing an increase in unemployment rate prompted him to call a Cabinet meeting.

According to a recent survey of the Social Weather Stations, the number of jobless adult Filipinos in December 2013 rose to an estimated 12.1 million from the 9.6 million three months earlier.

In a meeting, Aquino ordered his Cabinet "intensify programs on job creation and social protection."

Presidential Communications Operation Office Secretary Herminio Coloma Jr. said the main agenda of the Cabinet meeting was the "action plans on job creation, social protection and poverty reduction presented by the departments comprising the Cabinet’s human development and poverty reduction cluster."

"The President directed Cabinet members to be proactive in delivering front-line services that will assist Filipinos in provinces where there is a high incidence of poverty," Coloma was quoted as saying in a previous STAR report.

Related stories: Noy orders Cabinet to intensify job creation | Jobless Pinoys hit 12.1 M – poll