EDITORIAL - Public impatience

His satisfaction rating rebounded in the Social Weather Stations survey for the third quarter. President Aquino has reason to be heartened by the SWS results. The numbers are still down, but still good enough for a president more than halfway into his term.

President Aquino’s personal ratings have remained statistically steady in surveys conducted by Pulse Asia, but his administration rated lower in the latest poll on dealing with urgent public concerns such as consumer prices and workers’ pay.

The growing public dissatisfaction with the administration, as shown in the Pulse Asia poll, should spur the President to intensify reforms in the final stretch of his term. While he is still hoping his “bosses” would want him to have six more years in office, he must perform his duties on the assumption that a second term is not going to happen. Time is running out for the complicated process of changing political provisions in the Constitution to lift his term limit.

Instead of being distracted by dreams of Charter change, the administration must now be poised for a final spurt of activities that will serve as the Aquino legacy. When the President hands over power as scheduled at noon of June 30, 2016, his administration must have made a significant dent in reducing poverty, laid the groundwork for equitable growth, and institutionalized reforms so that no matter who succeeds him, the reforms will be irreversible.

Those three tasks are challenging enough without the nation being distracted by last-minute attempts to hold on to power. This is the last thing people expect from the only son of Ninoy and Corazon Aquino.

The immediate tasks in Metro Manila alone are daunting: easing the monstrous traffic jams, speeding up cargo movement in the Port of Manila, dealing with power shortages next summer, reducing criminality, and improving light rail services. Next year Manila must put its best foot forward for the annual summit of the Asia-Pacific Economic Cooperation forum.

Undoubtedly the President still enjoys public support. But even with the slight improvement in his ratings, recent surveys indicate growing public impatience with the daang matuwid administration. A President who claims to listen to his “bosses” cannot afford to ignore that impatience.