The Aquino regime: Marked by incompetence

Three days ago, it was the 5th anniversary of what Wikipedia calls the Manila hostage crisis where Filipinos (not just in the Philippines but throughout the world because CNN, BBC and Al Jazeera covered this incident extensively) learned that a disgruntled former Philippine National Police officer named Rolando Mendoza hijacked a tourist bus carrying 25 passengers in Quirino Grandstand.  This eventually ended in a bungled attempt by the PNP to "rescue" the hostages, resulting to the death of eight Hong Kong tourists.

The way the newly installed government mishandled this case made many Filipinos wake up to the reality that they had elected a bunch of bungling idiots. This event also showed the true character of Aquino -- he would never, ever apologize to the people of Hong Kong for the untimely deaths of its citizens under his watch. It would also lead to the worsening of ties between the Philippines and China, which until today has only gotten from bad to worse.

Pres. Aquino is now in his last months in office and after five-long years in office, and obviously hasn't learned much as president and his yellow followers continue to bungle their work and make things worse for the Filipino people, whose patience has been taxed to the limitÖyet they continue to suffer in silence.

A case in point is the way the Department of Transportation & Communications has mishandled the Metro Rail Transit which was one of the best mass transit systems in this country until Mr. Aquino came into power and his corrupt officials replaced a very reliable maintenance group and turned it over to a company that had no background repairing these trains. This has led to trains losing their brakes and crashing into streets and worse, 50% of the trains are no longer running.

The Aquino Regime's latest mishap has become so viral in the social networking sites that no less than the ailing Sen. Miriam Defensor Santiago last Monday filed a resolution urging the Senate to investigate the Bureau of Customs' plan to intrusively inspect and further tax balikbayan boxes sent by overseas Filipino workers . The BOC drew harsh criticisms on social networking sites last weekend, after Customs Commissioner Alberto Lina announced that the BOC may soon open balikbayan boxes, and claimed these are being used to smuggle goods into the country.

Granted that this was true but what can you really put inside a balikbayan box, huh? Yet we can see so many luxury cars on our roads, many of which were probably smuggled into our country. But the BOC officials forgot that the majority of Filipinos abroad who are called Overseas Foreign Workers  have been called as our New Heroes because all of these OFWs send billions of dollars home and thus helping stabilize the Philippine economy. But Alberto Lina doesn't look at our OFWs as heroes, but potential smugglers! Under the Aquino Regime, stupidity reigns supreme!

As Senator Miriam said, "Balikbayan boxes are often channels of private and personal communication between migrant workers and their families in the Philippines. Is nothing sacred anymore for the Bureau of Customs?" Again this incident has caused many Filipinos to demand for Lina's resignation because none of his predecessors ever insulted our balikbayans this way. Almost 80,000 people have signed an online petition urging Sen. Miriam Defensor-Santiago to stop the BOC from implementing stricter rules on balikbayan boxes.

Sensing that this issue will worsen his already badly tattered image and further drag down the very low ratings of his "Bata-Bata" or anointed one, DILG Sec. Manuel "Mar" Roxas, with him, Pres. Aquino ordered the BOC to stop the random or arbitrary inspection of balikbayan boxes from OFWs. It may have stoppedÖbut the damage has already been done!

In response to this presidential order, the BOC issued a directive, which stated, "All containers of balikbayan boxes should undergo mandatory X-ray and K-9 examinations at no cost to the sender or the OFW." Only in cases where there are derogatory findings from the X-ray or K-9 examination will there be a physical inspection of goods." It's too late for this now because Filipinos especially the OFWs are sore at the Aquino Regime.

This only shows how tactless the Aquino Regime has become. Before anyone embarks on a project like thisÖ it should have thought of its consequences. Alas, our incompetents do not have the brains even to do a brain storming on this issue.

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