THE United Nationalist Alliance on Thursday said Liberal Party presidential bet Manuel Roxas II had finally admitted what everyone knew: that the administration’s much-touted Daang Matuwid or Straight Path was a big failure.
“Sa wakas at inamin din ni Mar Roxas ang alam na ng lahat ng mga kababayan natin: na bigo at isang malaking kasinungalingan ang ‘Daang Matuwid’ sa mga pangako nitong reporma,” UNA spokesman Mon Ilagan said in a statement.
He said Daang Matuwid promised good governance but little had changed.
“Sa totoo lang, it’s an empty slogan at salita na lamang ang ipinagmamalaki nilang ‘Daang Matuwid’ lalo na pagdating sa ekonomiya.”
On Wednesday, Roxas was one of the guests in a forum organized by Filipino alumni of several business schools in the United States.
Ilagan said Roxas bragged during the forum that the government was now “corruption-free,” but the alumni were quick to point out that corruption was still prevalent in most government agencies.
Roxas eventually admitted that many government agencies were still harassing investors.
“What’s holding us back is harassment at Customs, at BIR, at the ports, at the airports, Immigration, policemen, barangay officials, local government units. That’s the complaint that I’ve received,” Roxas said.
He also said investors were not investing in the country because of the instability of the rules.
Ilagan also slammed Roxas for failing to stop the illegal practices in the agencies he used to head.
He noted that among the agencies harassing investors that Roxas mentioned were agencies under Roxas before.
“Bigo rin si Mister Roxas na ayusin ang mga problemang ganito sa mismong mga ahensiyang pinamunuan niya,” Ilagan said.
Roxas used to be secretary of the Interior department, which oversees the police and local government units, before resigning to run for president.
