Vice President Noli ‘Kabayan’ De Castro rues the way he was pictured him to be a patsy and therefore ‘unacceptable’ to the people and therefore unfit to assume office if the need arises.

 

The reaction of Vice President De Castro came after what he believed to be baseless perception of some quarters that he was an unacceptable to head the country and was chosen by President Gloria Macapagal Arroyo to be her running mate precisely in order that if they both won, the people would be resigned to bear with the incumbent when ‘the cure is worse than the disease.’

 

The Vice President reminded his detractors that together with the President, he was voted into office by the Filipino people in the last May 2004 national elections for them to serve until year 2010.

 

Huwag naman nating ipagwalang-bahala ang kapasyahan ng ating mga kababayan na kanilang ipahiwatig na ang inyong lingkod ang inihalal na bise-presidente at ako ay hindi tatalikod sa akin ding sinumpaang tungkuling ito. 

 

Vice President De Castro also stressed that the Filipino people have weighed all factors in their choice of the second highest official of the land and must have taken into consideration his track record as a public servant, though not in official government position, since he became a broadcaster up to the time he was elected senator of the Republic in 2001.         

 

The Vice President also emphasized that he had, modesty aside, laudable accomplishments in the different tasks assigned to him by the President, as follows;

 

--as Chair of Housing and Urban Development Coordinating Council (HUDCC), Vice President De Castro was at the helm in relocating the informal settlers that would be affected by the rehabilitation of North Railway a project more popularly known as the North Rail Transit system. He also ordered the streamlining and simplification of operations of the key shelter agencies (KSA) to save on expenses, improve collections and to deliver quick and responsive service to clients.  

 

--as the Presidential adviser for overseas Filipino workers, the Vice President flew to Tripoli in Libya last Nov. 26 to 28 where he successfully got the Libyan government’s commitment to hire more skilled OFWs. In the same trip, he was also able to finalize the resumption of RP-Libya Joint Committee Meeting and the RP-Libya ‘oil talks’.

 

-- after being tasked by the President to monitor and keep prices of basic goods and commodities stable in the last Christmas season since he can effectively persuade with his communication skills traders and businessmen not to increases prices of goods during holiday seasons, the Vice President got in touch with then PNP Gen. Eduardo Aglipay in eliminating the problem of ‘kotong’ cops. General Aglipay immediately issued a directive deactivating all TMG checkpoints along the highways in order to erase any opportunity for corruption to arise.