No plans on peace process, wages, land reform in SONA - critics

MANILA, Philippines - President Aquino did not lay his administration’s plans on peace process, workers wages, environment, education, land reform and other areas of concern in his State of the Nation Address (SONA) last Monday, according to different sectoral groups.

“I did not hear anything about his plans on the peace process in Mindanao,” said Fr. Jonathan Domingo in a telephone interview hours after the President’s SONA.

A former resident of Bulacan, Domingo is currently based in Cotabato City and is the publisher of Mindanao Cross, a weekly newspaper established in 1948.

He said the peace process is a special concern in Mindanao, but the President only mentioned the postponement of special elections in the Autonomous Region in Muslim Mindanao (ARMM) in his SONA.

He said that if the President wants development in Mindanao, he should address the peace process first.

“It’s very clear. The government has no platform for peace. This is not a good indication,” Moro Islamic Liberation Front (MILF) chief negotiator Mohagher Iqbal said.

Iqbal said the slip on the Mindanao peace process could be intentional as he doesn’t think his speechwriters forgot to mention it.

Sarangani Gov. Rene Miguel Dominguez said he felt a bit dismayed that the President did not talk about his policy on Mindanao.

Several other sectors and civil groups in the South also criticized the President’s 55-minute speech, saying there was no clear direction as to where the entire peace process was heading.

Roman Polintan, chair of Bagong Alyansang Makabayan (Bayan) in Central Luzon, said the President totally missed the concerns on the peace process.

He also hit the government’s Oplan Bantay Laya, which he claimed was given a new face and renamed Oplan Bayanihan.

Environmentalists Mark Dia of Greenpeace and Martin Francisco of Sierra Madre Environmental Council said that the President did not lay concrete plans for environmental protection and conservation.

Dia said nothing is new, and the President’s SONA was found wanting on plans to protect the environment.

Two groups pushing for the passage of the Reproductive Health (RH) bill also assailed Aquino for leaving out the issue in his speech.

In separate statements, the Democratic Socialist Women of the Philippines (DSWP) and Philippine Legislators’ Committee on Population and Development Foundation, Inc. (PLCPD) said they were disappointed that Aquino did not make any mention about the bill.

“Instead, the President chose to please the bishops. It’s kind of double jeopardy for RH advocates. At the least, P-Noy could have included RH as among measures that require congressional attention. It would have strengthened his matuwid na daan (righteous path) leadership character,” said PLCPD executive director Ramon San Pascual.

DSWP chair Elizabeth Angsioco said the President has been claiming to support the proposed legislation “but he refuses to translate these statements into concrete action by pushing Congress to pass the bill.”

Angsioco has likened the President to a carpenter building a house without a plan. “He aimlessly keeps on nailing things but has no vision of the house or plan on how the house will be constructed.”

Calling a spade a spade

Not to be left out in the cold, a group of migrant workers called on the President to include embassy and labor officials in the government’s no wang wang policy.

“If P-Noy’s wang wang policy aimed to correct wrongdoings, then inept embassy and labor officials in various posts abroad must be strongly reminded of their duty to provide the best public service it could deliver to its clientele, the OFWs and their dependents,” John Leonard Monterona, Migrante-Middle East regional coordinator, said.

Citing several cases of overseas Filipino workers (OFWs), Monterona said if the wang wang policy would be enforced in embassy and labor offices, very few genuine public servants posted abroad would be retained.

Meanwhile, a group of fisherfolk activists hit Aquino with hard facts depicting the sorry plight of 104 million Filipinos under the current administration.

Citing the study made by independent think tank Ibon Foundation, the left-leaning Pambansang Lakas ng Kilusang Mamamalakaya ng Pilipinas (Pamalakaya) said the Aquino presidency failed poorly in economic fronts, namely prices, wages and jobs. – With Mayen Jaymalin, Sheila Crisostomo, Michelle Zoleta