Marcos on SONA: We have made significant progress

SAN FERNANDO, Pampanga, Philippines — President Marcos yesterday described his second State of the Nation Address (SONA) that will be delivered on July 24 as “very simple,” but would explain to the people the significant progress his administration has achieved in his first year in office.

Speaking to reporters after attending the signing of a memorandum of agreement on the nationwide launch of Kadiwa ng Pangulo program here, Marcos disclosed that he has yet to finish writing his speech.

“It’s really very simple. It’s just a performance report for Filipinos to see – on the many pronouncements, on the many words we said, if these were really significant or mere lip service,” he said partly in Filipino.?“That’s what I want to explain to the people: that we have made significant progress. We can see the difference now, not only in terms of how the systems work, how the government works; it is also how we are seen or judged in the international community. That’s equally important,” he added.

The Chief Executive revealed that he would also present projects that are ongoing and those already in the pipeline.

Asked what he would be wearing in his SONA, Marcos responded in mixed Filipino and English: “I haven’t thought about what to wear. We’ve been worried about writing the speech.”

The Legislative-Executive Development Advisory Council, which Marcos chairs, on July 5 approved 20 measures to be prioritized and passed within the year. Among these measures are the proposed amendments to the Build-Operate-Transfer Law or the Public-Private Partnership Act, National Disease Prevention Management Authority, Internet Transactions Act/E-Commerce Law, Health Emergency Auxiliary Reinforcement Team or HEART Act (formerly Medical Reserve Corps), Virology Institute of the Philippines, Mandatory Reserve Officers’ Training Corps and National Service Training Program, Revitalizing the Salt Industry, Valuation Reform, E-Government/E-Governance and Ease of Paying Taxes.

Also targeted to be passed later this year are the proposed National Government Rightsizing Program, Unified System of Separation/Retirement and Pension of Military and Uniformed Personnel, Local Government Unit Income Classification, Waste-to-Energy Act, New Philippine Passport Act, Magna Carta for Filipino Seafarers, National Employment Action Plan, amendments to the Anti-Agricultural Smuggling Act and the Bangko Sentral ng Pilipinas-endorsed Bank Deposit Secrecy and Anti-Financial Account Scamming Act.

Paul Soriano out as SONA director

The House of Representatives is “95 percent” prepared for Marcos’ second SONA, even if respected film director Paul Soriano – a nephew-in-law of the President – will no longer direct the event.

House secretary-general Reginald Velasco told Congress reporters during the walk-through om July 17 that the in-house Radio Television Malacañang (RTVM) will take over managing the presidential address.

The House official refused to speculate, though, the reason or reasons behind the removal of Soriano, a nephew of First Lady Liza Araneta-Marcos, explaining it’s really the prerogative of the Office of the President (OP) and the Presidential Communications Office.

SONA invitations for the VIPs have been sent, and about 90 percent will be attending.

“There are those who can’t make it for health reasons, that’s why they cannot attend – from the diplomatic corps, Cabinet, the OP. But we have already sent all the invitations, and we are of course waiting for the submission of the final guest list,” he said.

Vice President and Education Secretary Sara Duterte has confirmed her attendance, and so has former presidents Joseph Estrada and Gloria Macapagal-Arroyo, now the House deputy speaker after she was elected last year as representative of Pampanga’s second district.

Former president Rodrigo Duterte has yet to confirm his attendance.

“All preparations have already been done, physical arrangements, security and we are confident that by Friday, everything will be all set because we will have a rehearsal,” Velasco said.

The entire 16-hectare premises of the Batasang Pambansa complex will be locked down starting July 20 until July 23, the day before Marcos delivers his second SONA and when Congress also resumes session.

As a matter of protocol, as in every SONA, the Presidential Security Group takes over the security usually supervised by the House’s in-house Legislative Security Bureau.

Contra-SONA

A week before Marcos delivers his second SONA, Senate Deputy Minority Leader Risa Hontiveros delivered her virtual a la contra-SONA by pointing out a number of issues and concerns that need immediate and urgent action of the present administration.

During the Kapihan sa Senado forum yesterday, Hontiveros emphasized that the President still has five more years to address the country’s problems, as she noted that his upcoming SONA should be centered around the most vulnerable sectors – the poor, the jobless, women and children.

“It seems that there was no plan for these sectors in the previous SONA, so by Monday, there should be,” the senator said in English and Filipino in her opening statement.

“The President has five more years. He was lucky in his first year because even though we have almost no exports or foreign investments, the income of our OFWs (overseas Filipino workers) and BPO (business process outsourcing) workers is always there, and our tax is still there to fund infrastructure programs and tourism has become lively again after we were locked up in the house of the pandemic. In the next two years, the economy will continue to grow slightly because Filipinos still have spending money,” she added.

During the forum, Hontiveros stressed that “unity was nothing but a hollow facade” during the first year of Marcos’ presidency. — Cecille Suerte Felipe, Elizabeth Marcelo