President Duterte should go beyond drugs, crime and terror in his State of the Nation Address (Sona) on Monday to weather the mood of a divided nation, according to a number of experts.
Ateneo School of Government Dean Ronald U. Mendoza said the government has several policies that are breaking the nation apart, and these are what Duterte should touch on in his second Sona. “He should probably address key issues of division and concern, like martial law, antidrugs campaign, peace talks, West Philippine Sea, tax reforms and good governance on infrastructure buildup,” Mendoza told the BusinessMirror.
“However, I’m not sure he will,” Mendoza said. Duterte, in a number of occasions, preferred to speak impromptu at the expense of his prepared speech, which proved to be costly at times.
Labor groups, for one, protested Duterte’s spontaneity in his Labor Day speech in Davao City. They said several policies listed in the prepared speech were not announced due to the Chief Executive’s decision to rant against the rich.
With this, Mendoza said Duterte should focus more on socioeconomic issues, such as ease of doing business in the Philippines and job creation under the context of a growing economy, in his second Sona, than on the purported problem on drugs and crime.
IBON Foundation Executive Director Jose Enrique A. Africa agreed with Mendoza, saying the Sona is an opportunity for Duterte to tackle issues that directly hit the stomach of the poor. “The antidrugs and antiterror rhetoric [of Duterte] is calculated to project the image of a benevolent strongman and, in effect, to justify greater authoritarianism and martial law,” Africa told the BusinessMirror.
Mindanao is currently under martial law until December 31, after Congress approved Duterte’s appeal to extend military rule in the island last Saturday. Some lawmakers opposed the extension, but were overwhelmed in the voting by Duterte’s so-called supermajority.
“It would be better if he focused on serious socioeconomic issues that still bedevil tens of millions of the poorest Filipinos,” Africa said. IBON Foundation last Saturday questioned the government’s agenda of change, saying basic reforms, such as ending contractualization and enacting better wages for workers, were facing rough sailing under Duterte.
Africa added it would be “reassuring to hear” from the Chief Executive if he would reopen peace talks with the National Democratic Front, which the government panel canceled last Wednesday following attacks made by communist rebels on security forces.
In a text message to the BusinessMirror, political economist Maria Ella C. Oplas of the De La Salle University said Duterte’s economic strategy is “sound and consistent” with his personality of “doing it now”, and he should highlight this in his second Sona. Under Duterte, the government is dead set on completing big-ticket public infrastructure across major urban centers in Metro Manila and Central Luzon.
Dubbed the “Build, Build, Build” campaign, the government intends to increase infrastructure-to-GDP ratio to 7.4 percent to roll out ambitious public infrastructure, such as the North Luzon Expressway Harbor Link, Luzon Spine Expressway, Philippine National Railway North and South Rails and the Metro Manila Subway. In its P3.767-trillion proposed budget for 2018, the Department of Budget and Management has allocated more than P940 billion for infrastructure spending.
Aside from discussing the country’s direction under the government’s infrastructure blitz, Oplas said Duterte should disclose what is taking the military so long in securing Marawi City, Lanao del Sur. “I really wish that he talks about the prospects of extending martial law in Mindanao. What is really happening there? [Why] is [it] taking so long?” Oplas added.
However, if political analyst Ramon C. Casiple of the Institute for Political and Electoral Reform is to be asked, the Chief Executive simply needs to do one thing on his second Sona: keep it basic.
“At this point, it’s almost impossible to have a unifying approach. It’s better that he address the problems of the people at the grassroots, which include poverty, jobs and education,” Casiple told the BusinessMirror.
The labor movement has displayed a growing discontent over Duterte in the past months, saying he is taking too long in fulfilling his campaign promise of abolishing contractualization. The Associated Labor Unions-Trade Union Congress of the Philippines, for one, is expecting a “surprise gift” from Duterte in his second Sona, which is an executive order banning all forms of fixed-term employment.
Duterte is scheduled to deliver his second Sona late-afternoon on Monday. His report to the nation is expected to be met with a protest rally outside of the Batasang Pambansa complex, as militant groups have announced they will be trooping to the streets to counter Duterte’s Sona.
According to Presidential Spokesman Ernesto C. Abella, the Chief Executive’s second Sona “will be rendered in broad strokes reviewing past achievements, stating the present situation and announcing future prospects”.
Abella said the speech is written in English to accommodate Duterte’s language preference and, if read straight, should take about 50 minutes. “On the whole, it will be frank, challenging, realistic but hopeful,” Abella added.