Duterte to deliver ‘realistic but hopeful’ Sona as militants set protest in Cebu

PREPARING FOR SONA. Members of the Civil Disturbance Management (CDM) show how to disperse protesters during a training exercise on July 22, 2017 in Camp Sergio Osmeña Sr. in Cebu City as they prepare for the State of the Nation Address (Sona) of President Rodrigo Duterte this afternoon.
(CDN PHOTO/JUNJIE MENDOZA)

Allies and critics alike of the Duterte administration have many expectations in today’s State of the Nation Address (Sona) of President Rodrigo Duterte, which Presidential Spokesperson Ernesto Abella said would be “frank, challenging, realistic but hopeful.”

“The President’s State of the Nation Address will be rendered in broad strokes reviewing past achievements, stating the present situation and announcing future prospects,” Abella said in a statement on Sunday. “On the whole, it will be frank, challenging, realistic but hopeful.”

The speech, which will be in English, would take about 50 minutes to read but “given there will be pauses for applause and off-the-cuff remarks, the speech may take about an hour and thirty minutes,” said Abella.

For Cebu City Vice Mayor Edgardo Labella, what he wanted to hear from the President would be an update on the alleged drug protectors.

“We would also like to hear if the wheels of justice had already started to run against those perceived drug lords and drug protectors,” he said. “We would like to hear if cases had already been filed either in court, prosecutor’s office or the ombudsman,” he added.

Last year, President Duterte announced a list of names of government officials, police officials, judges, and elected officials both current and former as alleged drug protectors. Among those in the list was former Cebu City Mayor Michael Rama, an ally of Labella.

Labella said they would rather that the President would order the filing of charges against the persons he linked to the illegal drug trade so that they, like Rama, who has insisted on his innocence, could have an avenue to clear their names.

Nonetheless, Labella said he fully supports the President’s drug war.

“We are impressed with his administration’s no nonsense fight against illegal drugs, and graft and corruption in government,” Labella said.

But militants, unsatisfied with President Duterte’s unfulfilled promises, are set to hold a rally today ahead of the President’s Sona.

The militants’ protest will center on their objection to the extension of martial law in Mindanao up to the end of 2017 and over a range of other issues.

Bagong Alyansang Makabayan (Bayan)-Visayas coordinator Jaime Paglinawan said they expected around 500 to 800 participants in their “People’s SONA” march that will start at 8 a.m. at the Cebu Capitol ground and will end with a rally along Colon Street in downtown Cebu City.

The group is scheduled to disperse at noon, hours before the President will deliver his Sona in Congress at 3 p.m.

“We want to remind President Duterte about his undelivered campaign promises,” Paglinawan said by phone on Sunday.

Leaders from workers, farmers, fishers, jeepney drivers and urban poor will express their concerns over the failure of the Duterte administration to end the workers’ contractualization, and address land reform, free education and jeepney modernization issues.

Niño Olayvar, vice president of Anakbayan–Visayas, expects the President Duterte to talk about the accomplishments of his drug war even if it had resulted to over 7,000 deaths across the country; and to boast about a robust economy “when actually employment and labor participation has been in decline by more than half a million just one year.”

He said Mr. Duterte should keep his promise to end contractualization. They also demanded for the end of the K-to-12 education program and for the Duterte administration to chart an independent foreign policy.

Dennis Darige, coordinator of Partido Manggagawa, on the other hand, slammed the extension of martial law in Mindanao, saying the high cost of sustaining a war and expense for war material could instead be used for housing and other social reform programs for the poor.

There is also no compelling reason to warrant the extension or expansion of martial law.