Cebu Gov. Hilario Davide III will be in Manila to attend President Aquino’s state of the nation address (Sona) on Monday. Davide will leave for Manila on Sunday and will be back on Tuesday, said James Canoy, one of the governor’s staffers.
The governor will lend support to Aquino who in recent weeks have been criticized over the controversial Disbursement Acceleration Program and has since been the subject of three impeachment complaints filed in the House of Representatives by his critics.
Davide is the leader of the administration-backed Liberal Party (LP) in Cebu. However, not everyone in Cebu is pleased with the Aquino administration. As early as Friday, militant and cause-oriented youth groups in Cebu City staged a demonstration to warn the President on the possibility of using Sona as a platform to defend the DAP.
Instead of tackling the issues surrounding DAP, Akbayan Youth Cebu (AYC) spokesperson Mikay Dumaboc said Aquino should also discuss the Freedom of Information (FOI) bill, the Students Rights and Welfare Act (Straw) and the SK Reform Act.
“With two years left in his term, P-Noy should prioritize the laws for the youth. We cannot wait for another Kristel Tejada or another unreasonable expulsion to happen,” he said.
Akbayan and the Student Council Alliance of the Philippines (Scap) Visayas yesterday delivered their own version of the Sona. They set up a lectern in a narrow alley in barangay Luz in Cebu City where Dumaboc and other SCAP members took turns delivering their speeches.
The group will also hold a protest march from Fuente Osmeña Circle to Colon St. in Cebu City from 9 a.m to 11 a.m. on Monday.