By Dominique Gabriel G. Bañaga
During a press conference at the Negros Press Club, which took place before Duterte delivered his State of the Nation Address (SONA), former Negros Occidental Governor Rafael Coscolluela said, instead of debating Charter Change, the government should take urgent action on the country’s problems.
He then read “The True State of the Nation,” which was crafted by blogger ‘JoeAm’ and described the country as “more divided, poorer, more violent, more corrupt, less competent, weaker economically, more lies, more excuses, more blames, more tyrannical, less humane, less sovereign, less just, less ethical, less faithful, more crude, more isolated, less respected, and stupider.”
The former governor shared the perspective of Atty. Mel Sta. Maria, stating “The country’s problems are not traceable to the 1987 Constitution.”
He claimed the problems were instead “caused by acts or omissions of those managing the country’s affairs who are incompetent or have been disregarding, violating, not defending, or implementing the Constitution; and worse, who may be ignorant of it.”
Coscolluela also listed indicators pertaining to the country’s present state, among them was “damaged international relations.”
The president touched upon international relations in his SONA, touting “stronger bonds” with Association of Southeast Asian Nations (ASEAN) members, along with improved relations with China.
“Our stronger bonds with our ASEAN friends have made possible our trilateral border patrols with Indonesia and Malaysia, which has since then put out of business sea pirates, piracy, and other terrorists who used to infest our shared seas,” the president pointed out. “We have shown the world what we are capable of when we work together.”
In terms of China, Duterte said, “Our re-energized relations with China has also led to an unprecedented level of cooperation between our nations on the war against transnational crimes.”
The former governor was also critical of the Tax Reform for Acceleration and Inclusion (TRAIN) Law, calling it “anti-poor.”
“The spiraling prices of food,” he said. “A lot of mothers and individuals, one of their main complaints today is the price of food is too expensive, such as rice, fish, and basic commodities.”
In his speech, the president offered his perspective on how the law has impacted the country.
“Some have incorrectly blamed our efforts toward a fairer tax system for all the price increases in the past months, and some [are] irresponsibly suggesting to stop TRAIN’s implementation,” he explained. “TRAIN is already helping poor families and senior citizens cope up with rising prices; we have distributed unconditional cash transfers to 4 million people and we will help 6 million more this year.”
Coscolluela also pointed out high inflation, peso depreciation, misgovernance, a culture of hatred and violence, and corruption.
A portion of Duterte’s SONA reflected on corruption, where he credited Congress for passing RA 11032, or the Ease of Doing Business Act of 2018, which the president called “a significant fight against corruption and improving service delivery.”
He went on to discuss the merits of “truly customer-friendly” services, noting, “Our people deserve efficient, effective, and responsive government services.”
Meanwhile, local labor advocate Wennie Sancho also spoke at the press conference, stating, the country should not be compelled to “swallow” Charter Change or federalism, calling it an “insult” to their intelligence.
Sancho said the 1987 Constitution should be respected and expressed fears the proposed shift to federalism is a “smoke screen” to usher in authoritarianism or dictatorship.
The labor leader also called on the public to speak up now.
“If we wait, then we would have waited too long,” Sancho said. “My point is, [Charter Change] is not the messiah that [will] deliver us from our suffering; federalism is not our savior.”
After the press conference, the groups converged at the Bacolod Public Plaza to protest the proposed shift to federalism, TRAIN Law, and alleged extrajudicial killings.
Duterte discussed a variety of issues outside of the matters highlighted by the earlier press conference, including an update on the ongoing war on illegal drugs, empowering Mindanao, endorsing a Bangsamoro Organic Law, a commitment to fight terrorism, an appeal on behalf of coconut farmers, focusing on environmental matters and rehabilitating Boracay, among other issues./DGB, WDJ
