Former lawmakers give Marcos a failing grade in People’s Sona
Former opposition lawmakers who held their own “People’s State of the Nation Address (Sona)” gave President Marcos a failing grade as they cited the surging prices of basic goods and the lack of government programs improving the welfare of workers and the marginalized.
The former House representatives included Liza Maza, Sarah Elago and Neri Colmenares who held a protest on Commonwealth Avenue, near the Batasang Pambansa complex in Quezon City, where the President delivered his fourth Sona before members of the 20th Congress on Monday.
“President Marcos has failed this year. The plight of our citizens has gotten worse. The prices of goods have gone up and the wage increase can barely be felt,” Liza Maza, former Gabriela party list representative, told the Inquirer.
The same rating was given by Sarah Elago, who also served as House representative of the women’s party list group.
“Filipino women are giving Marcos Jr. a failing grade because for the past three years of his administration, the crisis they are facing has worsened,” Elago said.
“And we are holding this People’s Sona to call for genuine action to address the rising prices of goods because this has long been the top concern of many women and Filipino families,” she added as she called for the abolition of the 12 percent value-added tax (VAT) on food, utilities and oil.
‘Band-aid solution’
Mr. Marcos also received a failing grade from activist-farmer Danilo Ramos, who called the government’s P20 rice per kilo program a “band-aid solution.”
“Super failed. For farmers, the President is a pest,” Ramos said as he criticized the President for his recent official visit to the United States, where he negotiated a one-percent decrease in the tariffs to be imposed on Philippine exports to the US.
Former Bayan Muna party list Rep. Neri Colmenares, who said he shared the sentiments of his colleagues, stressed that Mr. Marcos must ensure the passage of laws benefiting the poor.
“For example, he must pass a bill prohibiting political dynasties … There must be an increase in the wage of workers and VAT should be suspended to ease the surge in the prices of goods,” Colmenares said.
“How will he get a passing grade for his Sona when prices are going up?” he asked.
‘Continuing silence’
A legal and policy advocacy group also criticized the President for his “continuing silence” on the plight of indigenous communities in his Sona.
Lawyer E.M. Taqueban, executive director of the Legal Rights and Natural Resources Center (LRC), cited their group’s latest research, which showed that at least 1.7 million hectares of indigenous territories in the country are currently facing conflicting land uses such as large-scale mines, forest tenements and other environmentally critical projects.
“Despite this, the urgent concerns of indigenous peoples remain nowhere to be found in President Marcos’ Sona for the fourth year running,” Taqueban said.
The LRC’s latest study revealed that 54 percent of all approved mining tenements are overlapping with ancestral domains, while 49 percent of Competitive Renewable Energy Zones and 54 percent of forest tenements are also conflicting with indigenous territories. —WITH A REPORT FROM JANE BAUTISTA
