People’s Sona to tackle things Duterte failed to do

MANILA, Philippines – The United People’s State of the Nation Address (Sona) will discuss issues that President Rodrigo Duterte’s administration has supposedly failed to address, the Makabayan bloc said on Tuesday.

According to Bayan Muna Rep. Carlos Zarate, at the top of the list is the President’s alleged disregard of the Constitution by allowing Chinese forces to harass Filipino fisherfolk in the West Philippine Sea.

“The Makabayan bloc has its standards for determining what President Duterte did or did not do,” Zarate, speaking in Filipino, said in a press briefing. “And one thing that has become clear in the past three years is his promised independent foreign policy. And we already know what kind of foreign policy that is: It defends what China has been doing… But when the [drug war] killings and human rights abuses are questioned, [it says]: ‘Do not interfere with our policy.’”

According to Gabriela Rep. Arlene Brosas, among the other problems that will be tackled during the People’s Sona are the rising prices of goods, the tax reform law, the lack of a genuine agrarian reform, and problems in the supply of water and electricity.

“That’s why we are encouraging everyone to join the United People’s Sona, which will take place at St. Peter on Commonwealth [Avenue,” she added in Filipino.

She was referring to the St. Peter Parish Shrine of Leaders on Commonwealth Avenue in Quezon, where protests are expected to take place on Monday, July 22, while the President delivers his fourth Sona before the joint session of the 18th Congress at the nearby Batasan Complex.

Key personalities, like former Chief Justice Maria Lourdes Sereno, have also called on the public to join the protests.

Maj. Gen. Guillermo Eleazar, chief of the National Capital Region Police Office (NCRPO), said he would talk with militant leaders to ensure a smooth flow of the protest. Over 15,000 police personnel will be deployed for the Sona.

READ: Cops to be ‘considerate’ to Sona protesters

Zarate said the Makabayan bloc lawmakers would attend the opening of the 18th Congress before heading out to join the People’s Sona.

The Makabayan bloc is composed of him, Brosas, fellow Bayan Muna Reps. Ferdinand Gaite and Eufemia Cullamat, Alliance of Concerned Teachers Rep. France Castro and Kabataan Rep. Sarah Elago.

They would return inside the Batasan Complex for the President’s Sona, which usually starts around 4:00 p.m.

/atm