Address other issues besides drugs, Bam Aquino asks President

Apart from his intensified campaign against illegal drugs, President Rodrigo Duterte should also lay down a clear plan on how he will address the country’s other pressing problems, such as employment, education and poverty reduction, in his first State of the Nation Address (Sona) on July 25, according to Sen. Benigno “Bam” Aquino IV.

“President Duterte can discuss important topics that matter to the lives of Filipinos like education, employment and poverty reduction,” Aquino said in a television interview on Thursday.

“We need to ensure that prices are stable and more importantly, that Filipino families have the wherewithal to address their most basic needs,” he said.

Aquino said Duterte could also talk about the West Philippine Sea issue, saying, “these are things that people will be very interested in.”

The senator noted that in the recent Pulse Asia’s Ulat ng Bayan survey conducted from July 2 to 8, Filipinos wanted the new Duterte administration to prioritize three economic issues: prices of goods, creation of jobs and implementation of propoor initiatives.

Aquino, chair of the Senate committee on trade, commerce and entrepreneurship, has filed several bills in the 17th Congress that seek to end contractualization in the labor sector, provide free college education and boost the government’s poverty reduction program. Kathryn Jedi V. Baylon/rga