SONA 2018 Reaction Paper Sample

Duterte’s Third SONA: Full of Surprises

Historically, the third Monday of July is set up for the President of the Philippines
to deliver a speech of his accomplishments and his plans for the next few months
of his tenure. It has also become a carnival of sorts in the last few years for
fashion mavens in the Senate and the House of Representatives to showcase their
gowns and barongs to the full view of the masses. The hitherto political spectacle
has sometimes become a circus of sorts.

That is not to mention yet, the annual mass demonstrations of anti-government

organization bent on shouting their mantras and showing off their artistic skills
as they brandish their effigies reflecting the different issues affecting the
Philippines. The past few years, it has become a demonstration of people who
have several points of contention against the Duterte administration – from
women’s groups, to urban poor groups, to youth organizations – everyone seems
to have a point against the regime. What started out as a promising tenure, with
invitations to pro-poor leaders and anti-government personalities has since
become an interesting tableau of ideas and perspectives that still has four more
years in play.

SONA 2018 broke tradition of highlighting the previous year accomplishments but
instead the iron-fist leader addressed as a "father of the Filipinos" and focused on
desire for genuine and meaningful change for the people.

The key policies, programs and initiatives of the government were discussed
separately in the successful run of three-part series pre-SONA 2018 Forum.

SONA 2018 was delayed by an hour as advice of who will be seated beside
President Duterte was not immediately finalized after Pampanga Rep. Gloria
Macapagal Arroyo sworn as the new House Speaker. The Congress ousted
Pantaleon Alvarez few minutes before the SONA. Note that the spots besides the
president are reserved for the Speaker of the House and the Senate President.

President Duterte SONA 2017

Reaction Paper.

MANILA, Philippines - President Rodrigo Roa Duterte delivered on Monday, July 24, 2017 hissecond State
of the Nation Address (SONA) in front of around 3,000 lawmakers and guests atthe Batasan Pambansa
in Quezon City. With the theme A Comfortable Life for All PresidentDuterte delivered his speech in line
with the administration's three key agenda

prosperity forall law and order and peace which categorize the positive changes felt by the people.SONA
2016 started at exactly 4:20 in the afternoon and concluded after 2 hours and 6 minutes6:26 p.m. longer
that his previous SONA due to off-the-cuff remarks. Known for his no-holds-barredspeechesand fiery
statements Duterte delivered once again his colorful tirades andexpletives mixed with report of plans for
the country. Duterte admitted that he isbullyto theenemies of the state. He even thrown some rants to
some news organizations like ABS-CBNand Rappler for the their alleged biased stories about him.Wag
ninyo ako takutin. I am willing togo to prison for the rest of my life Duterte voice out to his critics in his
lengthy speech.The second SONA highlighted the government's accomplishments especially on war
againstdrugs and criminalities. Duterte during the election campaign period promised to resolve thesein
just six months but failed to bust and requested for extension saying he was shocked by theextent of the
drug problem.Same with previous SONA, thousands of protesters and militant groups rallied near the
Batasanto denounce the recently approved extension of Martial law in Mindanao until December 31 and

to assert that the president’s promise of change has not been realized. Protests meanwhile was

peaceful and orderly. Some activists claims Duterte's first year was a major flop in addressingthe pressing
economic and social imbalances only to be highlighted by blood and gore.While the president also
emphasized his plans for a tax reform program to raise the national budget, it must be studied thoroughly
as it isbranded as regressive and anti-poor by certaingroups. For instance House Bill 5636 for sugar-
sweetened beverages SSB will come with aP10-per-liter tax. This will apparently dissuade consumers from
purchasing SSBs. According tothe Philippine Association of Store and Carinderia Owners PASCO the
imposition of SSB taxwill result to 3% to 200% rise in prices. It is interesting to note that the Bangsamoro
Basic Law(BBL) was certified as urgent by Duterte administration.BBL is key to just and lasting peace.It is
interesting to note that the Bangsamoro Basic Law (BBL) was certified as urgent by Duterteadministration.
"BBL is key to just and lasting peace.While there's a lot of issues that need to be resolved, Filipinos are
hopeful that Duterte willdeliver his promised change during the course of his presidency. This is evident
of the excellenttrust rating he received in the latest Pulse Asia Research's June 2017

Ulat ng Bayan

survey82% nationwide.

Duterte then made mention of several key aspects that he would be asking the
Congress and Senate to handle within the next few sessions including the
Coconut Farmers’ Trust Fund, the drafting of terms of reference for a third
telecommunications firm (after he called the PLDT-SMART and Globe
conglomerates a duopoly) that would be fair for those concerned and would
push down the interconnection rates to make it easier for Filipinos to
communicate.

He also reiterated that there is going to be a new department in the

government, essentially creating the Department of Disaster Management which
would oversee the efforts to combat calamities and the resulting damages
herein. He then harangued the irresponsible mining groups which resorted to
open mining techniques as they were destroying the country’s resources,
reiterating that the environment is for the future generations.

He also didn’t forget to mention that Special Assistant to the President Bong Go
was instrumental to the establishment of Malasakit Centers in Cebu, Tacloban
and Iloilo, probably trying to get a good word for his right hand man for the
people to consider his impending run for higher office. He also made mention of
the Boracay effort – stating that it is the start of a national effort to clean up
popular tourist destinations as we are merely stewards of nature. He did
threaten in his way that local government shouldn’t wait for the national
government to swoop down on them and make them pay for their
transgressions.