The SONA that you will never hear
My countrymen, this morning, I have accepted the resignations of Gen. Bato and Col. Marvin Marcos. I am replacing them with two PMA graduates who have Master's Degrees in Human Rights and doctorates in the Rule of Law. I have ordered the Commission on Human Rights to conduct a thorough and impartial investigation into all reports and complaints of extra-judicial killings and summary executions. I ordered the investigation to be witnessed by the UN, EU, and representatives from the media, Church, and academe. I have also accepted the resignation of Secretary Vit Aguirre and replaced him with Persida Acosta. Aguirre will go to the UN, and De la Rosa and Marcos will become ambassadors to Uganda and to Zimbabwe, respectively. They have options to run for the Senate in 2019.
I have also appointed Speaker Alvarez as DILG Secretary. He will have jurisdiction over the Bureau of Prisons which has a problem with its lease contract with TADECO. In this way, I am compelling Bebot Alvarez to sit down with TonyBoy Floirendo so that we, Mindanaoans, can patch up and be united again. I will ask our friends in Congress to elect another speaker also from Mindanao, preferably a Muslim, one who has no plans of abolishing the Court of Appeals, and who will have rapport with the judiciary. I am appointing Justice Japar Dimaampao as Associate Justice of the Supreme Court, not only to have the twelve million Muslims represented but to make sure there is a tax expert and a Sharia Law expert in the highest court of the land. I have appointed Atty. Michael Rama as the new Presidential Assistant for Central Visayas. Mr. Dino will become ambassador to a European country.
I am happy to report to you that this morning, I had a very nice breakfast (danggit, nokos, and budbod) with the CBCP, which includes our own Archbishop of Davao Romulo Valles, as well as Cardinal Tagle and Archbishops Soc Villegas, Jose Palma, John Du, and Fr. Robert Reyes. I also invited Brothers Mike Velarde and Eddie Villanueva and my good friend Apollo Quiboloy, together with INC's Eduardo Manalo. We have a modus vivendi. I shall not say evil things about the Church, but they too should allow the state to be governed unhampered by the religious importuning of the Pharisees. I will have regular dialogue with them. I am assigning one drug rehab to be administered by each diocese. They have to rehab their own addicts.
I am appointing someone from Cebu to become the new Secretary of DOLE. Bebot Bello will focus on talks with CPP/NDF and shall finish it before the 2019 polls. I want him to be Senate president. Coco will run for vice president. Tomorrow I am meeting all political, business, church and civic leaders from Cebu. I am asking them to support the massive infra developent plan for the province. There shall be a bullet railway from Santander to Bantayan. Five bridges will be constructed to connect the Visayan Islands. Santander to San Jose Negros, Tangil in Dumanjug to Guihulngan City, Toledo to San Carlos, and Argao to Bohol. These are all Build, Operate and Transfer projects and should be finished by January 2022. The third bridge to Mactan shall operate starting September 2021. All the Japanese, Taiwanese, and Korean financiers have signed contracts. I ask the Cebuanos to support these beyond political lines for the sake of our country and people. I will do the same for other cities and provinces regardless political lines. A president should be above politics.
- Latest
