President Duterte's first SONA
It was undoubtedly a historic State of the Nation Address (SONA). First of all, it was the first SONA of President Rodrigo "Digong" Duterte, the first president to come from Mindanao. He entered the presidency with a record-breaking approval rating of 91 percent. Secondly, it was the first time that we have people from Mindanao on top of the two major branches of the Philippine government.
Aside from President Duterte who comes from Davao, the 17th Senate president is Sen. Aquilino "Koko" Pimentel III while the speaker of the House is Davao del Norte congressman Pantaleon Alvarez Jr. And yes, all of the three are Cebuano speakers. This has never happened before in the Philippine political history. This was one SONA which wasn't turned into a fashion show like what was done in the past SONAs where the rich and famous and the powerful showed their plumage…where ternos and gowns of the wives of Cabinet secretaries and members of Congress cost more than a year's food supply in a pauper's table.
I was with Ms. Estee Plunket at the VIP room of GMR-Megawide waiting for my flight to Manila when I got a text from my staff fromMyTV Channel 30 that we were already streaming online with PTV 4 so I asked the airport IT personnel to tune their TV sets to MyTV Channel 30, and they did. I thought I was going to miss the president's SONA, but thanks to streaming technology I was able to watch his speech on the airport TV and on my mobile phone when we were already boarding for our flight to Manila.
Another dramatic albeit historic event happened outside the Batasan Complex where the usual rowdy protesters were allowed to go near the Batasan. But there was no clash with the police. Many of whom mingled with the protesters including PNP Chief Ronald "Bato" dela Rosa who wasn't scared to mix with the protesting crowd and helped give water or juice to some protesters. No, there was no anti-Duterte group and above all, there was no animosity between the protesters and the police. Strange things are happening here.
One would have expected old wounds to open up. After all, we have seen decades of bloody clashes between protesters and the police. This is something that the United States of America should look into because many of their protest marches are against the police where many policemen have been killed. But not in the Philippines. Last Monday's SONA was truly a different SONA, where all Filipinos were welcome even to protest.
Perhaps the biggest announcement that came out of the mouth of President Duterte was when he announced a unilateral ceasefire against the communist insurgency, something that we knew was coming soon because President Duterte is hell-bent in ending the decades-long insurgency. Communist Party of the Philippines Chairman responded to this announcement saying that he was awaiting the release of political prisoners. I guess that this is what my good friend, Jess Dureza of the Peace Process, has to negotiate. But the CPP can no longer deny that the president has already reached out to them with the olive branch of peace. Now it is their move!
Finally, allow me to get a direct quote from President Duterte which in my book defines his presidency:"We cannot move forward if we allow the past to pull us back. Finger-pointing is not the way. That is why I will not waste precious time dwelling on the sins of the past or blaming those who are perceived to be responsible for the mess that we are in and suffering from (The first lines the president uttered were an apparent swipe at former president Aquino).
Except maybe to extract a lesson or two from its errors, we will not tarry because it is the present that we are concerned with and the future that we should be prepared for.
Lest I be misunderstood, let me say clearly, that those who betrayed the people's trust shall not go unpunished and they will have their day in court. And if the evidence warrants, they will have their day of reckoning, too.
President Duterte's SONA wasn't 38minutes as Communications Secretary Martin Andanar pointed our earlier because the president gave adlibs in between the lines and spoke from the heart. For us in Cebu, that he mentioned solutions to the traffic mess in Metro Cebu and the creation of a metro Cebu railway system is something we can really hope to see come true. Let me end this column quoting Teddy Boy Locsin who said in last Monday night's "Teditorial":"If we do not take advantage of this man's leadership, we shall miss our last chance for real change."
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