A SONA true to form
President Duterte's first SONA has come and gone. True to form, he deviates from tradition by glossing over, even omitting several paragraphs of his prepared speech, and instead giving the people his more than two cents. I'm sure the teleprompter's work was more than he expected on that day, having to stop and start the device at the whim of the president.
As with all first State of the Nation Addresses of past presidents, Duterte enumerated most of the goals of his administration. But what got more airtime than anything else in his speech was his unrelenting stand against illegal drugs, and the bloody campaign by which the Philippine National Police is currently conducting. He took exception to a photograph published on a daily broadsheet where a woman was embracing her dead husband, an apparent victim of a summary execution. Pure drama, as the chief executive put it, even continuing that the victim's fate was entirely because of his involvement in drugs. Note that this was an extrajudicial killing, and not a legitimate police operation.
That practically sums up the stand of the president, even as he states that "the rule of law must at all times prevail" and "government should respect the human rights of our citizens." The New York-based Human Rights Watch in fact found his statements "confusing and sometimes contradictory." Duterte even "advises" criminals not to put their faith on priests and human rights advocates, as they are powerless to save them from his brand of justice, reminding everyone of his opinions concerning the Church and the Commission on Human Rights.
Far from being the tearjerker of a speech as mentioned by his spokesman, Duterte's signature adlibbing was present throughout the more than an hour address. At times, even drawing laughter, not tears from those present at the BatasangPambansa. The loudest applause was given when he mentioned the lowering of personal and corporate taxes, but noticeably subdued when he said that the Bank Secrecy Law would be eased up. No surprises there.
There are those who were disappointed not to hear the President touch up more on education, as well as the ending of contractualization, which was a big part of his campaign promise. The country's victory in the case filed before the Permanent Court of Arbitration was only mentioned in one sentence, a definite move of the government playing it safe for now with China. He did resonate well with addressing the backlog in car plates, extending the validity of both passports and driver's licenses, and cutting the processing time of government required documents. A surprise announcement was the immediate unilateral ceasefire against the New People's Army, which he hoped they would reciprocate. The Moro problem of Mindanao was also one of the key points of his speech, asking Congress to "give them the BBL, without the unconstitutional provisions." I was glad to hear him call the Abu Sayyaf as criminals, and that they should be dealt with accordingly by the AFP. In a previous speaking engagement, he said he could not call them criminals because they were only desperate. That really did not make sense.
All in all, his first SONA got praises from his allies, and mixed reactions from everyone else. There are those who wished he included "this and that", and he should have also said more about the plans of his six-year administration. It is his first SONA, well within the "honeymoon period." We will just have to wait for his pronouncements to come into fruition as his term unfolds.
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