Opposition: Duterte rambled, bullied way through 2nd SONA

For Akbayan Party-list Rep. Tomasito Villarin, Monday’s two-hour State of the Nation Address was just a “classic Duterte showtime.”

“Rambling, shouting, warning, and bullying his ‘enemies.’ He knows what issues click, what emojis to use. To be populist than being right,” said Villarin, a member of the opposition Magnificent Seven bloc.

Amid all that, Villarin pointed out that he failed to mention certain key social issues including those that have been part of his campaign promises.

“Again, no mention of endo, coconut farmers’ trust fund, other social legislation. Frustrating!” he said in a message sent to reporters.

Anakpawis Party-list Rep. Ariel Casilao of the militant Makabayan bloc said Mr. Duterte “missed the opportunity to revert back to the path towards fundamental reforms for the benefit of the marginalized sector.”

Casilao noted that the President sidestepped the issue of genuine agrarian reform, and criticized his “skewed” statement on the utilization of national resources because “he embraces the messianic belief the foreign investments via foreign monopoly will build the national industry in the country.”

Like Villarin, he also slammed the “total omission” of his campaign promise to end contractualization.

He said the President only continued to coddle military abuses and neglected the state of farmers and indigenous peoples in Mindanao.

“He never assured the people of Mindanao of safety, of being subjected under a martial law rule and condemned them to the abuses of state forces,” Casilao said.

Meanwhile, Dinagat Islands Rep. Kaka Bag-ao of the Liberal Party said the SONA seemingly only “focused on a single issue—the war against drugs, which has turned into a war against the poor.”

“This Administration is led by Mindanaoans—this should entail a better potential for the development of the provinces of Mindanao. However, one year into the term, the most glaring occurrence that we have in Mindanao is an extended martial law,” Bag-ao said.