ARE we better off now than when President Rodrigo Duterte assumed office as an elected President on June 30, 2016?
This is an important question aired this week by Sen. Panfilo Lacson, a query that can come from a senator or any ordinary citizen of this Republic who values the present and the future of the nation.
The question, too, begs to be answered when the Chief Executive delivers his final State of the Nation Address (SONA) this July.
Lacson asked: “After five years, where are we now, or what is the situation in the many aspects of his administration such as peace and order, fight against illegal drugs, corruption, economy, and foreign policy, particularly the West Philippine Sea?”
‘In this SONA, may we be spared of nitpicking about slow internet connections, the rapacity of so-called oligarchs, and underperformance of water, power and other utilities, which are after all regulated by the government itself.’
The senator from Cavite pointed out correctly that we want to hear what happened in the last five years — and moving forward for the last year of his administration, what can still be done?”
Specifically, the Filipino people want to be apprised on the status of the government’s official response to the COVID-19 pandemic, with emphasis on the vaccination program. The bulk of American and Indian-made vaccines are still to arrive, and most every one wanted assurances that these would be distributed equally to towns and cities in need.
In the dying days of the Duterte administration, it is also incumbent on the President to render an honest accounting of his controversial war on drugs. Obviously, Duterte was unable to defeat the onslaught of illegal drugs in the first six months of his administration, not even within his first year in office, as promised. It is the people’s turn now to ask what happened.
The Chief Executive might also want to render a report on the economy, on inflation and investments, the jobs situation, especially now that the nation needs to recover very badly from the pandemic. And of course, on foreign policy, touching the controversial topic of the West Philippine Sea.
In this SONA, may we be spared of nitpicking about slow internet connections, the rapacity of so-called oligarchs, and underperformance of water, power and other utilities, which are after all regulated by the government itself.
The true state of the nation should be unveiled for everyone to see.
