Critical Analysis

A Wish For SONA

TODAY, THE FILIPINO people really wish President Bongbong Marcos will make an honest-to-goodness SONA this 2025.

Wishfully, he will admit that he has not enough experience in government to become president.

All he wanted was to some extent minimize the hate the Filipinos have against his father and the Marcos family. Thus, he will try his best, though late, to resolve all the varied problems besetting the country.

Accordingly, PBBM will report: “I will henceforth accomplish the following urgent matters: (1) I will reduce poverty among our people and build a robust economy by (a) creating jobs and livelihoods for all working-age Filipinos, so that they can help improve the country’s productivity, while helping their families enjoy decent lives; (b) I will check the soundness of setting the minimum wage of workers at P1,200 per day, considering that more than 90 percent of industrial establishments are small businesses and NGOs;

“(2) I will help the farmers, fishermen, and the IPs raise their standards of living by providing appropriate assistance in their work; (3) I’ll urge Congress to immediately pass an Anti-Dynasty Bill, to stop the dynasties from causing widespread poverty in our country; (4) I will henceforth help people to buy rice at P20/kg and affordable seafoods, vegetables, fruits, and basic household needs;

“(5) I will abolish the Anti-Terror Law and its implementing agency the notorious National Task Force to End the Local Communist Armed Conflict (NTF-ELCAC), which has been responsible for the estimated 1,609,496 victims of intimidation, illegal arrests, detention, forced disappearances and killings of reformist activists and groups; (6) I will give justice to all the families of the victims of extra-judicial-killings (EJKs) and hold accountable the AFP/PNP generals/officers and ground troops responsible for these violations of human rights;

“(7) I will restore our official membership in the International Criminal Court (ICC) to cement our country’s firm stand for justice in the international community; (8) I will give justice to the more than 750 political prisoners still languishing in jail; (9) I will focus special attention in improving our education system, and ascertaining that our graders and high school students become educated per international standards in reading comprehension, proficiency in math/ science/engineering/technology, and critical thinking;

“(10) I will improve the country’s Health System by retrieving the billions of pesos (stupidly re-allocated to unprogrammed projects) meant for expanded services to the millions of poor beneficiaries of PhilHealth; (11) I will hold accountable those responsible for the loss of billions of pesos spent for vaccines, medicines and other medical technologies needed during the years the country had to cope with the covid-virus pandemic;

“(12) I will order the Department of Foreign Affairs (DFA) to file another arbitration case, under the UNCLOS, in the Hague regarding the illegal encroachments of China into our sovereign territories in the South China sea, and in this regard, consult with the country’s experts on this case;

“(13) A highly important task for me: I will require Comelec Chairman George Erwin Garcia and his fellow commissioners to explain why quite a number of IT individual experts and professional groups have been raising questions and requesting explanations on certain discrepancies in the results of the past May 9, 2022 and the May 12, 2025 national elections – and the strong possibility of both elections having been rigged given the use of Smartmatic and Miru in the counting and canvassing of votes.

“I must admit this is a serious matter, and I want the truth out in the open. I’m sorry for the countless mistakes I’ve committed as your president.

“Thank you everyone!”