Leah Mae G.

Nolasco S01/BR
BSA - 1 Dr. Christina Y. Pacubas

SONA of President Rodrigo Duterte

(Reaction Paper)

Historically, the third Monday of July is set up for the President of the Philippines
to deliver a speech of his accomplishments and his plans for the next few months of his
tenure. It has also become a carnival of sorts in the last few years for fashion mavens in
the Senate and the House of Representatives to showcase their gowns and barongs to the
full view of the masses. The hitherto political spectacle has sometimes become a circus of
sorts.

That is not to mention yet, the annual mass demonstrations of anti-government

organization bent on shouting their mantras and showing off their artistic skills as they
brandish their effigies reflecting the different issues affecting the Philippines. The past
few years, it has become a demonstration of people who have several points of contention
against the Duterte administration – from women’s groups, to urban poor groups, to youth
organizations – everyone seems to have a point against the regime. What started out as a
promising tenure, with invitations to pro-poor leaders and anti-government personalities
has since become an interesting tableau of ideas and perspectives that still has four more
years in play.

Mr. President Duterte highlighted that the ”war from illegal drugs” is far from
over and will not be sidelined, instead, it will be as relentless and chilling.Mr President
Duterte said his concern is more on human lives and not human rights. "Illegal drugs
wasted away lives, dysfunctionalized families and ruined relation ship."Thousands of
protesters and militant groups rallied near the Batasan to condemn rampant killings being
linked to Mr. President Duterte's war against illegal drugs; as well as the tax reform law,
raising duties on fuel, cars, and sugar-sweetened drinks.Analysts added that
Dutertenomics performance after his two years in power is fair to poor citing the impact
of the train law.

Some also reacted with the proposed federalism, that would decentralize the
system of the government. Others said creation of new states or regional governments will
just create another bureaucratic layer with the installation of state governors on top of
provincial governors, municipal, and city mayors.On the other hand, latest Pulse Asia survey
revealed that majority of Filipinos consider the war on the drugs as the Mr. President
Duterte administration's most important achievement. The report also include good
feedback for the fight against crime, salary increase for police and soldiers, fight against
graft and corruption and free tuition in public universities and colleges.