CASANGUAN, Sittie Kayla Farhana M.

BSA 2-16
SONA 2019
Reaction Paper

Last July 22, 2019, President Rodrigo Roa Duterte delivered his fourth State of
the Nation Address (SONA) at the Batasang Pambansa, Quezon City. Being the father
of our country, President Duterte delivered his speech about the achievements that have
achieved under his administrations. He also talked about his plans for the development
of our country that he wants to achieve within the last 3 years of his term as the president
of the Republic of the Philippines. According to him, he dreamt of the Philippines better
than the one he grew up in. The speech of our President disclosed the changes that our
nation had. The developments in our country under Duterte Administration shows that
this nation could really develop, as long as we, Filipino, will do our respective parts as a
concerned citizen and do a collaborative effort with the government to do what every
Filipino is praying for, a better Philippines.

"Pag ipadala ko ang marines ko to drive away Chinese Vessels, not one of them
will return." This is the line that caught my attention. It depicts how powerful and
dangerous China is. It is about on the "fishing deal" of the Philippines with China in
the West Philippine Sea. Why this issue caught my attention out of the many concerns
President Duterte talked about? We all know that many Filipinos are angry, telling that
President Duterte is a coward and "China's pet" for not fighting with China for our
country's sovereign rights. Duterte said pushing for the Philippines’ sovereign rights as
guaranteed by an international arbitral award would lead to an armed confrontation with
China, and it is “better” to negotiate “in the privacy of a conference room.” And yes, I
agree with this. I think President Duterte is just being careful not to trigger China for he
knows how powerful and well-equipped China is compared to the Philippines when war
arises.

Nowadays, there are many Filipinos who are bandwagon and "keyboard
warriors". And yes, that is another problem in the Philippines. Being a "keyboard warrior"
means that you are so brave to post so much rants in social media, but in personal, you
can't really say those words. Why is it a problem? Filipino netizens rant so much
expressing their anger towards Duterte. It influences youth to also rant and
oppose Duterte as well for everything he does without looking at a wider picture. Another
problem is that many Filipinos seem to be in a hurry to put China away from the
Philippines. That's impossible. It is not easy to do so we need to be careful and do it step
by step. I think we must look at a wider picture for us to realize why
President Duterte treats China that way. We also need to not oppose him for everything
he does. Being a president is not easy. I know someday we will also be free from China
if we deal with them in the most good way. We need to trust our President for I know his
plans are for the betterment of our nation.