BY MARCHEL P. ESPINA
The local labor sector expressed disappointment over the 5th State of the Nation Address yesterday of President Rodrigo Duterte.
Wennie Sancho, secretary-general of the General Alliance of Workers Associations, said the SONA was a “threatening rhetoric”.
“It started with an offensive opening salvo against ABS-CBN and Senator Franklin Drilon and it ended with a clincher calling him a hypocrite. This is unethical,” he said.
Sancho said there was no mention of massive unemployment, although Duterte said that construction works would start soon. “Like most government economists, he believes that our fundamentals are strong despite the fact that the majority of our people are suffering from hunger and poverty due to the pandemic,” he said.
Sancho said Duterte also threatened to close major telecommunication facilities, as well as restore the death penalty.
“The SONA should not be used as venue to make threats because it is a report for the people,” Sancho stressed.
He said that Duterte also made promises, forgetting that he failed to fulfill his promise to stop contractualization. “He did not mention our huge local and foreign debts. The option of the government is to have more loans to pay the previous loans,” Sancho said.
He also said they were dismayed by Duterte’s statement that China is in possession of the territory that belongs to us and that he is inutile to do something about it. “We have surrendered our sovereignty to China and yet his SONA was threatening,” he added.*
