PROTESTA KONTRA SONA, HANDA NA

Ilang araw bago ang huling State of the Nation Address (SONA) ng Pangulong Rodrigo Duterte, inihayag ng Bagong Alyansang Makabayan (Bayan) na nakaumang na ang ikakasa nilang protesta.

Ayon kay Bayan Secretary General Renato Reyes Jr., ang magiging panawagan nila sa protesta na wala nang mauupong Duterte sa Malacañang sa 2022.

“The message is simple. After more than five years of the Duterte regime, we say enough! No more! Sobra na, tama na, wakasan na,” sabi ni Reyes at dagdag niya, ililitanya lang umano ang Pangulo upang manatili sa kapangyarihan at ipagpatuloy ang pinangakong umano’y pagbabago sa bansa.

Kung matatandaan, una nang nasabi ng Pangulo na bukas sa pagtakbo bilang bi se pres id en te kung ma bi big yansiy an it o ng “legal immunity.”

Pero ayon sa mga eksperto, hindi umano maliligtas ang Pangulo sa anumang demanda kahit maging bise presidente pa ito sa susunod na termino.

“The entire SONA exercise trumpeting achievements will be reduced to a sham as it was Duterte himself who admitted the real reason for seeking the Vice Presidency -- to avoid lawsuits when he steps down as president,” sabi ni Reyes.

“After five years, Du te rte has become so desperate that he will violate the intent of the Constitution and throw the political system into further chaos, just to protect himself. The regime is not concerned with public welfare. It is concerned with perpetuating itself in power. That should be very clear by now,” dagdag niya.

Ayon kay Reyes, ilan sa tatalakayin ng kanilang protesta ang umano’y palpak na coronavirus disease (COVID-19) pandemic response na resulta ng pagbagsak ng ekonomiya ng bansa.

Dagdag pa rito ang ilan sa mga umano’y nabigong pangako ng pangulo hinggil sa pagresolba ng mga isyu sa krimen, korapsyon, labor con tr actualization, peace agreement sa National Democratic Front of the Philippines at soberanya sa West Philippine Sea.

“It is hypocritical for the regime to keep imposing restrictions on the people in the name of the pandemic, while failing to deliver on basic health measures such as expanded COVID-19 testing, improved contact tracing, expanded capacity for the health care system, better benefits for health workers and increased vaccination rate. The failed pandemic response is one of the reasons we will be protesting on Monday,” saad ni Reyes.