A different kind of Sona recap
There was so much anticipation to what the newly elected President had to say in his first State of the Nation Address (Sona). Discussed and analyzed by the media are those salient points mentioned in his Sona.
I would like to tackle those that he did not mention either intentionally or not, issues that he left out. President Rodrigo Duterte failed to talk about contractual employment, more popularly known as Endo—end of contract.
The labor sector would have appreciated it if he at least touched the contractual issue that continues to be a nightmare to those wanting to have security of tenure. The topic bothers the labor sector like a pea under the mattress. It is a bothersome issue since our workers are oftentimes faced with the fear of being unemployed at any point in time.
End of Contract was a hot topic during the campaign period. In fact, one of Duterte’s campaign promises is to end Endo. We cannot deny the fact that the business sector frowns on the prospect of ending Endo. Duterte had several meetings with businessmen and we were not privy as to what they may have discussed either collectively or individually. It is our earnest hope that our President will not compromise his campaign promise.
Another issue that he did not talk about in his Sona is death penalty by hanging which is unpopular among our legislatures. Some lawmakers like Sen. Vicente “Tito” Sotto III support the reinstatement of the death penalty but are against the hanging aspect. Human rights advocates find the punitive measure cruel and inhuman. The Commission on Human Rights strongly disagrees with this administration’s seemingly unwritten policy of extra-judicial killings. Duterte said: “My adherence to the rule of law is uncompromising.” We want to know the truth and the only way to find out is to demand forensic examination of the drug suspects killed during police operations.
One of this administration’s spokespersons pointed to the fact that there are no complaints with regard to extra-judicial killings. Correct me if I am wrong. Are these drug-related killings acceptable as long as there are no complaints? Is the silence from society in general interpreted to be tolerance to what is perceived by some as vigilante killings?