Several progressive groups have expressed dissatisfaction to President Ferdinand 'Bongbong' Marcos Jr.'s second State of the Nation Address (SONA) on Monday, July 24.
In a statement, Bagong Alyansang Makabayan (Bayan) Secretary General Renato Reyes Jr. pointed out that human rights issues seem to be not part of the President's "Bagong Pilipinas" as he did not tackle these in his SONA speech.
"What’s with Marcos and human rights that he refuses to address this issue? No policy shift on anti-insurgency drive, red-tagging and impunity?" he questioned.
"Nothing on the drug war and the ICC probe? We find this alarming," Reyes Jr. added.
The Bayan SecGen then said that the exclusion of “Bagong Pilipinas" is similar to "Bagong Lipunan" launched by his father former President Ferdinand Marcos Sr.
In addition, Reyes Jr. said Marcos has yet to address the wage increase, jeepney phase-out, as well as the issues with China and United States EDCA bases in the country.
Hindi kasama sa “Bagong Pilipinas” ang karapatang pantao, dahil walang banggit sa buong SONA. For the second year, no mention of human rights.
— Renato Reyes, Jr. (@natoreyes) July 24, 2023
Meanwhile, in a separate statement, Anakbayan said Marcos' SONA was merely "rehashing" the laws implemented by his father.
It also mentioned the Chief Executive has yet to work out the implementation of the Omnibus Franchising Guidelines (OFG) for the government's Public Utility Vehicle (PUV) Modernization program.
"Di-sustenable para sa masa ang mga pang-ekonomiyang polisiya na itinulak ni Marcos Jr. sa isang taon niya bilang presidente. Lalo lamang niyang ginawang palaasa ang ekonomiya ng Pilipinas sa pag-angkat sa pamamagitan ng pagba-balewala sa sarili nating kakayahang magproduce. Pinalobo niya ang utang ng Pilipinas hanggang sa P14T," the group said.
Anakbayan furthered that all the promises made by Marcos under his administration have remained as promises.
Alongside, transport group Pagkakaisa ng mga Samahan ng Tsuper at Operator Nationwide (PISTON) gave big disapproval to Marcos' second state address.
In a Facebook post, PISTON members were seen giving a thumbs down while watching the President address the nation on television.
"Mass transportation projects daw pero puro expressway at kalsadang pampribadong sasakyan? Wala ding binanggit tungkol sa pagpapatigil ng jeepney phaseout? Ang hatol ng masang tsuper at operator kay Marcos Jr: 😤👎👎👎BAGSAK! 👎👎👎😤," the transport group captioned.
The group then said that the country needs funds for public transportation and not debt for "expressway" and "bogus modernization".
