Thousands of protesters from labor, teachers, youth, the urban poor, and other sectors marched on Commonwealth Avenue on Monday to present the State of the Nation Address (SONA), presenting what they described as the “true state of the nation” a few hours before President Ferdinand R. Marcos Jr. delivered his fourth State of the Nation Address.
Speakers at the meeting accused the administration of failing to deal with the rising cost of living, lack of social needs and allegations of corruption, while saying the government must be held accountable.
Kabataan Party-list representative Renee Louise Co said poverty persists because government resources are not used to improve public services.
“We are not poor by accident. We are poor because public funds are being wasted instead of being used for important social services,” he said in Filipino during the program.
He added that some aspects of public life have been privatized while prices of basic goods continue to rise.
“We are poor because basic services are still subsidized while many parts of our lives are privatized. At the same time, the prices of food, meat, and other basic needs continue to rise,” he said in Filipino.
Ms. Co also criticized the government’s foreign policy and said it prioritized the interests of other countries over those of the Philippines. “Is this development called global development? No! It serves the political, economic, and military goals of the United States in Southeast Asia,” he said.
GABRIELA Group List Representative Sarah Jane I. Elago said the rising prices of essential goods and limited access to jobs, housing, and health care reflect what she described as the government’s failure to meet the needs of ordinary Filipinos.
“The price of rice, fuel, and electricity continues to rise. There is a shortage of jobs, housing and basic public services,” he said in Filipino.
Mrs. Elago said that poor families, farmers, fishermen and workers continue to suffer due to the economic crisis.
“Poor families are drowning in debt because they can’t even buy enough food. Farmers are struggling, fishermen don’t have money to feed their families, and ordinary Filipinos are going into debt because they can’t pay bills and hospital medicine.”
He urged the government to reduce the price of basic goods, abolish the value-added tax (VAT), increase wages, and increase support for agriculture and livelihood. “We want action to be taken on the calls of people who for a long time the government has failed to answer.”
ACT Teachers Party Representative Antonio L. Tinio questioned the government’s assertion that funding constraints have limited investment in public services, saying corruption has diverted resources meant for education, health care, and housing.
“The government says they don’t have money for classrooms. The government says they don’t have money for hospitals, houses and educational facilities. Do you believe that?” he asked the crowd in Filipino, the crowd answered “No.”
Mr. Tinio alleged that “not just billions but billions of pesos” had been lost through flood control scams and criticized what he described as efforts to fight selective corruption.
“Any anti-corruption campaign will remain selective, unfair, and lacking in credibility if those allegedly involved in the flood control scandals are not prosecuted all the way to Malacañang,” he said.
The People’s SONA is held every year by development organizations as an alternative way to assess the country’s conditions. Organizers this year called for higher wages, more public spending on education, health care, and housing, stronger support for farmers and fishermen, and accountability for alleged corruption in the government. – Kaizzer Angela Marie V. Manuba
