Press Release
July 24, 2021

STATEMENT OF SENATOR RISA HONTIVEROS ON THE PRESIDENT'S SONA

We want to hear if the President has truly fulfilled the commitments he has made to Filipinos, especially when it comes to four important issues - corruption, the economy, health and national sovereignty.

First, has he been able to combat corruption, or has it gone unchecked under his watch? According to a report from Transparency International, the country is ranked 115th out of 180 countries in the global corruption index. Some of the President's appointees, who have figured in allegations of corruption are being "recycled", and reassigned, instead of facing justice.

Second, what has the President prepared for the millions of Filipinos who have lost their jobs and livelihood? This month alone, the Social Weather Stations reported 4.2 million Filipino families are experiencing hunger. One year is a long time to help people badly affected by the recession.

Third, what is the administration doing to fast-track our vaccination rate and improve our healthcare capacity, amid the local transmission of the more infectious Delta COVID-19 variant? Why are we administering only around 34,000 vaccinations daily when the IATF earlier promised 90,000 vaccinations daily?

Fourth, will Malacanang finally stand up to China's bullying and abuses in the West Philippine Sea? Will they finally ask the president's so-called friends in Beijing to pay for their harassment of our fisherfolk, and their destruction of our natural resources?

Let's hope that the President will focus on these important concerns, since the people are rightfully expecting him to act .

ON ASSESSING PAST SONA PROMISES

Since the start of his term, the President has made a lot of sweet promises to the people. With only a year left on his term, the president has yet to deliver on most of these promises. One of the worst of these broken promises, I believe, is the failure to uplift the lives of Filipinos from poverty. Our joblessness and hunger rates are at record levels. Millions have lost their jobs and have no money to buy food or medicine. The Security of Tenure bill, which was promised to end contractualization and give better benefits to millions of workers, is nowhere near passage into law.

Another of these broken promises is taking a stronger stand against China to protect our territories. The President said during the election that he would ride a jetski into the West Philippine Sea to uphold our sovereignty. Five years later, he claims that it was only a joke. It rankles to hear that from the President since so many Filipinos, like our local fisherfolk, really thought that he would take decisive action on this issue.

LEGACY OF THE PRESIDENT

President Duterte's legacy: death, misogyny, and treason. His years in office will forever be linked with the thousands of lives lost in extrajudicial killings, and the thousands of lives also lost amid his administration's bungled response to the COVID-19 pandemic. He will also leave behind a national economy in tatters, with record levels of joblessness and hunger. These are grave numbers which may not be denied or ignored by anyone.

Try as he might to erase them, his legacy is forever marred by his attacks against the media, activists, dissenters and religious figures, along with his subversion of democratic institutions. His blatant misogyny shows us all that much work needs to be done before genuine gender equality in the country is achieved.

Lastly, his reckless foreign policies and his subservience to his so-called friends in China will have serious implications to our nation in the years to come, not to mention the loss of livelihood of so many poor fisherfolk.

I hope that ultimately, President Duterte's years in office will serve as a wake-up call for all Filipinos that we deserve, and should fight for better leaders for our country.

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