Press Release
July 27, 2021

De Lima slams Duterte's economic neglect following SONA

Opposition Senator Leila M. de Lima slammed Mr. Duterte's economic neglect following his pronouncement in his last State of the Nation Address (SONA) that the Philippine economy was growing until COVID-19 "stole everything."

In a statement posted on Twitter, De Lima criticized how Duterte had his priorities and strategies all wrong during the start of the pandemic, resulting not only in his failure to contain the virus, but also in his mismanagement of the economy.

"Napakaganda raw ng ekonomiya hanggang 2019. Kaso dumating raw ang pandemic," De Lima said.

"Pag tutulog-tulog ka talaga sa pansitan, lalo na ng simula ng COVID, anong aasahan nya? Kumbaga sa basketball, champion na sana kung hanggang 3rd quarter lang," she added.

President Rodrigo Duterte delivered his sixth and last SONA yesterday, July 26, with some guests physically present, and some joining through video calls.

One of his notable points was when he discussed how COVID-19 affected the country's economy. "Our economy, with investor confidence, was poised to leapfrog into the company of the world's fastest-growing economies until [the] COVID-19 pandemic stole everything."

After being heralded by the international community as Asia's most promising economy in 2015 under the leadership of then President Benigno S. Aquino III, the Philippines reportedly dropped in economic competitiveness and economic freedom under the Duterte regime.

Notably, the Philippines remained in recession as the economy shrank again to 4.2% in January to March, the fifth straight quarter of decline.

In her indictment letter sent to Duterte ahead of his SONA, De Lima said that the economy has become a total mess under his rule.

"Sa iyong mga pangako, hindi naman talaga ito isa sa mga tumatak sa taumbayan dahil alam naman nila na nasa maayos na kalagayan ang ekonomiya ng bansa pagkatapos ng termino ng yumaong Pangulong Noynoy Aquino. Wala ka namang dapat gawin para mapaunlad ang ekonomiya kung hindi ipagpatuloy lamang ang mga programang imprastraktura at mga repormang pang-pinansyal at pagbubuwis ng nakaraang administrasyon," she said.

"Alam namin sa Gabinete ni PNoy na malaking budget surplus ang iniwan niya sa gobyerno pagkatapos ng kanyang termino. Ito ay pagkatapos ng anim na taon ng disiplina sa pangungutang, masinop na pagkolekta ng buwis, at pagpapalago sa pagkakakitaan ng mga ari-arian ng estado at pamahalaan."

"Ngunit ano ang ginawa ninyo? Una pa lamang ay winaldas na ninyo kaagad ang pasalubong na budget surplus ni PNoy sa inyo. Pagkatapos nito ay inumpisahan na ninyo ang kaliwa't kanang pangungutang, hanggang ang gobyerno mo ay tumatakbo na lamang sa pamamagitan ng utang at hindi dahil sa nakokolektang buwis ng gobyerno at kita ng estado," she added.

In a separate tweet, De Lima also threw shade at Duterte's claim that he really intended to make Davao his last priority in terms of infrastructure, which she believes was a mere ploy to hide the corruption happening under his leadership.

"Sinadya raw ni Duts na ihuli sa infra ang Davao. Save the best for the favorite. 6 billion pesos worth of infra nga ang na-corner ni Bong Go for Davao eh," she said.

In the same indictment letter, De Lima also singled out Senator Bong Go's family's billion-peso contracts as a corruption issue. De Lima said the excuse that Go did not benefit from his family's contracts reflects the criminal minds of what she calls the "Davao mafia".

"Dito pa lamang sa sagot ni Go ay makikita na natin ang karakter ng mga tao na pumapaikot sa iyo [Duterte] at sa iyong istilo ng pamamahala, sa gobyernong Davao na ipinataw ninyo sa buong Pilipinas: isang gobyernong Mafia na walang ibang layunin kung hindi ang magkamal ng kayamanan gamit ang inyong mga posisyon sa gobyerno. Katulad ng ginawa ninyo sa Davao, ganoon din ang ginawa ninyo sa buong Pilipinas," stressed De Lima in her indictment letter.

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