UP professor says Duterte’s threats in SONA vs. business groups not good amid COVID-19

President Rodrigo Duterte’s threats against telecommunications companies in his fifth State of the Nation Address (SONA) does not assure investor confidence, amid the coronavirus disease 2019 pandemic (COVID-19), said a political science professor in a report on “Stand for Truth” by Izzy Lee.

“Kung may threat lagi sa business groups, it does not assure confidence sa part ng businesses na parang iniimbitahan kaming mag-invest pero maya’t maya wa-warningan sa speeches, magiging target ng harassment,” Dr. Ela Atienza, from the University of the Philippines Diliman, said.

“Trabaho naman ng gobyerno na bantayan nang maayos ang serbisyoo sa mga tao pero hindi dapat inaabuso rin ng government ‘yung powers niya,” she added.

In his fifth SONA, the President told Globe Telecom and Smart Communications to improve their services before the end of the year or else have their properties expropriated.

Globe Telecom, in a statement, said billions of pesos worth of investment has been earmarked to upgrade and improve its services.

Smart Communications has declined to issue a comment.

The DITO Telecommunications has released a statement expressing solidarity with the president, saying that “we all share the concern of the President for the need to provide world class connectivity to the Filipino people.”

The DITO Telecommunity is a joint venture of Udenna Corporation and Chelsea Logistics, which are both owned by Davao-based business man Dennis Uy. Also part of the consortium is China Telecom, which is one of the biggest telecommunications in China. -- Joahna Lei Casilao/BAP, GMA News