Supporter solons cheer Duterte's 4th SONA; opposition unimpressed

President Rodrigo Duterte's supporter's in House of Representatives had nothing but praise for his fourth State of the Nation Address, while opposition lawmakers were indifferent to the president's usual "theatrics and vulgar language."

In a statement, House Majority Leader Martin Romualdez congratulated Duterte for the "powerful" speech which he said helped renew congressmen's commitment to good governance.

"Under the leadership of Speaker [Alan Peter] Cayetano, we will work on long-term solutions aimed at addressing the nation’s serious ills like the need to create the Department of Disaster Resilience, poverty, illegal drugs, peace and order concerns, lack of infrastructures and corruption," said Romualdez.

"We will work double-time to act on the President’s priority bills, especially those aimed at improving the lives of our people."

For his part, Marinduque Representative Lord Allan Velasco said he had expected Duterte to touch on the re-imposition of the death penalty.

"It's just continuing the reforms he has done for the government. Yun lang naman," said Velasco.

Quezon City Representative Alfred Vargas said he saw Duterte's honesty and sincerity in his speech, though he was surprised that the president did not talk about federalism.

"Other than that, okay naman at na-appreciate ko yung honesty ni presidente. Sinabi niya yung mga magagandang nagawa pero sinabi niya rin yung mga kulang pa," Vargas said.

"With that, na-inspire ako, na-inspire kaming mga congressmen, kaming mga miyembro ng Kongreso kasama yung mga senador para mas mapabuti yung trabaho namin."

Iligan City Representative Frederick Siao said that while he was in favor of the re-imposition of the death penalty, there were issues with the Philippine justice system that needed to be addressed.

"Knowing the flaws of the law enforcement, prosecution, judicial, and penology-correctional pillars of our justice system, we also need better trained and better equipped law enforcers, a national crime laboratory system, special courts for handling drugs cases, and thorough cleansing and reform of our jails and correctional facilities," Siao said.

"We need a systems approach--a package of bills, with the death penalty on drug lords, syndicate bosses and protectors, as one of the crucial components," he added.

Siao also said that the Ease of Doing Business Law needed be implemented starting this year, and there likewise needed to be at least a dozen showcase cities and first-class towns that could carry out the basic components of the law's provisions against red tape.

Hollow

Also remarkably, Duterte's fourth SONA drew criticism from House opposition lawmakers.

Gabriela Women's Party Representative Arlene Brosas said Duterte's speech used the "same theatrics and vulgar language" to show his desire for the reinstatement of the death penalty, his unwavering belief in the war on drugs, and his "hollow" campaign against corruption.

"It is silent on pressing social issues such as lowering prices of basic commodities, massive homelessness, and the prioritization of basic social services to Filipino families," said Brosas.

"Instead, he hammered the fast-tracking of additional taxes under the remaining packages of the Tax Reform for Acceleration and Inclusion (TRAIN), which will ultimately cut the taxes of the rich and increase the burden of the poor."

Bayan Muna party-list Representative Carlos Zarate, for his part, said that Duterte's SONA was but an admission of the "wanton failure" of the wars on drugs and corruption.

Kabataan party-list Sarah Elago, meanwhile, said that Duterte did nothing but spew lies, make false promises and threats against the citizenry.

"Not only has he failed to address the genuine concerns of the youth and people, but his solutions only further put the state of the nation at risk especially with the failure to address issues on democracy, sovereignty, and livelihood," she said.

"His false sense of nationalism and patriotism is misguiding the people; his lack of sense of justice will only doom the country to oblivion." — DVM, GMA News