Activists prepare MRT-themed effigy for PNoy's last SONA

A Metro Rail Transit (MRT-3)-themed effigy will be paraded by militant groups during President Benigno Aquino III's last State of the Nation Address on Monday.

 

Militant umbrella group Bagong Alyansang Makabayan said the MRT effigy represents an unresolved problem that many people may relate to.

 

“The apt word is bulok. Ang gobyerno ay parang MRT, bulok at matagal nang dapat pinalitan,” said Bayan secretary general Renato Reyes Jr. 

 

Bayan posted on its website a photo of the effigy that it was working on.. 

 

Expected to join the SONA protests on Monday were:

 

 

Reyes compared the administration of President Aquino to the MRT, which had been the subject of criticism due to its frequent breakdowns especially during rush hours.

 

“The Aquino government is very much like the MRT. It promises to take you from point A to point B. It makes you wait. It charges you a lot for less. It keeps breaking down, but still wants you to be grateful for arriving in one piece. It badly needs a replacement. It is a visual representation of government neglect and lack of empathy for ordinary, working people,” he said.

 

Made by artist group Ugat Lahi, the effigy aims to depict Aquino driving a dilapidated MRT along Commonwealth Avenue.

 

Bayan said the train would be on the edge of broken rails, referring to an MRT accident in Pasay City last year.

 

Nearly 40 people were injured when an MRT train overshot a safety barrier at the Pasay-Taft Station.

 

“Neglect of the poor is a recurring story under the Aquino regime. It is what commuters feel everyday. It is what the farmers feel. It is what the victims of Yolanda and the families of the OFW feel. Aquino has placed himself further and further away from the people. His focus now is 2016 elections, and not the problems of the people,” Reyes said. — Joel Locsin/ALG, GMA News