Opposition solons slam Duterte for death penalty push, lack of COVID-19 masterplan in SONA

Opposition lawmakers from the House of Representatives on Monday slammed President Rodrigo for once again pushing for the return of death penalty in his State of the Nation Address (SONA), as well as for the lack of a clear masterplan to respond to the COVID-19 pandemic.

In a virtual press conference following Duterte's SONA, Bayan Muna party-list Representative Carlos Zarate noted that the President resorted to going back to his "default mode" of raising "populist issues" of drugs and criminality in order to mask the incompetence of his administration in addressing the COVID-19 crisis.

"Talagang hindi fully in-address yung problem na yun (COVID-19 crisis). Ngayong araw, mahigit 2,000 na naman ang infected pero the only thing na ma-recall ko sa kanyang SONA ay at the end of July daw ay 1.4 million tests ang gagawin nila," he said.

Zarate also took a swipe at Duterte's proposal for Congress to revive the death penalty for drug-related offenses.

"Halos 30,000 na ang namatay sa kampanya laban sa droga, hindi naman nahinto ang droga. So hindi deterrent talaga ang death penalty kahit sa maramihang pagpatay na nangyari," he said.

Zarate also pointed out that Duterte's SONA only showed that the President was never neutral on the issue of the ABS-CBN franchise after he opened his speech attacking the network's owners.

"Malinaw na rin ngayon na yung pagpapasa sa ABS-CBN hindi siya neutral doon. Talagang gustung-gusto niyang ipasara ito at sinunod naman ito ng kanyang mga kaalayado sa Congress," he said.

Albay Representative Edcel Lagman shared Zarate's sentiments, saying that it was "completely frustrating" that any COVID-19 masterplan was only mentioned peripherally.

"The anticipated roadmap meandered into the roadside of trite generalities and an invocation that the people should 'trust its government' without telling them what actually the government’s plans are," he said.

While Duterte endorsed the approval of the proposed P140 to P162 billion, Bayanihan to Recover As One Act, "this miniscule amount cannot properly respond to health and economic emergencies, and it is stingy compared to our ASEAN neighbors whose COVID-19 expenditures are much bigger in gross and per capita outlay," he added.

Gabriela Women's Party Representative Arlene Brosas also said she waited for Duterte to present a clear plan to respond to the COVID-19 crisis to no avail.

"Apparently, yung mga narinig natin, lalong-lalo na yung mga plano sa COVID-19 recovery daw ay supposedly maa-unveil pero tayo nga yung huling-huli doon sa stimulus package, wala pa rin namang binanggit tungkol dito. Sinabi ngayon na recovery plan para sa malalaking negosyo at oligarkiya at hindi naman pagbangon ng ordinaryong mamamayan," she said.

"Ang narinig natin ay tila personal na tira sa isang senador at yun yung mas nabigyan ng tuon mula simula hanggang huli," she added.

For her part, Bayan Muna party-list Representative Eufemia Cullamat said Duterte's speech about lives going first before anything else is nothing but hoax.

"Kung batayan natin ay maraming taong pinatay dahil sa droga ay dahil sa kanilang pulitikal na paniniwala ay tumaas pa rin ang bilang ng COVID cases sapagkat ang mass testing. Walang halaga sa administrasyon na ito ang buhay ng mga Pilipino," she said.

Kabataan party-list Representative Sarah Elago said that while government targets  having 1.4 million COVID-19 tests by the end of July, there was no guarantee given by the President that these would be free.

"Sa kabila na tayo ay isa sa may pinakamahabang lockdown sa buong mundo, hindi ito nagamit. Bagkus ay naaksaya pa at nagdulot talaga ng dagdag na pasanin at napakabigat na pahirap sa ating mga kababayan na nawalan ng trabaho," she said. —LDF, GMA News