The State of the Nation Address is the annual address delivered by the President of the Philippines to the Congress of the Philippines. It is a tool for democracy, a lens by which we can subject the government to public scrutiny, and a venue for the youth to exercise our participation. This is the Youth SONA’s assessment of President Benigno Aquino’s 3rd State of the Nation address, entitled Report Kay Boss.
Our past is painted bleak. We rose from a period of martial law into a country whose level of corruption was comparable with the worst in the world. PNoy attempted to overhaul the government and steering it toward what he called ang daang matuwid or the straight path, and restore public trust in government. He substantiated his claim with an impressive report, listing victories including the abolition of the abuse of sirens (wang-wang), the investigation of anomalies such as the P1B for coffee in PAGCOR, and the removal of corrupt government officials from office. Among others, he highlighted the success of the Conditional Cash Transfer project, significant increases in the beneficiaries of PhilHealth, the mordernization of the AFP, the strengthening of the rice industry, and the positive credit rating that the Philippines has achieved in his term. Although marked with successes, the youth has assessed that the country and its leaders have a very long way to go before we can claim that we are truly on PNoy’s ‘daang matuwid’.
Land Distribution by 2014
The youth recognizes the importance and immediacy of land distribution under the CARPER law. We recognize the priority that government has placed on this project, but we find that the target of distribution by 2016 is unacceptable. We call for the distribution of land under CARPER by 2014.
Freedom of Information Bill
We celebrate the efforts of government to clean up its act. Our victory in impeaching former Chief Justice Renato Corona is a definite step in the right direction, but the youth demands a more long term solution in the form of the passage of the Freedom of Information Bill. The youth demands no less than true transaprency and accountability in government. Information should be readily accessible while utilizing new, innovative and efficient means of information dissemination such as updated government websites and written manuals.
RH Bill
The youth adamantly calls for the immediate passage of the RH bill. PNoy recognized the problem of a high maternal mortality rate, but failed to mention the RH bill at all. The youth is steadfast in its stand that reproductive health is a right that the government must address. There is a need for accessible contraception, education on family planning methods, and gender sensitive education for the moral and intellectual growth of our nation’s children.
Anti Discrimination Bill
There is no place in a free and democratic country for discrimination, and the passage of the Anti-Discrimination Bill is a key to the protection of our rights, but there was no word from PNoy addressing this issue. The youth supports an act prohibiting discrimination, profiling, violence and all forms of intolerance against persons based on race, ethnicity, language, religion, belief, sex, gender, sexual orientation, gender identity, disability or other status.
Security of Tenure Bill
The youth will not tolerate injustice against our nation’s makers of wealth, the Filipino workforce, and demands the passage of the Security of Tenure Bill. The youth believes that contractualization is a form of precarious work and subjects workers to the whims of corporate greed. We recognize improvements in the labor sector such as the decrease of the unemployment rate from 8%% at the start of PNoy’s term to 6.9% as of April this year, as well as the number of specialists that TESDA trained and employed. What the youth cannot accept is that PNoy expressly defends the current system of contractualization by highlighting the BPO sector as a primary source of employment and and revenue, despite the injustice we know to be rampant when it comes to process outsourcing as was seen by the situation in Philippine Airlines. PNoy relies on job creation to address the needs of the workforce, but fails to appreciate that having a job does not mean having a decent living.
Education
Education is a right, and one of those that are closest to the hearts and minds of the youth. PNoy proudly reported that by the end of the year, we will have completely addressed the problem of 2.5M backlog in chairs and 61.7M in textbooks to the achievement of a one-is-to-one ratio of student to textbook. We also commend the 43.61% increase in the budget for State Universities and Colleges and the increases in the DepEd budget which makes PNoy’s attack on the education problem holistic. Although we see that reforms in education are going in the right direction, our call is clear. UNESCO prescribed a universal standard of education budget allocation to 6% of the Gross National Product, and the youth will not rest until this standard is attained. Furthermore, the reform of the education sector must not rely solely on budget increases and facilities but also the reforms in the quality of instruction which must be addressed with proper training and, and the relevance of curricula which must cater to the country’s long term needs.
Environmental Justice
The youth calls for an administration that prioritizes environmental protection and responsible utilization of resources. Although PNoy failed to address one of the country’s biggest environmental problems, illegal logging, we recognize PNoy’s call for the passage of the Minerals Management Act.
Universal Health
The youth calls for an administration that prioritizes Universal Healthcare especially for women and children. We recognize the improvements during PNoy’s term, namely the 23.31M Filipinos that benefit from PhilHealth, of which 5.2M are the poorest of the poor and need not pay for any service. The youth also calls for better compensation for our country’s healthcare workers.
Although the youth recognizes that under President Noynoy’s leadership, the country has taken a turn for the better, we can see that the number of important issues that he did not tackle shows that we still have a long way to go. What PNoy did want to stress in his address though, was that his SONA was the SONA of the people, and that the triumphs and failures that our country may claim are not exclusively the result of the government, but the cooperation between an administration and its constituents. While participation requires the scrutiny of the government and its actions, it also demands the hard work and responsible citizenship of the people. The government must be held accountable, but it is the youth that is the hope of the nation.
ISKOLAR PARA SA BAYAN, KASAMA KA SA PAGKAMIT NG ATING 8 POINT AGENDA PARA SA TAONG ITO!
ISKOLAR PARA SA BAYAN, KASAMA KA SA ALYANSA.
