Polytechnic University of the Philippines

Sta. Mesa, Manila

College of Accountancy and Finance

PRESIDENT RODRIGO DUTERTE

STATE OF THE NATION
ADDRESS (SONA) 2018
REACTION PAPER

Submitted by:
Reyes, Celine
Reyes, Jelsy Jewel
Rodriguez, Ian Paul
Sabino, Paula
Sagaysay, Lheica
Santiago, Jeselyn
 On monday, July 23 2018, the Third State of the Nation Address (SONA) was held at the
Batasang Pambansa Complex in Quezon City. Our President Rodrigo Duterte presented his achievements
and outlines his priorities for this fiscal year. The SONA was delayed for more than 1hour because of
some issues. They also had a problem about the house speaker because of Gloria Arroyo and Pantaleon
Alvarez

President Rodrigo Duterte said that our concern is human rights and his concern is human lives.
Nowadays many people are dying because of criminal actions they have done. It is evident now that our
country lessens the criminal cases reported monthly but do you think that human lives are preserved in
the right way by our administration? The wealth of the country is obviously stolen even if not
broadcasted in the media.

For the past administrations, they said that they worry about the wealth of the country but for
me they are all the same. President Rodrigo Duterte said that we worry the past and he worry for the
future which is true. We should focus on what we need to do than on what we have done. Justice should
be more precise in issues of stealing the funds of the country and friendship should be taken out form
the picture. There should be limits between them. If someone was tagged in corruption even if they are
President Rodrigo Duterte's friend they should be fired and punished by law.

For President Duterte, he has his duties and responsibilities to our country that sometimes his
decisions affect some of his friends. Friends or not, if you're wrong, you're wrong. President or not,
friendship has its limitations. I applaud President Duterte on this.

Duterte vows to sign Bangsamoro Organic Law within 48 hours after its ratification. On
Bangsamoro Organic Law, Duterte: Give me 48 hours to sign the law. Babasahin ko pa bago ko
pirmahan, baka may siningit kayo diyan. Bangsamoro law will grant greater autonomy to the Muslim-
populated areas in Mindanao, as a means to rectify “social injustices” committed against the
Bangsamoro people. We're hoping that this would be the start of peace and order in Mindanao. 12. War
is not an option. We've already witnessed the horrible things war could do. The recent war in Marawi
has been a trauma not only to the people in Marawi but also to then whole Filipino community. Many
buildings and infrastructures were damaged. Many people lost their loved ones. People are hoping for
peace and harmony. No more war.

We will continue to assert independent foreign policy. Philippines have miserably failed to
transform itself to a truly self-reliant state and we remain to be at the mercy of the foreign powers for
survival. Other countries have managed to be independent and powerful so it is achievable after all.
Everything starts with a vision. If we do not envision being a global power, we will never be able to reach
it at all. I strongly believe that the Philippines have a lot of potential to be a power state.

We will continue to reach out with other nations. Duterte says Philippines to seek stronger
bonds with fellow ASEAN countries. Though Philippines is seeking for independent foreign policy, ties
between other countries is important. Other countries could help us in many ways. They can help the
Philippines in achieving its goals. It can help the Philippines in growing and improving.
 He asked the Congress to pass legislation, to end contractualization once and for all.
Contractualization has been an issue for so many years. Many contractual have been asking the
government to abolish the contractualization. It is a good thing that our current president did something
to this issue. The workers will benefit from this. Though it’s a good thing for the workers, there are
downsides of this to our economy.

President Duterte urged and convinced the congress to pass the soonest possible time the bill
establishing the Coconut Farmers Trust Fund. This trust fund would be established to manage the 76
Billion coco levy fund.

He also tackled about having lower interconnection rates between all industry players.
According to the president, there is a need to create a market environment that is more conducive to
competition by lowering the cost to consumers which also lower the costs for the incoming player to
access existing networks This is a policy which is crucial to ensure that our solution to our
telecommunication problems will be both meaningful and lasting.

He has done several projects that benefited a lot of fellow Filipinos which include Malasakit
Centers in Cebu, Tacloban and Iloilo through Bong Go and his team which aims to help the needy and
poor Filipinos who have no financial capacity to pay for their medical treatment and medicines.

Also, the free Tertiary Education Act and the increase in the salary of the men in uniform,
soldiers and policemen approved by Duterte received a good feedback among Filipinos.

In relation to this, one of his biggest achievement which is being praised by all, is the restoration
of Boracay Island, widely regarded as one of our country’s treasures and admired worldwide for its
natural beauty. He restores its environmental integrity, alongside measures to alleviate those whose
livelihoods were momentarily affected. He urged the local government units to proactively enforce the
laws and not wait for him to swoop down on their areas just to do their duty and work. In effect, he
convinced the Senate to urgently pass the National Land Use Act to put in place a national land use
policy that will address the competing land requirements for food, housing, businesses, and
environmental conservation.

We're glad to hear from President Rodrigo Duterte that he is concern in the future generation of
our country that is why he concluded that we shall have to undertake initiatives to reduce the
vulnerability of our country especially on national disasters and climate change.

We're glad also to hear that because of typhoon Yolanda and other disasters, the Cabinet have
approved for immediate endorsement to Congress for passage of law creating Department of Disaster
Management. That idea of creating a department on Disaster Management is a good endorsement
because that department will focus in natural hazards and disasters and take charge on disaster risk
reduction and preparedness which will be helpful to our countrymen.

We were very flattered that President Duterte is proud in our country because great number of
people were equipped, professionals and have technical expertise. We were amazed of what he has said
that protection in the environment must be the top priority. Extracted resources should be for the
benefit of the Filipinos and not only on select few. We were surprised when President Duterte stated
this line "Give me what which to be given to my country". It was a great pleasure to have that kind of
President that would fight not just for selected people but for the country. That's why he called the
attention of the people who are in the mining industry and said that they should not destroy the
environment or compromise our resources. And so, President Duterte established a policy and provision
for an open pit mining. He said that it will destroy the country, it will destroy the environment and
ofcourse it will destroy the world. As his fellowmen, as he said, we will expect a radical reforms in the
mining industry. We agree that the miners should repair what they have mismanaged because it can
cause a lot of problem to the Filipinos.

We are so thankful that President Duterte is giving an extreme attention to the safety of his
people and that is the reason why he is fervently appeal to the congress to pass that bill in utmost
urgency. It was good news that our country and China was in good relationship but President Duterte
clears that improved relations with China does not mean we will waver in our interest in the West
Philippine Sea. Good to hear that our president do not forget to fight for what we deserve, for what
should we own and fight for what he and we thinks could help to the nation.

He said also that some have incorrectly blamed their efforts toward fairer tax system for all the
price increases. We need TRAIN Law for sustainable growth that leaves no Filipino behind. Our president
is trying to convince every Filipino to see what's good in the tax reform law. We're happy that although
TRAIN has its disadvantages, it already helping poor families copes with rising prices. He said that he
asked businesses to cooperate with them in stabilizing rice prices and he directs all agencies to unmask
those behind economic sabotage. Good news that our president is trying to solve and trying to think of
solutions on problems of our country. He already said that they will try to low down prices of rice up to 7
pesos per kilo, which is good for the Filipino especially those who left behind.

One of the issues that President Duterte said in the SONA is his want to lower the price of rice.
As we all know, the price of our rice keeps on increasing. Even the NFA rice is expensive. The president
proposes to switch the current quota system in importing rice to a tariff system. He claims that the price
of the rice could be reduced to at least 7 pesos. He also claims that an increase in the supply of rice
could lower its price in the market. As usual, President Duterte warned those who hoard sacks of rice to
stop messing with the people. The president has strongly firm decision to stand by the TRAIN law. He
said that some have incorrectly blamed their efforts toward a fairer tax system for all the price increases
in the past months, and some irresponsibly suggesting stopping TRAIN's implementation.

He also wants to sign the part 2 of the law by the end of this year. Package 2 aims to rationalize
or remove certain tax incentives of companies and reduce the corporate income tax from 30% to 25%.
The Department of Finance (DOF) proposed to make incentives performance-based, targeted, time-
bound, and transparent. He said that he urges Congress to take it seriously and pass them in succession,
for there is no chance that they can deliver their promises without an equitable tax system. As much as
we appreciate the president’s efforts to make the country better, we still can’t deny the fact the TRAIN
law still needs to be studied more. I hope they take the rest of the parts seriously. If it could really be
beneficial to the country, then I have nothing against it.

President Duterte also said that he wants to implement a “no-balance billing policy”. It means
that there shall be no other fees to be charged or be paid for by the indigent patients above and beyond
the packaged rates during their confinement period. This is very appalling to the public for it is beneficial
to everyone especially those who’s not financially capable of staying in the hospital for a long time. He
really wants to improve the healthcare system which is really good. He should focus more on the health
of the Filipino people rather than having them killed.

For his final topic, PRRD pointed out the administration’s medium-term development plan which
is to cover all Filipinos against financial health risks. He said that there is much room for improvement in
the country’s healthcare system. He urged quick passage of the Universal Healthcare Bill which aims to
provide universal healthcare coverage for Filipinos. The unified implementation of a “No Balance Billing
Policy” is currently being established through which the government and the private healthcare
providers can work out a system that will provide an order of charging of medical expenses. The
president noted that the administration aims to ensure that every Filipino gets the appropriate
affordable and quality health services in appropriate facilities and that they will be protected from
financial burden due to sickness. Yes, with these improvements proposed by the government, the
Filipinos are ensured of equal healthcare access for all. But how sure are we that the quality of
accessible healthcare is guaranteed? Will there be more budget allocated to the health sector?

In the last part of the president’s speech, he emphasized that he has no illusions of extending his
term under any Constitution. He made a quick discussion about the charter change and how he is
confident that the Filipinos will support the amendment of the Constitution which he said that will not
only strengthen the democratic institutions but will also create an environment where every Filipino will
have an equal opportunity to grow and create a future that he can be proud of. But does amending the
Constitution must be the priority now? Will it be beneficial for every Filipino for such change? How
about just focusing his mind in solving much bigger problems like the increasing prices, the futile
housing projects for the victims of calamities and war, the fright that the war on drugs is giving to the
people and the other promises he has made that has no progress yet?

In conclusion, a huge portion of the program sounded like campaign promises. The President
discussed more about the administration’s future plans without analysing what the state of the nation
is. He was not able to give us a brief discussion about the derailing prices of basic goods which was
caused by the tax reform law together with the world market prices that also resulted to increasing
inflation rate. There was no clear presentation of proposed solutions for the problems that our country
is facing. But still, the President is commendable for everything he has done so far for our country. Yes,
there were issues and such but at least he still manages to fulfil most of his duties for us. It’s not easy to
lead a country and to be a President and have the political will to do what needs to be done. If we will
just start to do something better for our country rather than criticizing and blaming the government, we
can help in making our nation a better place to live in.