President Ferdinand Marcos Jr.’s fifth State of the Nation Address (Sona) on Monday is just the right blend of a report that raises awareness and delivers surprises, according to Executive Secretary Ralph Recto.
‘The right blend. Substantial, not just empty rhetoric. That is the Sona. It reports. It opens eyes. It even delivers surprises,’ Recto said in a statement.
He added, ‘It is a fair rendition of what has been done, but I dare say incomplete, due to time constraints, because a Sona should never be Wikipedia-broad and telenovela-long.’
For Recto, Marcos was able to spell out and itemize properly the administration’s goals in the remaining years of the latter’s term.
‘His call is for everyone to dial down divisive politicking and ramp up work that will bring peace and progress to the entire nation,’ he added.
Marcos began his Sona by stressing that he is not the president of the nation and not of his family, as he noted the Office of the Ombudsman’s announcement that cases will soon be filed against his cousin, former House Speaker Ferdinand Martin Romualdez.
He also called for the removal of electricity system loss charges passed on to consumers and the amendment of the Electric Power Industry Reform Act.
‘It’s time to stop passing the burden of systems loss to consumers. This is being passed on to consumers and even imposed a value-added tax. Systems loss is not the consumers’ fault,’ he said in Filipino.
‘Therefore, we, their people, request – no, we demand the immediate amendment of the Epira [Electric Power Industry Reform Act] and to prohibit charging systems loss against consumers, including the value-added tax thereon,’ Marcos said.