Let’s go straight to the nosiest part of the SONA. Addressing the onslaught of typhoons Crising, Dante, and Emong, Marcos then points to corruption in flood control projects with much ‘gigil’ that will give Coco Martin’s lipbite a run for his money.
“Mga kickback, mga initiative, errata, SOP, for the boys. Kaya sa mga nakikipagsabwatan upang kunin ang pondo ng bayan at nakawin ang kinabukasan ng ating mga mamamayan, mahiya naman kayo sa inyong kapwa Pilipino!” said Marcos.
“Mahiya naman kayo lalo sa mga anak natin na magmamana sa mga utang na ginawa ninyo, na binulsa niyo lang ang pera.” he added.
This was met with immediate applause and cheers, followed by a standing ovation from the whole audience, composed of maybe a few servants of the people and plenty of ugly cheerleaders.
This means that the president’s plea was received with an immediate and resounding ‘NO’; otherwise, they would have cowered under their desks and covered their faces out of shame and guilt.
The audience was also shouting ‘BBM’, which could be confusing for people who know their history…or music.
“Bago mo linisin ang dungis ng iyong kapwa, hugasan ang iyong putik sa mukha” and “I’m starting with the man in the mirror” are just lyrics from Rico J. Puno and Michael Jackson songs but could the ‘BBM’ chants be used in the same context?
Are they really cheering for the president or are they saying “Ikaw ang unang mahiya!”?
This brings me to a side note: why are there no mirrors on the desks of senators and representatives? It’s much cheaper than the P800,000 legacy wall.
TOO LATE FOR RESET
Continuing his speech, Marcos said from now on, DPWH will send him a list of all flood control projects nationwide that were started or completed in the last three years and ask the Regional Project Monitoring Committee to examine and publish a report open to the public.
The president also said that there will be an audit and performance review, and those found to be implicated by the investigation, including contractors, will be held accountable.
Looking back to last year’s SONA, Marcos said “Mahigit limang libo at limang daang flood control project ang natapos na, at marami pang iba ang kasalukuyang ginagawa sa buong bansa.”
A stark contrast from the same person on two different SONAs. What happened? Which one was the lie? Did they fact-check? The government should have audited and checked the 5,500 flood control projects before reporting them to the people. Why is the government only about to check them now?
It’s too late to reset. 31 people have already died, more than six million affected or displayed, infrastructure damage is at P6.5 billion while agricultural damage is almost P800 million due to Habagat, Crising, Dante, and Emong. You cannot reset lives. This is not a video game.
More importantly, Marcos said he will return any proposed budget that is not aligned with the National Expenditure Program which again begs the question: “Why start now when it clearly should have been the policy ever since?”
It seems that the administration is hitting the reset button because it cannot escape the scrutiny of the public. And while it is too late for a reset now, the sad reality is that we, the public, had no choice but to hope for the best, even if it means settling for less in the form of fake change and hypocrisy.
At ito nanaman tayo sa isang kanta na pinapaliwanag ang pagkalito at pagdududa pero may halong pag-asa dahil wala naman tayong choice for the next three years. Please welcome, BINI!
Oh, hello there misteryoso
'Di pa rin mabasa ang 'yong tunay na motibo oh
Iba'ng pinapakita taliwas sa'yong salita
Pero ayokong magduda baka lang sa simula
Ayokong umasa sa paniniwalang
May pag-asa nga ba
Na baka ang puso ko'y mapagbigyan
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