PNoy has no clear-cut environ agenda: Bayan
DIFFERENT progressive groups in Davao City expressed dismay with President Benigno "Noynoy" Aquino III's performance for the past two years and urge him to take concrete actions favorable to Filipinos during his State of Nation Address (Sona) set today, July 23.
Joel Virador, vice chariman for Federation Affairs of Kilusang Mayo Uno-Southern Mindanao Region (KMU-SMR), said he wants Aquino's administration to "expel the domination of foreign powers in the country, specifically the United States (US) government."
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"I want PNoy (President Aquino) to tell the real state of the nation. We must challenge him to serve his true boss, the Filipino people," he said in a text message.
Virador also urged the government to take actions to uplift the current economic status of poor Filipinos by providing them opportunities through industrialization.
Meanwhile, Mary Anne Sapar, secretary general of Gabriela-Southern Mindanao, said Aquino should respond to the worsening crisis in the country.
She added he should be more focused in battling unemployment and the problem of starvation.
"But we expect nga sa iyang Sona puro lang pagpanghambog og paatik ang iyang ipang-estorya (But we expect that he will be blowing his own horn and tell lies in his Sona)," she said.
Environmental rights network Panalipdan lambasted Aquino's passage of Executive Order (EO) 79 or the Mining Act which institutionalizes and implements reforms in the Mining Sector.
Panalipdan spokesperson Juland Suazo said Aquino, this time, should make clear-cut environmental agenda in his Sona "which was not present in his past two Sonas."
Suazo said the executive order does not realign with Republic Act (RA) 7942 or the Philippine Mining Act, but actually strengthens it further.
For his part, both EO 79 and the Philippine Mining Act bring about destruction to the environment through the highly extractive mining activities benefiting only the export-oriented and foreign-controlled mining firms. He is calling for immediate passage of the people's mining bill.
"The people's mining bill will re-orient mining towards nationalization, national industrialization, agricultural modernization, environmental sustainability, and development for the majority not plunder for the few," Suazo said in a text message Sunday.
The current administration, he said, should not venture into energy projects like coal-fired power plants but rather pursue clean and renewable energy for the people.
Suazo said Aquino must not allow privatization of all government-run hydropower plants if this will deprive Filipinos' access to resources and services.
"He must reverse all anti-people and anti-environment policies like privatization, which allows further plunder of natural resources to the few elite," he said.
He added Aquino must take appropriate action to diminish impunity in the country. He said this will only happen if he will remove the implementation of the Oplan Bayanihan.
"It resulted to killings and harassment of environmental defenders," he said.
He said Oplan Bayanihan serves the interests of big corporations benefiting the environment.
For the third time, President Aquino will deliver his Sona before millions of Filipinos at the Batasang Pambansa in Quezon City today.
Published in the Sun Star Davao newspaper on July 23, 2012.
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