State of poverty
Whether she shows up or not at the State of the Nation Address today, Vice President Sara Duterte has become a focus of attention in President Marcos’ third SONA.
The annual report to the nation is generally uneventful. BBM will have to say something dramatic to divert attention from the absence of his estranged VP, which shows the undeniable disintegration of the UniTeam midway through their term.
Security has become a focus of attention amid the scenario implied in the VP’s statement that she was skipping the event and naming herself the designated survivor. The assassination attempt on US presidential candidate Donald Trump has heightened the security concerns, although officials said they have received no threats related to the SONA. The Philippine National Police is literally deploying big guns – against drones, which are banned from the Batasang Pambansa airspace.
There are some low-hanging fruits that can make this SONA memorable for BBM.
One, he can announce a total ban on Philippine offshore gaming operator firms. At this point, it looks like only his favorite cousin Speaker Martin Romualdez, their House minions, gaming chief Alejandro Tengco and MIA Bamban Mayor Alice Guo remain enamored with POGOs.
Two – before the issue becomes a strong cause for his political opponents – he can announce that the Philippine Health Insurance Corp. will no longer be required to turn over P89.9 billion in “unused” funds to the national coffers. PhilHealth already has enough scandals on its plate. And despite the expansion of its services, state health insurance coverage and public health care in general remain woefully inadequate.
The national budget for 2024 is financing projects in the runup to the 2025 midterm elections. “Savings” of government-owned and controlled corporations (GOCCs) such as PhilHealth, as provided in the 2024 General Appropriations Act, can go to unprogrammed appropriations for projects identified by lawmakers or Malacañang.
People are amazed that PhilHealth is even classified as a GOCC, lumped together with the likes of PAGCOR and the now defunct National Agribusiness Corp.
NABCOR was abolished after being identified as a favorite conduit of
