FOR local business and labor sectors, the third State of the Nation Address (SONA) of President Rodrigo Duterte Monday, July 23, should focus more on the government's clearer policies and directions amid pressing issues hounding the country.
Frank Carbon, chief executive officer of the Metro Bacolod Chamber of Commerce and Industry (MBCCI), Sunday, July 22, said the business sector has been "anticipating" the annual address of the president.
Carbon said the SONA does not only present the country's situation or the administration's achievement in the previous years, but also its programs and directions in the coming years.
"It allows us to see the clear signal as to when the executive branch of the government is going, which is very important in our business planning," he said, adding that "we need to align our plans especially with the infrastructure efforts of the government."
Days before the SONA, the final draft of the proposed federal charter was submitted by the Consultative Committee (ConCom) to Duterte.
Many are anticipating that the push for Federalism will be highlighted by the president in his SONA.
For the local business sector, they want to see how serious the government is in its bid to amend the constitution and its timetable.
Carbon said the "approval" of the Basic Bangsamoro Law (BBL) prior to his SONA manifests that Duterte is really inclined to shifting the government to a federal form.
He said that the local business group is interested to know the plan of the government for the regions once the push for Federalism is realized.
"What are the major infrastructure projects it plans to undertake in the region where investments have yet to penetrate," he said, adding that "with federalism, is the budgeting for strategic infrastructure towards the regions will change?"
Citing the importance of agriculture and tourism to economic development, the business leader said the President should also underscore the programs and directions of the government in these areas.
Carbon asked: “Can we just continue importing rice, meat, and vegetables?”
He pointed out that importation results in the spike in prices of commodities.
With tourism growing very fast, Carbon said it is also important that the SONA will highlight the government's measures on managing resources and conserving the environment.
"Are there new policies or management systems that will be imposed among all island-resorts in order to prevent events similar to Boracay Island in Aklan," he added.
Carbon further said, "Duterte should direct the Department of the Interior and Local Government and local government units to help him in exercising supervision down to the grassroots."
Aside from making clearer pronouncements, the President should also remain committed to all his thrusts, he added.
(Labor)
The labor sector, meanwhile, is cynical and despair amid claims that the third SONA will just be a repetition of last year's rhetorics and exaggeration of the administration's perceived accomplishments.
Wennie Sancho, secretary general of the General Alliance of Workers Associations (GAWA), said that, on the labor front, the spectrum of contractualization still looms.
Sancho said they want to hear when will the president "fulfill his broken promise" to end contractualization, which is continuously denying the security of tenure among workers.
"On the economic situation, we would like to hear how his economic managers will stop the rise of inflation," he added.
As prices keep on increasing while purchasing power of the workers decline, there is a need for clearer measures on how to address inflation, Sancho stressed.
Moreover, the local labor group looks at charter change as not the Messiah that would deliver the people from sufferings.
"It is not a savior that would redeem us from our economic problems," he said, asking that "how do the president considers oppositions."
(ICT)
For information and communications technology (ICT) stakeholders, they hope for Duterte to fully support the DigitalCitiesPH program of the Department of Information and Communications Technology (DICT), National ICT Confederation of the Philippines (NICP), and Information Technology and Business Process Association of the Philippines (IBPAP).
NCIP vice president Jocelle Batapa-Sigue told SunStar Bacolod that if regions and cities are geared towards integrating ICT into their systems, the Philippines will be more progressive with more jobs and opportunities, less corruption, more public service.
Batapa-Sigue, also the executive director of the Bacolod-Negros Occidental Federation of ICT (Bnefit), said this can also be achieved by creating and paving the way for more transparent, accountable and efficient delivery of public services through the use of new ICT technologies.
These technologies include data analytics, artificial intelligence, blockchain and cloud, among others, she added.