NEGROS Occidental officials were satisfied with the third State of the Nation Address (Sona) of President Rodrigo Duterte which he delivered before the joint session at the Batasang Pambansa in Quezon City.
Third District Representative and Visayan Bloc leader Alfredo Benitez said that it was the first time he heard the president having fewer ad-libs in his speech.
"So I guess we missed his adlibs," he said.
Benitez gave his nod on the peace and order situation which was one of the focal points of his speech.
"He has improved the decrease numbers of crime rate by 17 percent this year. Ever since that has been his stand,” Benitez said.
Benitez rated Duterte's performance in the last two years as above passing.
He also confirmed that majority members of the Visayan Bloc have voted for former president and Pampanga Representative Gloria Macapagal-Arroyo as the new Speaker of the House though there were some who abstained.
Benitez also said that Federalism will be one of those measures that Arroyo will tackle as she is also is in favor of pushing through with the 2019 elections.
For Acting Governor Eugenio Jose Lacson, he said Duterte was prim and proper in delivering his speech.
"His message on illegal drugs, corruption was a repetition of his previous Sona. He was clear in his directive to Congress to pass a law ending contractualization, establishing the coconut farmers trust fund and to create the Department of Disaster Management. I wish his economic managers imputed in his speech on how the government will address inflation which is now affecting the majority of Filipinos," he said.
Bacolod City Representative Greg Gasataya, for his part, said: “first (time) we saw that it was simple. The intent on the direction of what will the president do in Congress is clear. The zero balance billing that he mentioned impacted on me to become a law about the comprehensive program of the government which I believe could help a lot to Filipinos."
He said that with the president's pronouncement on charter change would make them busy at the House.
When asked to rate the performance of the president in the last two years of his administration, "I leave it to the people to rate the president which I used to do.”
Abang Lingkod party-list Representative Joseph Stephen Paduano said he was satisfied with the points raised by the president on the relentless campaign against illegal drugs, as he warned them against corruption.
"He also mentioned Mindanao which means that he will push through with Federalism. Still, he reiterated his foreign policy to defend the territorial integrity of the country. He cited telco companies for a competitive price. Tertiary education act which we have passed in third reading", he added.
Paduano also noticed that Duterte delivered a different style of Sona where he put a sticker on the prepared script.
He also gave Duterte a passing rate with his drive against Corruption, drugs and foreign policy.
Fifth District Representative Alejandro Mirasol also gave Duterte a passing rate and he said that he also voted for Arroyo because he knew her personally and that he trusted her leadership.
For Bacolod City Mayor Evelio Leonardia, “it was a comprehensive Sona.”
Leonardia said it was a business-like presentation and it was serious.
“He delivered about the drug problem, corruption, law and order among others,” he said.
In his 48-minute speech, Duterte said that the war against illegal drugs is far from over. Where before, the war resulted in the seizure of illegal drugs worth millions of pesos, today, they run [into] billions in peso value.
“It was comprehensive, he gives credit to Congress where Congress acted on issues and matters that we can consider a vital to the growth of the country,” Leonardia said.
He said the president also mentioned the Charter Change and he believes that the President is committed to making it a reality.
He added there’s a good chance that the Charter Change will succeed.
The mayor disclosed that he is satisfied with the performance of the president.
For his part, Councilor Caesar Distrito said, as expected, the President defended his policy on crime against drugs and the spate of killings, but failed short in condemning killings without justifiable reasons.
“I admired his resolve to change the system of government through charter change, which will now be contentious and will eat a lot of time of our legislators,” he said.
The question is, will the people be convinced and support it? Distrito asked.
Distrito said it is sad that tax reform law is being continued to push by the administration despite its devastating effect on all the Filipino people.
He said these will again another anti-people proposal as it will lead to higher corporate taxes that will result in more job losses.
“I am happy that for the first time, he showed to follow the script strictly and avoided to adlib as no one had been named and scolded publicly in his speech. I like his drive against corrupt officials and the protection of environment although I hope this will do a gradual rehabilitation, not a total closure of tourist destinations as this will result from job cuts and economy and tourism will be affected,” Distrito added.
Distrito disclosed he is hopeful that the rehabilitation will be gradually done.