THE 2018 State of the Nation (Sona) was not what was expected. The President Rodrigo Duterte was not who he was. The delivery was monotonous and apathetic. Why?
First, there was a long delay at the start of the Sona.
Now, it is a public knowledge there was a coup d’etat prior to the Sona. The Speaker of the House Pantaleon Alvarez was replaced by former president and Pampanga Representative Gloria Macapagal-Arroyo before the president’s speech.
During that unholy hour, one could see the people who are really politically-motivated. You can see friends of Alvarez jumping over to GMA. It was a political circus that really gave entertainment to the crowd. It was like a show.
After an hour of being imprisoned in the holding room, the president comes out and walks like an unwilling creature in the aisle of the Session Hall. He is not that enthusiastic like in the previous years. One could really observe that there was and there is a problem.
To the shock of everybody and I guess even the congressmen, Alvarez still sat on the seat of the Speaker. If one would analyze this well, it could be misinterpreted that the president meddled with the affairs of the legislative by asking Alvarez to still sit as speaker while there was already somebody elected and sworn in as speaker. But still, the crowd is controlled and civil. While all these are happening, my comical mind is now telling me that the whole show is being directed by someone whom we don’t know. One hour delay is an indication of instability and maybe lack of skill to manage conflicts.
In the evening, a news story came out telling the public that the early campaign signature for GMA as speaker was illegal and out of bounds.
The reasons were the secretary-general was not there to record the proceedings, the mace was not in the stand, and most of the representatives were out during the oath taking of GMA.
My fear now is that the Charter Change will now be on its full wheel. GMA is and has been really for the change of the 1987 charter. I also have fears that GMA will be our Prime Minister soon and might even be the president again.
So, after this magic show, where are we now? What happened to the real issues at hand? Where is the president?