ON MONDAY, July 24, President Ferdinand Marcos Jr. will make his second State of the Nation Address (Sona).
He already hinted through his advanced barrage of press releases and declarations that the state of the nation is okay.
By all indications, he will brag about his major achievements his more than a dozen diplomatic foreign travels which he claimed earned billions of investments for the country, the re-invigoration of his ties with the United States especially the expansion of Enhanced Defense Cooperation Agreement (Edca) sites, his National Task Force to End Local Communist Armed Conflict (NTF-Elcac) strides, the passage of the SIM registration act; the restructuring of the government systems, the reorganization of his cabinet, the promotions of more uniformed men; the condonation of the farmers' debts incurred during his late father’s land reform program; and the passage of the controversial Maharlika Investment Fund.
He will also hype his priority measures this year, among others, the complete crushing of the insurgency problem, the National Government Rightsizing Program, the National Land Use Act, the BSP-endorsed Bank Deposit Secrecy and Anti-Financial Account Scamming Act, Mandatory Reserve Officers’ Training Corps, and National Service Training Program.
What he will likely not touch on are the more controversial issues critical of his leadership and governance performance – the soaring inflation and unabated hikes in the prices of basic commodities and services; the worsening services of public utilities especially power, water, and transportation; widespread unemployment and assaults on the labor sector; worsening landlessness and agrarian- related violence; deep corruption in bureaucracy and uniformed sector; putting the nation at bigger risks by aggressively the US pivot to Asia war theatre campaign; his regime’s gigantic foreign and local debts; the consolidation of the old oligarchs and dynasties and new cronies; and no less his lack of comprehensive national industrialization and rural development program.
Soca. In recent weeks too, local chief executives (LCEs) of some cities have also made their State of the City Address (Soca), a town-hall-like version of Sona, more fanfare, less substance.
Few LCEs have given more realistic assessments. The rest were copy-paste, recycled, hodge-podge declarations, and much like grandstanding ego-boasting.
I liked the Soca of Silay City Mayor Joedith Gallego; more factual, down to earth, informative and challenging Silaynons to do better as one, and no wish list but all realistic and doable programs and projects.
Ceneco. After weeks of rubbing elbows, burning eyebrows, and pulling each other’s carpets, Central Negros Electric Cooperative, Inc. (Ceneco) board of directors, consumers, and its union, have come closer to a defining moment where a choice of a lifetime must be made – rehab and modernize or stay on the road to perdition.
The choice, however, is not easy as it seems. If Ceneco stays on course, it has to rely on itself to upgrade because the state prefers to have it reconstructed, modernized, and managed by abled private contractors or corporations. That’s the fact. If it believes it can stand and scale up to the challenge, it must present its game-changing plan.
If Ceneco Board pursues JVA with MORE Power or whoever, it has to get the consensus support of the consumer-stakeholders. It must also come to terms with the Ceneco union whose existence and future will be at stake.
At any rate, and either way, Ceneco Board, consumer-stakeholders, and the union, must face the fact that Ceneco areas and neighboring cities and towns are in the growth corridor of Negros whose current peak demand is estimated at 300MW, and projected to increase to 600MW by 2028.
The peak demand for the entire Visayas is now reaching 2,000 megawatts, with Metro Cebu taking the biggest share. Ceneco present peak load is only 130-140MW.
A choice of a lifetime must be made by all Ceneco stakeholders now.
ETC. We are now at the conjuncture of interlocking macro and micro issues that the demand for consensus building and good governance is a must, but the assertion of grassroots power is even more pivotal in making decisions.*