Militants to deliver own SONA on July 26

When President Benigno Aquino III delivers his first State of the Nation Address next Monday, militant groups will be outside the Batasan Complex, delivering their own version of the state of the nation.

But Bagong Alyansang Makabayan secretary general Renato Reyes Jr. said they will also listen to President Aquino's SONA to see if his and their assessments of the state of the nation match.

"Meron din po kaming SONA. Bahagi yan ng pagpapahayag ng kababayan natin. Pero makikinig kami sa SONA ng pangulo, gusto namin pakinggan ano sasabihin ng pangulo sa problema ng taumbayan para masukat natin (We will have our own SONA. That is part of freedom of expression. But we will listen to Aquino's first SONA and see if his assessments of the problems affecting the nation are similar to what we are seeing)," Reyes said in an interview on dwIZ radio Monday.

He said militant groups will also submit to the Office of the President a list of "issues and demands," which he said will also be the theme of their own SONA.

Reyes hinted these issues include a P125 across-the-board wate hike, an added budget for social services such as health and education, and genuine land reform.

The militants' SONA will also touch on the rejection of the RP-US Visiting Forces Agreement and Japan Philippines Economic Partnership Agreement, he said.

Peaceful SONA rallies

And even as they promised their rallies on the occasion will be peaceful, militants branded as overkill the Philippine National Police's preparations for Aquino's first SONA.

Bayan said the preparations, including plans to deploy 10,000 personnel for the event, smacked of paranoia.

"Our focus will be the people’s demands and challenges for the new administration. The people would like to know the response of the current administration to the problems of the economy, sovereignty, landlessness, unemployment, lack of social services and escalating human rights violations. These are major challenges for the new government that require immediate attention. The SONA will be an indicator of which part of the promised ‘change’ is real and what part is just illusion," Reyes said on the Bayan website.

Bayan had held protest actions during the previous SONAs of then President and now Pampanga Rep. Gloria Macapagal-Arroyo.

It assured the public their SONA protest actions under the new administration will be peaceful and organized.

"It is strange that the PNP seems to be caught up in the previous administration’s paranoia that it wants to deploy so many cops all over Quezon City and Commonwealth Avenue. Didn’t Mr. Aquino say that we have seen the end of a government that is insensitive towards the people’s plight? Isn’t this new government willing to listen to the calls of the people from the streets? Why deploy so many policemen? Is this part of the psychological warfare to deter people from joining peaceful protest actions?" Reyes said.

Reyes also said the recent spate of extrajudicial killings will be among the main issues of the demonstrators on July 26.

Bayan said the venue of the protest will also be symbolic of how the present government deals with people’s demands.

"It would be good to be able to hold the protest closer to the Batasan Pambansa. It would be a positive symbolic gesture on the part of the new administration. During Arroyo’s first SONA, right after EDSA 2, demonstrators were allowed as far as the Sandigan Bayan and Batasan Road. Later years saw the protester driven farther and farther away from Batasan. The SONA demonstration should not be seen as a security threat, in the same way the previous administration saw protest actions," Reyes said.

Authorities have said that a meeting between law enforcers, local officials and militant groups will be held to ensure a peaceful SONA.

Source: GmaNews