Just when everyone thought his speech would close without a mention of the country’s most controversial issue, President Ferdinand Marcos, towards the very last minute of his speech, gained thunderous applause with loud chants of his initials “B-B-M” when he dropped the words, “Effective today, all POGOs are banned.”
Marcos Jr. was likewise praised yet again for another reason, his hardline stance that the West Philippine Sea remains a Philippine territory. He even became emotional when he thanked the guardians of Philippine seas as well as the local fisherfolks in their relentless effort to face foreign aggression.
Supporter or not, lawmakers gave a passing grade to the President’s SONA.
In a statement, Senate President Francis “Chiz” Escudero described the SONA as “honest, truthful, and comprehensive.”
“I commend the President for an excellent and perfectly delivered speech that showed and proved that he listens and cares for the Filipino,” he said.
Sen. Sherwin Gatchalian, who is among the senators who lead the fight against POGOs, is happy with the SONA and gave the President a perfect score for his decision.
“I thank the President for heeding the call of our people to ban all POGO operations in the country. This is a victory for all peace-loving Filipinos,” he said in a statement.
Senate Pro Tempore Jinggoy Estrada said lawmakers are very happy with the unexpected turnout of the President’s decision on POGOs.
“It is a welcome development for all those who were listening. Of course the senators, the congressmen, we’re really very happy with the unexpected decision of the President,” Estrada said in an interview. He also gave the SONA a rating of 95 out of 100.
Sen. Nancy Binay described Marcos’ SONA as “concise, forward-looking, and thoughtfully articulated.”
“As to us in the Senate, we took note of the President’s executive agenda, and we shall act decisively on necessary measures to fulfill these objectives — para sa Pilipinas at para sa Pilipino (for the Philippines and for the Filipinos),” she said.
Sen. Grace Poe is thankful that now, the country has a “President who listens.”
“Lahat ng mga problema na dinaranas natin ngayon ay nakapagbigay siya ng plano nya at higit sa lahat, ‘yung ating teritoryo na talagang iginigiit niyang atin at bina-ban na nya ang POGO,” Poe said.
Poe gave Marcos a grade of 9.8 out of 10.
