“FRANK, realistic and hopeful” were the words used by Palace spokesmen to describe what was expected of President Rodrigo Duterte’s second State of the Nation Address (SONA). Let change trickle down from [top to]bottom.”“It has to be a change that is not confined merely to the replacement of people by people, but a change in the people’s attitudes, disposition and work ethic,” he said. That is why we are one in saying that genuine change is what this country truly needs.”This was probably the “frank” part of the speech that Palace spokesman Ernesto Abella described ahead of the SONA. It could have come across as a clarion call to Filipinos to rise to the challenge and contribute to Duterte’s crusade for change. What the people could have had less of from the second SONA were expletives that may have resulted in the trivialization of important issues such as tax reform, the peace process, the war on drugs, human rights, and others.

Source: Manila Times July 26, 2017 16:07 UTC